Healthcare today is reactive, retrospective, bureaucratic and expensive. This is nursing, not health care. However, this is destined to change. Scientists who are serious about aging, life extension and healthcare are working to change the entire $ 3 trillion system. Let's take a look at what aging is and how emerging technologies and initiatives will work to combat the nine vices of human health.
Why the healthcare system isn't working
The healthcare system in the world - let's not take individual countries - is broken and does not work. That's why:
- Doctors spend $ 210 billion a year on procedures that are not based on patient needs but on fear of responsibility.
- Americans spend on average $ 8,915 on healthcare - more than any other country on earth.
- Prescription drugs are about 50% more expensive in the United States than in other industrialized countries.
- At current rates, by 2025, nearly 25% of US GDP will be spent on healthcare.
- 12 years and $ 359 million, on average, it takes to get a new drug from the lab to a patient.
- Only 5 of 5,000 of these new drugs are being tested in humans. Of these, only 1 in 5 is approved for human use.
We live in the healthiest time in human history
With all this, when compared with other periods of human existence, there is nothing to complain about. But the problems concern the whole world, not an individual country, but significant progress has been made.
- Countries with the lowest life expectancy still have higher life expectancy than countries with the highest expectation in 1800.
- In 1841, a 5-year-old child had an expected life of 55. Today, a 5-year-old can expect to live 82 years - that's 27 years more.
- The life span of people is increasing. In 1845, a newborn could expect to live up to 40 years of age. But at the age of 70, one could only live to be 79 years old. Today, people of all ages can expect to live between 81 and 86.
- 100 years ago, 1 in 3 children died before the age of 5. In 2015, child mortality fell to 4.3%.
- Cancer deaths have dropped by 27% over the past 25 years.
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Nine mechanisms of aging
Life expectancy, health care, and aging are closely related.
With better healthcare, we can better treat some of the leading causes of death that affect our lifespan.
As we learn how to treat diseases, we inevitably understand better what causes these diseases in the first place, and this is directly related to why we age.
Below are nine hallmarks of aging.
Genomic instability. As we age, our environment and normal cellular processes wreak havoc on our genes. Flying at high altitude, for example, exposes us to increased radiation or free radicals. This damage gets worse over the course of life and is known to accelerate aging.
Telomere depletion. Every strand of DNA in the body (known as a chromosome) is closed off by telomeres. These short pieces of DNA, repeated thousands of times, are designed to protect most of the chromosome. Telomeres shorten as our DNA multiplies; if telomeres reach a certain critical length, the cell stops dividing, which leads to an increase in the incidence.
Epigenetic changes. Over time, environmental factors change how genes are expressed, that is, how certain DNA sequences are read and a set of instructions is executed.
Loss of proteostasis. Over time, various proteins in our body stop folding and functioning as they should, leading to diseases ranging from cancer to neurological disorders.
Unregulated nutrient uptake. The level of nutrients in the body can influence various metabolic pathways. The affected portions of these pathways include proteins such as IGF-1, mTOR, sirtuins, and AMPK. Changes in the levels of these proteins affect lifespan.
Mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitochondria (our cellular powerhouses) lose performance as we age. Decreased performance leads to excessive fatigue and other symptoms of chronic diseases associated with aging.
Cellular aging. With age, cells stop dividing and cannot be removed from the body. They build up and lead to severe inflammation.
Depletion of stem cells. With age, our stock of stem cells begins to decrease by a factor of 100 - 10,000 in different tissues and organs. In addition, stem cells undergo genetic mutations that reduce their quality and efficiency in the renewal and restoration of the body.
Altered intercellular communication. The communication mechanisms that our cells use are disrupted as cells age, resulting in a reduced ability to exchange information between them.
What conclusions can be drawn?
Over the past 200 years, we have seen many medical technologies contribute to massive increases in life expectancy.
Exponential technologies like artificial intelligence, 3D printing and sensors, as well as tremendous advances in genomics, stem cell research, chemistry, and more, are beginning to solve fundamental problems of why we age.
Ilya Khel