'First Baby Step' Toward Anti-Aging Drug

RadishRose

RadishRose

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Experimental med may help immune system fight elderly related diseases
WebMD News from HealthDay

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 24, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers could be closing in on a "fountain of youth" drug that can delay the effects of aging and improve the health of older adults, a new study suggests.

Seniors received a significant boost to their immune systems when given a drug that targets a genetic signaling pathway linked to aging and immune function, researchers with the drug maker Novartis report.

The experimental medication, a version of the drug rapamycin, improved the seniors' immune response to a flu vaccine by 20 percent, researchers said in the current issue of Science Translational Medicine.

http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/...s-take-first-baby-step-toward-anti-aging-drug
 

Isn't it interesting that even while experts are pointing to the longer life of baby boomers putting a strain on jobs and medical care and senior care and lamenting the drag it has on the economy, you have people being totally supportive of stopping or at least slowing the aging clock. In the region I live in, it's not uncommon at all to see 60+ year olds, manning the cash at Walmart or rushing around in the 'kitchen' of McDonalds. Where are our young folks going to get that job experience position (McDonalds especially) if the old folks who are living so much longer have to keep working because most of the remaining jobs aren't paying well enough to support life and family and saving up for retirement?

Maybe instead of funding for research into finding the 'fountain of youth', there should be a whole lot more emphasis on teaching people that their lifestyle choices, i.e. food, activity, choices, etc, are going to have a profound effect on their senior years and how they're feeling rather than giving one more lesson that 'the doctor's got a pill for you'.
 
"The Doctor's got a pill for you". You are 100% correct. Overpopulation is the 800lb. gorilla lurking in the corner....and people are wanting to live longer??? Already, half the people on this planet are living in some level of poverty, and the numbers climb every year. In the late 1990's the UN released a study that said the optimum sustainable human population is about 5 billion. We are well past 7 billion and headed for 9 billion by mid-century. Between overpopulation and Climate Change, humans are headed, full speed, for a brick wall.

Every time some drug company comes out with a new "Ask Your Doctor" miracle drug, it isn't very long before the lawyers are getting rich off their Class Action lawsuits as these drugs side effects begin to take their toll. Genetics and life style choices play the major part in how long a person lives, and how well their health holds up in retirement. We can't control genetics, but the major share of our heath care problems and costs are caused by poor habits....just look at the billions spent every year on the "side effects" of Obesity.

Besides, if we can believe the teachings of religion, those who have tried to live a decent life will be going to a better place. Only those who have been total Bast***'s need to fear the fires of Hell.
 

Don M. said:
"The Doctor's got a pill for you". You are 100% correct. Overpopulation is the 800lb. gorilla lurking in the corner....and people are wanting to live longer??? Already, half the people on this planet are living in some level of poverty, and the numbers climb every year. In the late 1990's the UN released a study that said the optimum sustainable human population is about 5 billion. We are well past 7 billion and headed for 9 billion by mid-century. Between overpopulation and Climate Change, humans are headed, full speed, for a brick wall.

Every time some drug company comes out with a new "Ask Your Doctor" miracle drug, it isn't very long before the lawyers are getting rich off their Class Action lawsuits as these drugs side effects begin to take their toll. Genetics and life style choices play the major part in how long a person lives, and how well their health holds up in retirement. We can't control genetics, but the major share of our heath care problems and costs are caused by poor habits....just look at the billions spent every year on the "side effects" of Obesity.

Besides, if we can believe the teachings of religion, those who have tried to live a decent life will be going to a better place. Only those who have been total Bast***'s need to fear the fires of Hell.
Click to expand...

Interestingly and I'm sure you've thought this, people (generally speaking) seem to think that global population control and finite resources is a goofy idea. Is it another form of 'the doctor will have a pill' only applied to the 'sickness' of too many people and finite resources?

I was listening to David Suzuki talk tonight and he used the example of a bacteria in a closed jar. And in the first minute, the bacteria had doubled in number, and they thought it was great, lots of room, lots of food! But in the second minute, it doubled again and then doubled again and again, etc. And by the 59th minute, the bacteria suddenly realized that there was no more room and that when they doubled again, it would be game over because there was no more food, no more water, no more room.... He said that humanity as it stands now, has passed the 59th minute and the only way we won't terminate ourselves was if we change fundamentally, everything we do and learn to live in a harmonious relationship with the planet. It was a very good documentary.

So living a conscious life where we are aware of the impact of our lives on this system that we are a part of not only includes how we deal with garbage and waste and pesticides and so on, but also on how we treat our bodies! You and I are in agreement there. Although I did listen to a documentary on how the toxins in our environment are actually changing our DNA which may be an additional cause of the obesity rates. If you were interested, just look up obesogens.

PS, personally, I'm pretty sure there's no hell so we'll all have to learn some other reason for being good, like ...... being good for the sake of being good:rolleyes:
 
Good posts Debby. Humans are usually pretty good at adapting, but we will 'have to get our skates on' and deal with the situation.Wars and natural disaster see off a lot of us, but since medicine and health has improved so much in the West, real solutions have to be found to either limit our population growth or to deal with it's consequences.
 

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