UNDERSTANDING THE BIOLOGY OF AGING - THE KEY TO PREVENTION AND THERAPY

OBJECTIVE: To review recent progress and consider future approaches fo r basic research on aging with clinical applicability. DATA SOURCES: P eer-reviewed publications on experimental gerontology and geriatrics. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION: Studies were selected that descri bed experimental approaches in gerontology and geriatrics, starting wi th the evolutionary basis of aging, through theories trying to explain its major causes, to novel experimental approaches, e.g., computer in formatics, protein chemistry and genetics. DATA SYNTHESIS: Our increas ed understanding of the evolutionary basis of aging has made it possib le to consider a number of experimental strategies more rationally. Mo st theories on the causes of aging involve some kind of somatic damage that accumulates with age, the rate of which is determined by environ mental, genetic, and behavioral factors. The recent emergence of more powerful methodology offers new possibilities for identifying basic me chanisms of aging, which would increase our understanding of biologica lly based susceptibility to age-related health problems. CONCLUSIONS: There is a growing awareness that age-related deterioration will affec t an ever growing number of people, in both absolute and relative term s. It can be expected that this will further increase the resources th at will be made available for research on aging. Although ultimately u navoidable, aging is a process that appears to be experimentally acces sible. Therefore, the mechanisms of senescence and death may eventuall y be more completely understood, with the promise of preventing and/or delaying many of the adverse effects associated with aging, including most of the common diseases, and possibly also of extending lifespan.