Prospects for postponing human aging.
The postponement of human aging is a long-standing aspiration in many cultures, particularly non-Western ones. Renewed interest in this goal is now being shown within the biomedical research context. This interest has probably arisen because several different approaches have yielded dramatic increases in mean and maximum life span in laboratory organisms. Among the cases where aging has been postponed in animal models are the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, the common lab fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, and the dietarily restricted rodent, both Mus and Rattus. These successes raise the question of whether similar postponement of aging might be achieved in humans. Among the broad research strategies available, five can be delineated: 1) random testing of favorite interventions; 2) searching for genes that can postpone aging among all or most species; 3) study of in vitro mammalian cell cultures; 4) study of dietarily restricted mammals; and 5) selecting mammals for postponed aging. Although all these methods could conceivably lead to the postponement of human aging, they are very different from each other with respect to their degree of uncertainty, cost, and delay.
Rose
M R
MR
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine 92717.
Nusbaum
T J
TJ
D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008136:Longevity; D008954:Models, Biological; D051381:Rats