A Mainstream View of the Longevity Industry

This popular science article from the AARP is representative of the sort of outsider's view of the longevity industry that is presently dominant. On the one hand, it is good that the media and advocacy organizations such as AARP are finally talking seriously about treating aging as a medical condition. On the other hand, the author looks at two of the most popular areas of development, mTOR inhibitors and senolytics, in a way that makes them seem more or less equivalent, and then further adds diet and exercise as another equivalent strategy. This will be continuing issue, I fear. People, as a rule, don't think about size of effect and quality of therapy when discussing present initiatives. These strategies are in fact very different, and the differences are important. Clearance of senescent cells via senolytic treatments is a radically different and better class of therapy than mTOR inhibition. Senolytics remove a cause of aging in one treatment, improving all aspects of health in later life in consequence, while mTOR inhibitors must be taken continually and only encourage the aging metabolism into a state that is somewhat more resistant to the underlying damage that causes aging. Tackling underlying causes will always be more effective than trying to cope with those causes without repairing them. "We've reached the perfect storm in aging science," says physician Nir Barzilai. "Everything is happening. We have the foundation from decades of animal studies. We'...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs