The Goal of Geroscience is Life Extension

It is only comparatively recently that the research community has become supportive of efforts to treat aging as a medical condition, with researchers able to publish and speak in public on the topic without risking their careers. Even so, few researchers in this more receptive environment have been willing to be clear that the goal of treating aging is to greatly extend healthy life span, not just improve health within the life span we presently enjoy. We can hope that this too will change, and extending the healthy human life span will also come to be a topic of clear public discussion by the broader scientific community. One cannot have large increases in life span without improved health: the two are tightly linked. Aging is nothing more than accumulated cell and tissue damage, and the dysfunction caused by that damage. A damaged machine functions poorly, and it is very hard to keep a damaged machine from complete failure by any means other than repairing the damage. To treat aging, we must repair the molecular damage that causes aging. Effective repair therapies will both improve health and extend life. The goal of geroscience is extension of lifespan by extending healthspan. Standard medical interventions can prolong lifespan without extending healthspan (e.g., using a ventilator in comatose patient) but anti-aging interventions increase lifespan by slowing aging and thus delaying age-related diseases (extending healthspan). Healthspan is a period of lif...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs