The idea that aging might be a disease that is curable
has transformed the science of longevity over the last couple of decades.
And as a result, a lot more research into this science is being funded.
Today we're going to take a look at the 3 primary lines of research…
and which one I think offers the most bang for the buck.
And why.
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The science of longevity has come a long way, but it's still got a long way to go.
Research into aging is in it's infancy.
And up until a couple of decades ago, there was really only a singe line of research.
At the present time, there are 3 areas, or classes, of investigation.
And that's what we're going to take a look at today.
And which one I think offers the best chance of any meaningful results.
The first of these classes is simply research for the sake of research.
To improve the base of knowledge and to try to understand the processes of aging.
But not really to develop any treatments to counter it.
This class is far and away the largest class of research.
And until about 10 years ago, it was virtually the only research into aging being done.
Now, there were a few independent researchers and investigators out there,
but they were the visionaries, and kind of revolutionary.
If a researcher even mentioned the words "slowing" or "reversing aging", grants and funding would dry up.
This was based on the traditional idea that aging is a natural process,
and that it's inevitable.
So they were just trying to understand it.
And here’s what they’ve discovered.
That aging is a wave of progressive changes in the composition of the human body
that happens at the cellular and molecular levels.
These changes stem from side effects of essential metabolic processes,
and are accumulations of various types of damage that can reach debilitating or even fatal thresholds.
This is the very definition of growing old and dying.
The second class of investigation is looking into ways of slowing down the aging process,
or into developing therapies to do just that.
The typical approach here is to look at differences in longevity,
such as through calorie restriction or differences in lifespans of similar species.
Now, as the understanding of these processes becomes better known, through the research of class 1,
genetic and biochemical roots for some of these differences have been discovered.
The investigations of this second class try to reproduce these differences using drugs,
gene therapies or other similar treatments.
Aging is a process, and that process is going to continue.
But the second class is trying to slow that process down, so that it doesn’t advance quite so quickly.
In the last decade or so, there’s been a significant cross-over from class 1 to class 2.
And this has been through the hard work of those earlier visionaries
and the fact that it has now become respectable to discuss doing something about aging.
And this has lead to a steady shift in research priorities.
But class 2 is still the poor cousin of class 1.
Then there’s class 3.
The biological processes that go into steady decline all have at least one thing in common,
they cause damage.
They cause different types of damage, but they all cause damage.
And that escalating damage is the source of aging.
Most of that damage is an accumulation of metabolic waste, toxins, senescent cells
and a bunch of cross-links caused by oxidation.
Now, while the decline of these processes are not well understood, the damage that results from this decline is.
Unlike class 2, class 3 ignores the dwindling bodily process and functions,
and focuses instead on the resulting damage and on ways to repair it.
This repair would take the form of some type of rejuvenation therapy.
The idea is that if you can repair the damage that results from this decline,
the actual decline itself kind of becomes irrelevant.
Especially if the rejuvenation therapy takes place on a regular schedule,
repairing the damage before it can accumulate.
And if class 2 is the poor cousin of class 1, then class 3 is the bastard child of class 2.
Comparatively speaking, very little research or research funding or grants is going into class 3.
And in my opinion, this is a mistake.
And I’ll tell you why I feel this way.
Current thinking is that class 2 is about a decade away from producing any significant therapies.
Now, that’s at the current level of funding.
Current thinking also says that producing any significant therapies in either class 2 or 3
will take an approximately equivalent amount of funding, time and research.
If that’s true, then why not put the available resources of time and funding
into the line of research that has the better chance of producing significant outcomes?
Consider…if aging is a matter of damage,
then slowing down the rate at which that damage occurs holds little hope for those who are already old.
Repairing that damage will produce the most benefits for everyone, young and old alike.
Now, it's not that I think that research into slowing down the aging process isn't valuable.
It's just that I think that tackling that damage that results first,
then going back and finding additional ways to slow down aging will have a better overall outcome.
I read an analogy that I think is pretty relevant.
Let’s say that you have an old classic car that is rusting away.
Slowing down the rate at which that rusting process occurs
won’t do any good for the rust that’s already there.
That’s why I think that funding class 3 research is the only avenue that has any hope
of producing rejuvenation therapies that can extend the healthy life of people who are already growing older.
Like me!
We need rejuvenation therapies that can restore youthful vigor and function,
not just slow down the aging process.
That can actually turn back the clock on aging.
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Thanks for watching, and I’ll catch you next week.