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Tag: healthspan

  • Interventions for Slowing, Stopping, or Reversing Aging and Extending Healthspan

    In the past century, human life expectancy has significantly increased, with over 20% of the world’s 9 billion population expected to live beyond the age of 60 by 2050. Recent research has shown promising results in slowing down aging and extending healthy lifespans (healthspans) n various organisms, from yeast to non-human primates, through interventions that can be classified into lifestyle modifications (lifestyle medicine)and pharmacological or genetic manipulations. 

    Several genetic pathways have been identified as key regulators of aging and lifespan, making them potential targets for anti-aging therapies. Currently, research is focused on developing compounds that mimic calorie restriction, induce autophagy, and enhance cell regeneration, as well as epigenetically modulating gene activity. These anti-aging agents offer exciting opportunities for the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. Here, we explain the aging process and introduce some bioactive compounds that could benefit healthy aging and the potential role of lifespan extension.

    In this blog post, we will delve into the properties of slow aging and healthy lifespan extension found in natural products derived from diverse biological sources, endogenous substances, pharmaceuticals, and synthetic compounds. We will explore the mechanisms of targets for anti-aging assessment and discuss bioactive compounds that offer benefits in the context of healthy aging, as well as their potential role in extending life span.

    What is Aging?

    Aging is a universal, evolutionarily conserved process that affects almost all living organisms, characterized by multisystem tissue dysfunction and the development of age-related diseases. However, aging is a modifiable process, with interventions available to extend life, improve health, and treat diseases in various organisms. These findings hold immense significance in biomedicine, as they offer the potential for groundbreaking improvements in health.  

    Aging can be viewed as the progressive reduction of hemodynamic space, with survival being a continuous struggle between biochemical damage and repair. Various molecular, cellular, and biochemical pathways and networks determine an organism’s survival and lifespan. Age-related changes, such as hormonal declines and immune system remodeling, may not necessarily be detrimental and could be adaptive responses. Stress can also have both beneficial and detrimental effects, depending on factors like frequency, intensity, and duration, as well as energy expenditure and metabolic disorders.

    Anti-Aging vs Healthy Aging – or: Lifespan vs Healthspan

    This understanding of aging has shifted the focus from “anti-aging” interventions to “healthy aging.” We must move away from disease-oriented research and adopt health-oriented prevention strategies to achieve healthy aging aka longevity. Contrary to the notion that aging is an inevitable part of human nature, numerous interventions have shown promise in slowing aging and increasing healthy lifespan across various organisms, from yeast to non-human primates. Interventions can be categorized into lifestyle changes, such as caloric restriction and exercise, and pharmaceutical/genetic regulation, encompassing a wide range of molecules, including natural products, endogenous substances, approved drugs, and synthetic compounds. There is substantial evidence suggesting that aging interventions can delay and prevent the onset of chronic diseases in adults and older adults, and may safely and effectively extend the healthy lifespan of humans.

    Aging Mechanisms

    Over the past two decades, several genetic pathways have been identified as key regulators of the aging process and lifespan. As a result, genes within these pathways have emerged as attractive and potential targets for anti-aging therapies. Currently, numerous anti-aging drugs are being developed, targeting various aging mechanisms, including calorie restriction mimics, autophagy inducers, putative cell regeneration enhancers, and epigenetic regulators such as DNA methyltransferase and histone deacetylase inhibitors. While evidence on the overall health benefits of these compounds remains limited, epidemiological studies have begun to explore the long-term consequences of exposure to these compounds on human health. Although not yet ready for human trials, further research is warranted, particularly in the context of age-related diseases and conditions. Initial trials should focus on safety and tolerability, using a small number of subjects and a short duration, to provide early insights into promising compounds and potential candidates for more extensive aging studies.

    The Aging Industry

    For centuries, the pursuit of rejuvenation and youth maintenance has been a topic of scientific interest. In recent decades, this interest has accelerated the emergence of the anti-aging industry. This area of biomedical research remains a subject of debate. According to estimates, the economic impact of delayed aging and increased healthspan in the United States is projected to be around $7 trillion over the next 50 years. China’s health industry, including anti-aging products, has grown significantly, with a market size exceeding $1.3 trillion annually and an average annual growth rate of over 10%. By 2050, it is projected that the annual size of the health industry will surpass that of the United States, reaching $3.5 trillion, with the anti-aging industry also growing considerably. This presents a massive opportunity for the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries to discover new drug targets based on biogerontology.

