Only during the last decade has the process of human aging been understood as a disease that can be treated, prevented and possibly even reversed. It is this change in approach by doctors, researchers and the pharmaceutical industry that has led to a far much better comprehension of the causes of aging at the cellular, genetic and psychological and neurological levels. Previously aging was considered the inevitable effect of the body’s accumulation of genetic defects at the DNA level combined with a natural diminishment of the ability of one’s organs to function as the years add up.
Scientists are basically divided into two camps when it comes to the best way to extend lifespan. The first group believes that by repairing the defects and breakdowns which afflict the aging body we will be able to maintain our youth much as one would repair and maintain a machine or automobile. For example when a person’s eyesight begins to fail procedures such as Lasik surgery and lens replacement will restore vision to that of a youngster. Natural teeth can be replaced with titanium implants and hearing can be restored with surgery and prosthetic devices.
The second group of scientists believe that aging can be prevented in the first place so that surgical and artificial procedures are not needed or only used as a last resort. These experts prefer to intercept the aging process at the genetic and biochemical levels by manipulating our body’s cells and genes to combat aging in a very fundemental way.
It is almost certain that within the next decade both of these anti-aging strategies will make dramatic progress as improvements in computer power, stem cell research, advanced prosthetics, genetics, and both natural and synthetic drugs are developed to effectively and economically extend the limit on human lifespan. We are already able to stop cells from aging in the laboratory, grow new organs, repair genetic defects which cause disease, restore vision and hearing through stem cell treatments, cochlear implants and silicone lenses, and repair aging hearts and other body parts with existing technologies. In the decade ahead we will see more advances in these areas than we have seen during the preceeding century.
Hand in hand with extending lifespan is the need to extend healthspan, that is the number of years a person lives free of disease and debilitating conditions. It is not enough to simply keep a person alive if we can not prevent the diseases of aging such as diabetes, cardio vascular conditions, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. Fortunately the same treatments and medical technologies that extend life also improve the quality of life in the later years. This means that people in their eighties and beyond will have new opportunities to participate in recreation, second or third careers, education, and personal relationships.
A person who is under 60 years of age and in good health now will very likely realize much of the benefits of the developments in the science of anti aging. Although medical advances may not translate into immortality for all of us they will afford millions of people the opportunity to enjoy extra decades of useful satisfying life.
If during these additional years new breakthroughs are made, and there is every reason to believe that this will happen, the idea of indefinite life spans becomes a very real prospect.
