WE LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE THINGS BECOME REAL are absolutely incredible. For example, doctors can take and print the missing organ on a 3D printer. And then the robot can take and carry out the operation . Not to mention the fact that artificial leather is successfully produced from algae , and sausage is successfully produced from mushrooms . In short, you and I are incredibly lucky to live here and now. Another thing is that not all issues have been resolved, so those who will live there and later may be a little more fortunate. For example, there is still no a cure for cancer has been created, although scientists are working very hard (and hopefully they will succeed).
And also – a pill for old age, which negates any anti-aging procedures. According to Austin Powers (or more accurately, Jay Roach), freezing for a certain number of years could work. But experiments show that immersion in cold water does not really restore even muscles , what can we talk about more.
Senolytics and what you need to know about them
So what about a drug that could prevent most age-related diseases, including fragility of bones, memory problems , macular degeneration (blurred vision), and certain types of cancer? Probably, this can be done by senolytics – a class of drugs that can kill defective cells, which become more and more with age. The latter, in turn, have a significant effect on inflammatory processes, and also “infect” healthy cells, which leads to aging of organs and tissues. Senolytics is a new history in anti-aging medicine, closely related to the science of aging by gerontology, the popularity of which is tied to the increase in human life expectancy and the need to prolong active longevity. And their prospects are very promising .
Healthy aging is a global project, the positive results of which will affect not only and not so much the population. In fact, we are talking here about the same problem that targeted therapy plans to solve. If doctors examine each patient more carefully and prescribe drugs in a targeted manner, people will be able to maintain an active life longer, which means less burden on the country’s economy.
The already well back in 2011 , researchers at the Mayo Clinic have shown that the removal of defective cells of the body can significantly improve the health and longevity of rodents venerable age. In 2016 , similar results were obtained for mice in their prime . It all looked so impressive that a number of investors, including Amazon owner Jeff Bezos and PayPal founder Peter Thiel, offered scientists their money to develop the project. The bad news was that the technology suitable for mice could not be replicated with humans. So the new company Unity Biotech began to raise money for the production of drugs that could kill “bad” cells, but as safely as possible for humans.
The ethical side of the issue hints that full-fledged research on humans has not been conducted. These were mostly the same rodents or petri dishes, although one small study showed that senolytics can alleviate physical dysfunction. In any case, even if senolytics were miraculous as good, we would need a senolytic that solves age-related difficulties in a comprehensive manner. And none of what this is not yet ready to talk even the most optimistic of the researchers.
3D printers and the microbiome
It is true that scientists mostly talk about bioprinting in the context of transplantation : it is known that many people die while waiting for a donor, so the ability to print the right organ for each patient could solve the main problem of this area of medicine. On the other hand, the capabilities of 3D printers are good for slowing down the aging process. Simply because, in the main, death from old age occurs due to the fact that a vital organ wears out and stops working properly. And if it were easy to replace, the quality and life expectancy would definitely be higher.
And while the authorities are not printed on the stream, scientists pay attention to bacteria, fungi and viruses in our body, also known as the microbiome. All this, as shown by numerous studies , has a huge impact on what happens to the body. And yes, the rate of aging, obviously, too. Recent research on worms showed that the microbes at least linked to how well a living organism responds to those or other drugs, which, in turn, is directly related to life expectancy.
3 more ways to slow down aging:
INTERRUPTED POST Experiments have shown that mice practicing intermittent fasting (meals every other day, or intermittent fasting) live 30-50% longer than a group of mice on a traditional diet. In addition, the rodents from the first group at a certain age had fewer senescent cells than the rodents from the second group at the same age.
HEALTHY LIFESTYLE. No matter what innovative methods that slow down aging, scientists tell us , the most effective ( at least for now) will be the simplest and most familiar – healthy lifestyle . Investigation of 2014 the year showed that a special therapeutic program that includes self catering system, exercise, quality sleep, brain stimulation and some other techniques, has led to the improvement of memory in a patient with Alzheimer’s disease for three – six months.
RED WINE. It contains resveratrol , a chemical that causes the body to produce more proteins that contribute to cell survival. Research suggests that resveratrol helps prevent heart disease, while the antioxidants in red wine protect blood vessels from damage. However, the use of any types of risks of alcohol are high, and on this too does not forget.
Vampire therapy and freezing for the future
Sometimes, in an attempt to find the fountain of youth, scientists offer frightening and incredible options . The first of the methods is vampire therapy (or, more simply, young blood transfusion). One study found that patients with dementia who received plasma transfusions from donors between the ages of eighteen and thirty showed signs of improvement. At the same time, the American startup Ambrosia said that their specialists managed to improve the condition of a patient with Alzheimer’s disease after a blood transfusion. The scientific community, however, warns that the experiments were carried out without taking into account the placebo effect, which means that they can not be considered methodologically verified. In addition, the procedure itself, even if distracted from everything else, is fraught with significant risks, in particular, the ingestion of a deadly infection into the recipient’s body.
How about freezing? Proposals to inhibit aging by cryogenic freezing of the brain or body in order to restore them at that stage of the development of society, when appropriate technologies appear, have existed for a long time . And some companies already offer this option to their customers. The huge problem here is that one cannot say how promising it is, since so far not a single person (and not even a single brain) has come back to life from their ice storage.
The subtle benefits of old age
Interesting fact: in the mid-1800s, people lived on average for about forty years, and today the average life expectancy tends to eighty years. And although the jump is impressive, it is important to understand that this happened for a reason, but because of a significant reduction in the level of child and infant mortality, as well as thanks to the development of medicine that allows you to identify some potentially dangerous diseases at an early stage and cope with them before the onset of irreversible consequences.
According to the WHO, old age begins after sixty years. And in it, by the way, there are advantages, of which we seldom think. For example, research shows that older people are better at solving certain problems due to the “crystallized intelligence” gained through their life knowledge and experience. And they also have better sex , less migraines and sweating (a trifle, but nice, especially when we talk about a crowded metro). By the way, today’s centenarians are also healthier than ever before , and this is not can not be happy.