    Evaluating Aging

    Conducting clinical trials to evaluate the anti-aging potential of conventional drugs is a challenging task. Older patients often have multiple diseases and are taking multiple medications, leading to drug-drug interactions and comorbidities that make it difficult to assess the full range of effects of these drugs, whether beneficial or adverse. Additionally, the lack of reliable and detectable biomarkers to measure the effectiveness of anti-aging interventions is another significant challenge. To overcome these obstacles, initial trials should be designed to treat age-related diseases and conditions, with a small cohort, short duration, and primary focus on safety and tolerability. Once promising candidates are identified, longer or more detailed studies can be conducted to focus on anti-aging outcomes.

    The criteria for evaluating potential anti-aging drugs include:

    1. A drug that extends the lifespan of a model organism, preferably a mammal.
    2. A drug that delays or prevents age-related diseases in mammals.
    3. A drug that inhibits the senescence transition of cells from quiescence to senescence.

    These criteria may overlap, and if an intervention aims to extend lifespan, it must also retard diseases associated with aging.

    Slow Down, Stop, Reverse Aging

    Many plants and fungi, consumed as food, beverages, and spices, contain natural anti-aging compounds that can extend the lifespan of model organisms. These active molecules regulate cellular and physiological pathways affected by calorie restriction (CR) and exercise, mimicking the effects of CR by reducing insulin/IGF-1 signaling and activating autophagy and other stress-resistance mechanisms. These natural products not only increase lifespan but also improve health and quality of life by reducing the development of chronic diseases, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegeneration.

    Anti-Agent Agents

    In the table below you find natural products, endogenous substances, drugs, and synthetic compounds that could provide benefits in the aspect of healthy aging and the potential role of healthspn extension. We will discuss their specific benefits in our upcoming posts.

    Natural products
    Astaxanthin, Curcumin, Morphine, Nordihydroguaiaretic Acid NDGA, Rapamycin, Resveratrol, Sappanone A, Spermidine, Tambulin, Urolithins, Ursolic Acid, Coenzyme Q10, Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, Quercetin, Caffeic Acid, Rosmarinic Acid, Genistein, EGCG, Protandim, Chicoric Acid, Tyrosol, Fisetin, TA-65, Procyanidins

    Endogenous Substances
    Alpha-ketoglutarate, Oxaloacetic Acid, Dehydroepiandrosterone DHEA, 17α-Estradiol, S-Linolenoyl Glutathione, Melatonin, Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide NAD+, Nicotinamide Riboside NR, Nicotinamide Mononucleotide NMN

    Drugs
    Acarbose, Aspirin, (−)Deprenyl, Metformin, Minocycline, Statins, Celecoxib, Doxycycline, Enalapril, Metoprolol, Nebivolol

    Synthetic Compounds
    Nitrons, Pyridoperimidine Derivatives

    Various strategies exist for using these anti-aging agents, including dietary supplements, increasing the intake of foods rich in these molecules, and consuming probiotics and prebiotics to raise blood levels of these molecules. Several nutrients and natural compounds have been linked to increased lifespan in humans, suggesting that these strategies may be feasible for slowing aging and increasing healthspan. Plant and fungal molecules with anti-aging properties in model organisms may also lead to the discovery and identification of new bioactive compounds for the development of improved CR mimetics to slow human aging. 

    In addition to those mentioned above, many other compounds have been reported to show anti-aging activity, such as acetic acid, allicin, apigenin, aspalathin, berberine, capsaicin, catalpol, celastrol, garcinol, huperzine, hydroxycitrate, inositol, naringin, piceatannol, and piperlongumine. 

    These natural products, endogenous substances, drugs, and synthetic compounds are being evaluated and many of them should find their way to consumers as micronutrition. We will discuss their specific benefits in our upcoming posts.

  • The Great Longevity Misconception

    Fountain of youth, eternal life, immortality – most people associate longevity with these terms. But at its core it is about something else: the goal of longevity is not the maximization of quantitative lifespan, but the highest possible quality of life. Healthspan instead of lifespan is at the center of longevity research and development. Once this misunderstanding has been cleared up, there is nothing to be said against longevity – all people want to be able to enjoy life as long as possible, healthily, and actively.

    When Harvard University research biologist and epigeneticist David Sinclair titled his 2019 debut book and subsequent bestseller Lifespan – Why We Age, and Why We Don’t Have To, he probably calculated a contradiction to that effect. His research, however, like that of most scientists in the field, is primarily aimed at keeping the human organism healthy for as long as possible. A lifestyle influenced by many epigenetic factors strengthens the body’s immune system, thereby reducing the risk of disease and slowing down the aging process. This epigenetic influence subsequently leads to a higher life expectancy, which, however, is the result of a lifestyle optimized by research findings, but not the primary goal. Man’s highest good is his health – and maintaining this for as long as possible is the endeavor of longevity research.

