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Mid-old cells are a potential target for anti-aging interventions in the elderly

nature.com

11–20 of 121 posts

Re: Mid-old cells are a potential target for anti-aging interventions in the elderly

#12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If we understand the mechanisms of aging, perhaps we can reduce the health effects of aging. This might be an easier target than increasing overall life expectancy. Thus reducing the impact on society of caring for seniors. As I understand it, the metabolic rate in most people is pretty good and constant until about 60 and starts to drop off. I would be happy with a treatment that provides good strong health from 60…

There is a social issue around death that is quite complex. A wish for a sudden peaceful death at a certain old age is not an easy one. Family, doctors, society and laws should be aligned on this. Right now the norm (at least in the Netherlands) is too keep a person alive as long as reasonably possible.

Not sure why you are getting downvoted, maybe due to wording, anybody old enough knew/knows some people around him who are stuck in this and suffer. My wife is a doctor here in Switzerland, and yes the idea of having nice easy retirement health wise is mostly a pipe dream. But its oftne families themselves, ie here its typical that Italian families will always ask for prolonging life of a patient as much as possible even if its clear there is no way back and its just constant coma decline. Subtle evils of religions in the real world.

Its rather a constant management of ever increasing problems ranging from small to massive ones, and eventually losing either gradually or suddenly. Absolutely no dignity from the system.

Switzerland at least has enough sanity to allow assisted suicide so all world rich and powerful come here to die. As rather strict christian country that's what showing actual respect looks like.

Re: Mid-old cells are a potential target for anti-aging interventions in the elderly

#13
post #4

[flagged]

Ironically, anti-aging treatment would likely make people less grumpy and reduce load on healthcare. Doesn’t address the wealth inequality issue though, which is suspect is your main gripe.

> Ironically, anti-aging treatment would likely make people less grumpy and reduce load on healthcare.

Anti-aging treatment would be healthcare, and except in the short-term would increase the load on the rest of healthcare outside of its own costs.

Re: Mid-old cells are a potential target for anti-aging interventions in the elderly

#14
post #4

[flagged]

Exactly right. This is a total waste of time, and this effort should be spent on something more productive and useful for humanity, such as improving advertising technologies and preventing people from blocking or ignoring advertisements.

As someone who develops for a large tech company and would like to join the effort to defeat aging, where should I start?

Re: Mid-old cells are a potential target for anti-aging interventions in the elderly

#15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ironically, anti-aging treatment would likely make people less grumpy and reduce load on healthcare. Doesn’t address the wealth inequality issue though, which is suspect is your main gripe.

> Ironically, anti-aging treatment would likely make people less grumpy and reduce load on healthcare. Anti-aging treatment would be healthcare, and except in the short-term would increase the load on the rest of healthcare outside of its own costs.

The effect you're speaking of is real, but extremely unlikely to apply to anti-aging. There are statistics showing apparently paradoxical effects, like smoking and obesity reduce overall healthcare - because people simply die sooner from heart disease.

Age is different. Look at health expenses per decade - the difference is like night and day. Most people in their 20s and 30s don't even visit a hospital. The healthcare expense for most of them can simply be rounded to zero. Some time in the 60s things change dramatically (health degradation is supralinear with age). So if you manage to push back the health of seniors to, for example, their 50s, you pretty much solve healthcare permanently.

Re: Mid-old cells are a potential target for anti-aging interventions in the elderly

#16

[flagged]

I'll never understand this particular mindset. I mean, I can get _some_ of the fallacies involved. Pure envy. Scope insensitivity. But it just doesn't explain it for me.

People buying high end audio gear have disposable income and spend obscene amounts of money on their hobby, and yet they get at most mild ridicule. Old people wanting _not to die_ get hate.

How do people even get here?

Re: Mid-old cells are a potential target for anti-aging interventions in the elderly

#17

[flagged]

I'll never understand this particular mindset. I mean, I can get _some_ of the fallacies involved. Pure envy. Scope insensitivity. But it just doesn't explain it for me. People buying high end audio gear have disposable income and spend obscene amounts of money on their hobby, and yet they get at most mild ridicule. Old people wanting _not to die_ get hate. How do people even get here?

It's also shortsighted. You might never develop a taste for high end audio gear. But you certainly will age and die. Unlike many things it's a problem that affects every single one of us.

Re: Mid-old cells are a potential target for anti-aging interventions in the elderly

#18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a social issue around death that is quite complex. A wish for a sudden peaceful death at a certain old age is not an easy one. Family, doctors, society and laws should be aligned on this. Right now the norm (at least in the Netherlands) is too keep a person alive as long as reasonably possible.

Not sure why you are getting downvoted, maybe due to wording, anybody old enough knew/knows some people around him who are stuck in this and suffer. My wife is a doctor here in Switzerland, and yes the idea of having nice easy retirement health wise is mostly a pipe dream. But its oftne families themselves, ie here its typical that Italian families will always ask for prolonging life of a patient as much as possible…

I don’t know about the role of religion here. Not taking a position here in either direction, but given how suicide has a social contagion component to it, it’s not surprising that societies develop social norms against allowing any form of it. Sure, it’s dehumanizing and potentially cruel to the individual, but it can have a protective effect at societal scale. Then you need to evaluate the benefits to the individual against the benefits to society and that’s always hard because the latter is amorphous and even harder to quantify. Any religious component could be more of a post hoc rationalization to make it more acceptable / enforce the resolve of the members of society when they come face to face with this situation.

Re: Mid-old cells are a potential target for anti-aging interventions in the elderly

#19
post #4

[flagged]

> We don't need more old grumpy people hoarding wealth and overloading healthcare.

So you are pro anti-aging. If our 90 year olds are as springy as our 20 years olds they are certainly not grumpy or overloading healthcare.

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