In some publications, it sounds like the stuff of science fiction novels or even the latest sci-fi flick. The fantasy scenario? Scientists have finally cracked the code on aging and it’s just a matter of time (perhaps even soon) before we will all enjoy endless lives of youth and prosperity (though there’s always a catch of some sort). And there are countless new tech companies, and billions of tech and hedge fund dollars, chasing what appears to be immortality right now. But if you push away the fantasy and focus on the actual reality of evidence-based science, you can see that strides are being made to extend the human healthspan and address some of the biological mechanisms that link old age with the onset of disease. Even without new cutting-edge tech, we now have data that shows for most people (even those with chronic health conditions) the length of disability-free years- the healthspan- has been increasing over time. You can read about the data here.  As one expert made clear, “I think the main message is that having a long-term condition does not mean you cannot live an independent life for a long time.”

So what’s happening in the science world to give us hope of even longer healthspans? Recognizing that almost all major diseases (cancer, heart disease, etc) are linked with aging, the quest becomes to untangle and ascertain what it is about aging that leads to these diseases. If we could solve some of that challenge, then we can ideally eliminate many late-in-life illnesses, reduce significant human suffering, increase healthspans (and possibly even lifespans) and perhaps save our health care systems a lot of money. An examination of some of the current research gives even a layperson a lot of insight into what scientists believe causes problems as we age and leads to the development of age-related disease.

According to a recent article in Science Focus (a publication of the BBC), there are known biological processes that happen as we age that are suspected to be causally related to the development of disease. So, for example, mitochondria in our cells degrade over time which negatively impacts our cellular function. If scientists could repair the ability of mitochondria to function we may be able to not only slow down the aging process but prevent or defer many of the conditions and diseases that arise as we get older. Right now, scientists at Baylor University College of Medicine believe they have found a supplement (known as GlyNAC) to address the loss of cell energy associated with mitochondrial degradation, and thus help improve the health of older beings. While most of the work has been done in mice, there is a pilot study going on in humans that appears to show benefit in both improved strength and cognition.  And in fact, GlyNAC has now been licensed to Nestle Health Science so that its availability for human consumption may not be far off. To find out more, read here.

The Mayo Clinic is also currently undertaking both mice and human clinical trials looking at senolytic drugs, which can remove senescent cells in the body and increase the amount of a-klotho, a protective protein that diminishes as we age but is important in maintaining good health. While applicable results from these trials are probably still a few years away, there is reason to think that drugs may result from this research to help remove senescent cells in the body. Perhaps the most exciting research going on right now is the TAME study (Targeting Aging with Metformin) under the direction of the renowned aging expert Nir Barzilai. Looking at the already FDA-approved drug Metformin (which is used to treat diabetes), this study hopes to not only discover whether Metformin can delay the onset of age-related diseases in general but to see if its use can increase the healthspan of those who take it and to provide evidence that aging itself is something to target, rather than specific diseases that arise in the context of aging. It would be a paradigm shift in the way we think about treating disease and considering the aging process- and it could even usher in the dawn of a new era of “gerotherapeutics.” To find out more, forget about counting birthdays and click here.