Aging Research
Scientists who study aging now generally agree that it is malleable and capable of being slowed. Rapid progress in recent years toward understanding and making use of this malleability has paved the way for breakthroughs that will increase human health in later life by opposing the primary risk factor for virtually every disease we face as we grow older—aging itself. Better understating of this “common denominator” of disease could usher in a new era of preventive medicine, enabling interventions that stave off everything from dementia to cancer to osteoporosis.Therapies that delay aging would lessen our healthcare system’s dependence on the relatively inefficient strategy of trying to redress diseases of aging one at a time, often after it is too late for meaningful benefit. They would also address the fact that while advances in lowering mortality from heart attack and stroke have dramatically increased life expectancy, they have left us vulnerable to other age-related diseases and disorders that develop in parallel, such as Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and frailty. Properly focused and funded research could benefit millions of people by adding active, healthy, and productive years to life. Furthermore, the research will provide insights into the causes of and strategies for reducing the periods of disability that generally occur at the end of life. As University of Michigan gerontologist Richard Miller aptly puts it, “The goal isn’t to prolong the survival of someone who is old and sick, but to postpone the period of being old and sick. Not to produce a lot more standard-issue 100-year-olds, but to produce a brand new kind of 100-year-old person.”
For a definition of aging research and additional background information, visit the Google Knol page created by the Alliance.
Related Events
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20th Annual Bipartisan Congressional Awards Dinner
September 17th, 2013, Washington, DC
Related Publications
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Document, TestimonyAlliance Calls for Increased NIH Appropriations in FY 2014
On March 15, 2013, the Alliance for Aging Research submitted testimony to the House Appropriations, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee, calling for $32 billion in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in FY 2014. To justify this increase, the Alliance highlighted important NIH-supported work administered through the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and other of the NIH's 27 Institutes and Centers. Particular attention was paid to advances in understanding the basic biology of aging and its link to chronic disease and the formation of a Geroscience Interest Group (GSIG) comprised of 20 Institutes and Centers to coordinate discussion and action across the NIH on research into the processes of aging that underpin most major age-related disease.
To read the Alliance's testimony, click here.
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Press ReleaseGrowing Burden of Persistent Pain Calls for More Medical Innovation
February 20, 2013
Related topics: Access to Breakthroughs Aging Research Cancer Federal Funding Health Medical Innovation Persistent Pain Policy ResearchCynthia Bens, Alliance for Aging Researchcbens@agingresearch.org, 202-293-2856
Penney Cowan, American Chronic Pain Assoc.pcowan@tehacpa.org, 916-632-0922
Nicole Grady, American Osteopathic Assoc.
ngrady@osteopathic.org, 312-202-8038
Paul Gileno, US Pain Foundation
uspainfoundation@gmail.com, 860-788-6062
Washington, D.C. – Today, the Alliance for Aging Research released a new volume of The Silver Book®: Chronic Disease and Medical Innovation in an Aging Nation. This latest addition to The Silver Book series paints a comprehensive picture of the burden of persistent pain, and the value of innovation that helps reduce that burden. The briefing--held in partnership with the American Chronic Pain Association, the American Osteopathic Association, and the US Pain Foundation--featured a medical expert, a pain patient, and leaders from the partnering organizations.
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Science in the SpotlightMuscle Loss & Aging: Combatting Sarcopenia and Lost Independence
Winter 2013 | Alliance for aging Research
Related topics: Access to Breakthroughs Aging Research Drug Development Geriatric Training HealthTypically, our muscles grow larger and stronger as we age. That is, until about the time we celebrate our 30th birthdays. That’s when most of us start down the other side of the hill and begin to gradually lose our muscle mass, strength, and function. While it’s usually not very noticeable in our 30s and 40s, the loss increases exponentially with age and tends to accelerate between the ages of 65 and 80.
This progressive loss of muscle mass is called sarcopenia, and it’s found to play a major role in the increased frailty, disability, and functional impairment that too often come with aging. While sarcopenia is a condition that is not uncommon with age, we don’t have to just sit back and accept it. There are things we can do to slow its progress, and current research promises to make that trip over-the-hill less traumatic.
