Future Now
The IFTF Blog
Are Diseases the Symptoms?
We don't typically think of diseases as symptoms, and while Chris Patil didn't quite come out and call diseases symptoms of aging, that was the implication of his talk at the O'Reilly Emerging Technology conference. Patil, a biogerontologist--meaning someone who studies the underlying biological processes of aging--gave an overview of the field and argued that we have far more to gain by addressing the biology of aging, rather than focusing on individual diseases.
Say some miracle pill cured all cardiovascular disease. Average lifespans would increase less than 10 years. Eliminate cancer, diabetes and all neurodegenerative diseases, in addition to cardiovascular disease, and you've bought the average person approximately 15 years. This is because of something Patil called "precipitous decrepitude." About 80 - 90 percent of the way through an average life, the body starts breaking down. This happens for people, worms, bats and birds. Patil had a 13-year-old dog named Lucky who, in one year, got heart disease, cataracts and cancer--a particularly insidious form of precipitous decrepitude.
In contrast, since age is the single biggest risk factor for almost every disease, slowing the cellular aging process could theoretically ward of disease. For example, severe calorie restriction diets have increased average lifespans by 25% in every studied animal, while genetic engineering has increased lifespans of worms by a multiple of four.
So what's holding back aging research?
Well, for one, there are no biomarkers to measure aging. Aging research also gets limited funding in comparison to disease-specific research. And finally, disease-specific research is less risky, both financially and emotionally, to undertake, since--particularly until there are good biomarkers for cell age--proving anything would take many, many years of expensive clinical trials.
At the same time, aging research is starting to move closer to the mainstream, as GlaxoSmithKline is currently studying Resveratrol--an antioxidant that activates a gene linked to longevity--as a drug that prevents diabetes. And if GSK succeeds in bringing this to market, look for money to start poring into research into the effects of cell aging.