2008 Woodie Awards
Scientists say the time has come to attack the aging process
Tamar Campbell
Issue date: 9/8/08 Section: Pulse
Immortality and preventing aging has been a constant fixture in fiction. A subplot of the latest Mummy movie exploited the legend of water that causes immortality, and even back in 1975, the novel Tuck Everlasting discussed immortality a fountain of youth that stopped the aging process in order to prevent death.
But now S. Jay Olshansky, an epidemiological professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) School of Public Health is part of a group of scientists in both the United States and the United Kingdom that suggest turning fiction plot twists into real life. In an analysis published in July, the scientists claim that the best strategy for preventing and fighting diseases that have become synonymous with growing older is to simply slow down the process of growing older.
The current scientific trend includes research that focuses on finding a cure for individual diseases of the elderly, such as cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Diabetes, and Heart Disease. But, according to Olshansky, "A cure for any of the major fatal diseases would have only a marginal impact on life expectancy and the length of healthy life." Olshansky and his colleagues feel that trying to extend life once a disease has been diagnosed is consuming too much of modern medicine's time and efforts, and that instead of spending hours of research trying to find a cure for one specific illness, it's necessary to determine if dietary interventions or genetic alterations can postpone aging and therefore extend a person's years of healthy life.
Considering the current heavy expenses of ever-rising health costs for the elderly, it is easy to understand why these authors are declaring it "Time for a systematic attack on aging itself."
Sadly though, these scientists have no idea of how specifically to slow the aging process. Currently, doctors advise that people should maintain a healthy diet and exercise regime in order to extend their lives, but specific knowledge of how and even if certain dietary interventions can postpone life is not exactly known. Therefore, the scientists are only able to "Call on the health-research decision-makers to allocate substantial resources to support and develop practical interventions that slow aging in people," rather than to provide the public with a fountain of youth.
But now S. Jay Olshansky, an epidemiological professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) School of Public Health is part of a group of scientists in both the United States and the United Kingdom that suggest turning fiction plot twists into real life. In an analysis published in July, the scientists claim that the best strategy for preventing and fighting diseases that have become synonymous with growing older is to simply slow down the process of growing older.
The current scientific trend includes research that focuses on finding a cure for individual diseases of the elderly, such as cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Diabetes, and Heart Disease. But, according to Olshansky, "A cure for any of the major fatal diseases would have only a marginal impact on life expectancy and the length of healthy life." Olshansky and his colleagues feel that trying to extend life once a disease has been diagnosed is consuming too much of modern medicine's time and efforts, and that instead of spending hours of research trying to find a cure for one specific illness, it's necessary to determine if dietary interventions or genetic alterations can postpone aging and therefore extend a person's years of healthy life.
Considering the current heavy expenses of ever-rising health costs for the elderly, it is easy to understand why these authors are declaring it "Time for a systematic attack on aging itself."
Sadly though, these scientists have no idea of how specifically to slow the aging process. Currently, doctors advise that people should maintain a healthy diet and exercise regime in order to extend their lives, but specific knowledge of how and even if certain dietary interventions can postpone life is not exactly known. Therefore, the scientists are only able to "Call on the health-research decision-makers to allocate substantial resources to support and develop practical interventions that slow aging in people," rather than to provide the public with a fountain of youth.
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S. Jay Olshansky
posted 9/08/08 @ 10:47 PM CST
I am delighted to see the coverage of our article published in the British Medical Journal in which we call for a systematic attack on aging itself as the new model of health promotion and disease prevention in the 21st century. (Continued…)
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