    The Longevity Trend

    The term longevity has been on everyone’s lips for a few years now: alternating with quantum computing and AI, longevity takes the lion’s share in the technology and innovation categories of the media. Billionaires are founding and promoting start-ups and research centers, pharmaceutical companies are opening longevity divisions, doctors’ surgeries are transforming into “well-aging” centers and an already unmanageable variety of longevity supplements are wooing the inclined consumer. There is no shortage of longevity offers – only the selection of the right product, the best possible treatment or the most sensible lifestyle change presents the individual with a challenge. People interested in longevity who want to positively influence their healthspan sooner rather than later must currently either dive deep into the relevant research reading and become longevity experts, or follow general advice from the media or their circle of friends.

    The Missing Data Problem

    What is missing is individualization, i.e. personalized advice on lifestyle adjustments, taking supplements, or more advanced longevity applications, such as blood plasma cleansing or reprogramming of body cells. To achieve such individualization, it is necessary to collect and process a large amount of health data – provided by as many genetically and epigenetically different people as possible, including the effects of the epigenetic lifestyle adjustments to be studied. Without this data, no sufficiently precise statements can be made about the effectiveness of longevity products, treatments, and lifestyles. Today, such data are only sporadically available, measured in small non-representative groups of humans, or – in larger numbers – animals (mostly mice). As long as this data gap exists, only cautious and general statements can be made about the effectiveness of longevity approaches, but by no means are precise statements tailored to the individual.

    Longevity – Individual and Personal

    The data described must therefore first be procured. Procurement takes a long time and is typically very time-consuming and expensive. With NOMIX, we are facing exactly this Herculean task: We are convinced that we have developed a well-suited method to obtain and analyze data on the current health conditions of as many different people as possible and their changes depending on longevity measures. The data is collected via our BIOCOACH app and supplemented via additional measures such as blood samples, etc. Interested BIOCOACH users take part in regularly conducted studies and tests in which longevity measures and their effects on the participants are collected. All data flows into CODIS, the collective digital immune system. Here, the data is analyzed on the basis of current longevity research with the help of artificial intelligence. The results are presented to the users of the BIOCLOCK app as individualized longevity advice. The BIOCOACH offers each user her personal longevity lifestyle and accompanies her in optimizing her longevity strategy.

    AI-supported Longevity Strategies

    The CODIS database is built up and delivers a higher evaluation quality with increasing data volume with regard to the resulting longevity factors. At the start of the BIOCOACH app, therefore, only general advice can be given – the BIOCOACH does not yet operate at an individualized level. The more people use the BIOCOACH App and the more actively the individual users participate in studies and tests, the faster this level will be reached. In addition, many users can also significantly improve their lifestyles with more general advice, so that the NOMIX team assumes individually perceptible successes of BIOCOACH App use for the individual right from the start.

    The BIOCOACH app will be launched in 2024 – interested users can register on our NOMIX website to participate in the app test in a closed user group. We look forward to seeing you!

  • What Is Longevity?

    The word “longevity” is sometimes used as a synonym for “life expectancy” in demography. At NOMIX, the term longevity refers only to especially long-lived, and healthy, members of a population, whereas life expectancy is defined statistically as the average number of years remaining at a given age. Longevity is best thought of as meaning ‘typical length of life’. 

    Since most theories in this field, s.a. the disrepair accumulation theory of aging, postulate that the potential for longevity of an organism is positively correlated to its structural complexity, and we human beings belong to the most complex mammals, we are widely considered to have a naturally limited longevity due to aging, which results in a life expectancy of 80-85 years for millennials in developed countries.

    The United Nations has made projections up to 2300, at which point it projects that life expectancies in most developed countries will be between 100 and 106 years and still rising, though more and more slowly than before. Gaps in life expectancy between rich and poor countries may well not exist in the future, due to the exchange of technology and the industrialization and development of poor countries, similarly to the way life expectancies between rich and poor countries have already been converging over the last 60 years as better medicine, technology, and living conditions became accessible to most people. 

    “The possible existence of a hard upper limit, a cap, on human lifetimes is hotly debated,” write Léo Belzile and coauthors in a paper to appear in Annual Review of Statistics and Its Application. “It is sustained and widespread interest in understanding the limit, if there is any, to the human lifespan.” Their own re-analysis of previously incorrectly analyzed data on extreme lifetimes indicates that any longevity cap would be at least 130 years and possibly exceed 180. And some datasets, the authors report, “put no limit on the human lifespan.” These analyses “suggest that the human lifespan lies well beyond any individual lifetime yet observed or that could be observed in the absence of major medical advances.”

    However, recent increases in the rates of lifestyle diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease, may eventually slow or reverse this trend toward increasing life expectancy in the developed world.