The list of diseases that mankind has managed to defeat is impressive: polio, typhoid fever, measles, tetanus, yellow fever, smallpox and diphtheria have been completely eradicated on most continents. Vaccines and powerful drugs have enabled our species to fight off bacteria, parasites and viruses that are poised to kill us. The more we learn about our illnesses, the better we control them. When will we be able to overcome the most inevitable of ailments: old age?
Aging is the only disease that has not yet been avoided. As we age, our cells stop working properly and break down, leading to cancer, heart disease, arthritis and Alzheimer's. Aging-related diseases collectively kill 100,000 people every day, and people spend billions trying to slow their bodies' relentless march.
Some scientists, however, believe that we are thinking wrongly about these diseases. They say we must treat aging as a disease - a disease that can be prevented and cured.
Their hopes are based on recent discoveries that suggest biological aging can be completely prevented and treated. From a biological point of view, the body ages at different rates, depending on genetic and environmental factors. Tiny bugs accumulate in our DNA and cells and begin to develop various ailments that can accumulate in the form of tissue damage. The extent of these changes over time can mean the difference between healthy old age and bedridden and chronic disease-ridden old age.
Scientists hoping to change all of this are at the forefront of modern medicine. At the same time, there are a number of research centers around the world that are identifying ways to prevent biological aging. Animal studies have shown that the lifespan of certain species can be significantly extended, and this gives hope for a repeat of the same in humans.
One of the diabetic drugs, metformin, was able to extend the lifespan of rodents. In the early 1990s, Cynthia Kenyon, now vice president of aging research at Calico Labs, demonstrated that roundworms could live six weeks instead of nature's three by changing just one letter in their genetic code.
One of the leaders of the anti-aging movement in the world of scientists, Aubrey Dee Gray, explains how people could live longer. Dee Gray is the Chief Scientist at the SENS Research Foundation, which focuses on research in regenerative medicine and healthy life extension. He explains that the foundation's goal is to develop a suite of healing practices and therapies for a middle-aged and older person that will help them achieve the physical and mental equivalent of a thirty-year-old. “Without erasing the memory, of course,” he adds.
Dee Gray says they want to "fix what they don't like about the changes that go from age 30 to 70." There are seven biological factors that primarily destroy cells, which leads to aging and entails the development of age-related diseases.
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For example, tissue cells are not renewed quickly enough; or when cells proliferate uncontrollably, as in cancer; when they do not die on time, which also causes cancer; mitochondrial DNA damage; accumulation of debris in the cage; waste accumulates outside the cell; strengthening of the lattice structure outside the cells - the extracellular matrix that allows tissues to stretch and bend.
De Gray and his team at the Sens Research Foundation say they have identified solutions to all of these problems with therapies they are developing.
“The solution to the first problem of not having enough cells is stem cell therapy,” says De Gray. It provides a fresh supply of young cells to replace those that have died during aging. Other problems, such as when cells do not die, but should, may require more complex solutions.
“In principle, we could use gene targeting to inject suicidal genes - genes that will express cells that make cell-killing proteins,” says De Gray. The trick is to engineer genes so that they will only express a lethal protein if the cell's growth pattern is doing more harm than good.
De Gray doesn't believe these approaches will definitely end aging, but they could give the patient 30 extra years of life. He envisions a future in which “rejuvenation technologies” will be applied to the elderly, turning their cells into young cells, giving them more time. The idea is to extend the life of a 60-year-old by 30 years, for example. But because the treatments do not provide permanent results, after 30 years the cells will return to their 60-year state.
By then, Dee Gray hopes that the therapy can be reapplied, a "second version" will emerge, turning the same cells back into young cells. As a result, human cells will not be 60 years old until they are 150 years old.
Of course, such statements must be made with caution. There is no experimental evidence that our bodies should respond to this "software update." As with computers, too many updates can overwhelm our bodies.
But De Gray believes this mindset, which he calls "senile trance," is holding back the development of anti-aging technologies. The problem is that we culturally accept aging as inevitable, and attempts to mitigate the damage caused by aging are often seen as a panacea and quackery.
And he is not the only one who believes that age-related diseases can be overcome. George Church, a geneticist at the Harvard School of Medicine, says that while some of his colleagues have argued that many age-related diseases are so complex that they cannot simply be treated, he believes that thinking is wrong.
“If you can control the environment and genetics, you can give people healthy and long life,” Church says. "In developed countries, most diseases are age-related, and I think they can be overcome."
Among the well-known approaches to increasing lifespan is a seemingly eerie procedure called "vampire therapy". Senile dementia patients who received plasma transfusions from young donors aged 18-30 showed signs of improvement. Patients with early Alzheimer's disease regained the ability to bathe or dress independently and perform other household tasks.
While this trial is still underway, American startup Ambrosia is already offering elderly patients the chance to receive blood transfusions from young donors for $ 8,000 per visit. The company says these transfusions can improve the performance of lethargic cells in older adults, as well as darken hair and treat early Alzheimer's symptoms. However, the words of the startup have yet to be confirmed by research and to eliminate the placebo effect.
There are also several studies in animals that suggest there may be a biological basis for such treatment effects. In 2013, scientists from the Harvard Stem Cell Institute showed that muscle strength in mice could be increased by a growth factor found in young blood, but the results could not be replicated. It is also argued that the key to longevity lies in reducing calorie intake.
But can death be "cured"? There have long been proposals to do this by cryogenically freezing a person's brain or body immediately after death, so that they can be revived later, when the technology becomes sufficiently successful. Some companies even allow wealthy clients to preserve their bodies, such as the Alcor Life Extension Foundation. However, so far no one has been raised from the dead.
Some suggest achieving immortality by uploading consciousness. On the whole, these ideas seem more fantastic than real. And even if human life can be extended by tens or even hundreds of years, this will inevitably lead to serious social consequences. Some worry that immortality will lead to wild overpopulation and our planet will not be able to withstand the stress.
De Gray himself says that he is often asked about whether these technologies will be abused by wealthy tyrants, using the benefits of medicine in the name of immortality; also ask questions about whether we will get bored with living forever.
He doesn't have much time to ponder these questions, and De Gray believes other technologies - artificial meat, water desalination, solar power and other renewable sources - will increase the carrying capacity of life on the planet and allow people to live longer and happier lives.
At one time, such fears thwarted the early makers of vaccines and antibiotics. Unsurprisingly, they will get in the way of those who want to break the cycle of life and death. Advances in medicine over the past two hundred years have taught us that we have the power to fight disease. Perhaps we can overcome old age.
Ilya Khel