Doctors suggest treating aging, not diseases

Today’s medicine is simple: if you get sick, we treat a specific disease. But what if we approach the problem differently and try to influence the aging mechanism itself? After all, it is he who triggers most serious ailments.

This strategy is proposed by researchers from the USA. They are confident that if biological aging is slowed down, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer and many other pathologies can be postponed or even prevented altogether.

The key idea of geroscience is that our body has a biological age that does not always coincide with the number of years it has lived. This age can be measured by the work of cells and molecules — and, perhaps, learn how to influence it.

Scientists are already testing in practice how old drugs can find new life. For example, metformin, a well-known anti-diabetes drug, shows the ability to slow down some aging processes. Another example is GLP—1 drugs, which help with obesity and mimic the effect of dietary restrictions associated with longevity.

There is also a more futuristic option: senolitics. These drugs target zombie cells – damaged cells that do not divide, but continue to exist, causing inflammation and tissue destruction. Getting rid of them can reduce the risk of age-related diseases.

The authors emphasize that none of the drugs has yet been officially approved specifically for the fight against aging. But clinical trials are underway, and in the coming years we may see a real revolution in medicine.