Arguing for More Computational Modeling to Aid the Transition to Clinical Trials that Target Aging

At some point in the future, clinical trials for therapies that target mechanisms of aging must start to assess the outcome on aging, rather than the present situation in which regulators force potentially broad rejuvenation therapies - such as senolytics - to address only one specific age-related condition at a time. The authors of this paper argue that this will be a challenging transition for present regulatory and research institutions, and that a great deal more use of computational modelling of aging and the effects of interventions will be needed to smooth the way. I agree that the regulatory system is a barrier and a roadblock to the paths that should be taken; I'm not sure that I agree with the specific recommendations made in this paper. Greater effective use of computational modelling should, in principle, allow cost reductions across the board in the development of therapies, but I don't know that this really changes the nature of the problem beyond reducing the expense of efforts made to solve it. The conventional paradigm "one disease, one drug" should be updated to achieve the vision of targeting aging as a common component of human diseases. The current deterministic genetic paradigm of diagnosing and treating each separate age-related disease fails to fit with the broader anti-aging strategies aimed to address the closely related concepts of healthspan, resilience, and lifespan, which should be therapeutically managed in the absence of discrete, targ...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs