Can We Live Healthier as We Age?

Scientists all over the world are working on aging. They have certainly figured out how to help us live longer lives, but now the work is around how to make those extra years healthier.

Keeping cells healthier longer is the crux of much of the work. The video below takes a look at three of the projects that are underway currently. Working in the lab on mice to get rid of cells that have aged out and shore up those that have age-related deficits has been shown to keep them living better without many of the diseases that so often accompany old age. Human trials are on the horizon. The model that most appear to be working with is not to eliminate disease and chronic conditions as much as reduce the number of years in our old age that we are coping with these illnesses. By moving the needle on the number of healthy years further to the right, seniors will have a better old age, able to live independently longer and contribute to society through an increased number of years to provide volunteer services, for example. Health care systems will be able to save millions of dollars by postponing and shortening the number of years that they need to provide care to seniors.

The populations of Germany, Japan and South Korea are going to have the world’s oldest populations by 2050 according to the Pew Research Institute. The ability of those countries to provide an adequate standard of living for seniors is largely dependent on their ability to achieve a healthier old age for them. The World Health Organization has said that countries must develop better social and health care programs throughout the lives of their citizens. The clock is ticking as all countries focus on their aging populations. 2030 is the year that North American countries are counting down to. Could much of the solution truly be found at a cellular level?