When it comes to researching and developing treatments for aging, there are various approaches to consider. The Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS) focuses on repairing damage caused by aging, such as removing senescent cells and restoring mitochondrial function. On the other hand, programmed aging viewpoints look at altering evolved programs that drive aging. In a new perspective called juventology, researchers explore the study of youth as a means to understand and prolong youthful life. While calorie restriction has shown promise in slowing aging, the long-term goal is to engineer metabolism for even greater effects. While the damage repair approach offers near-future goals, juventology presents new possibilities in understanding longevity programs and interventions that extend lifespan without adverse effects.
This paradigm shift in research opens up new avenues for investigating ways to extend lifespan by inducing alternate survival phases rather than just combating oxidative stress. For instance, exploring the interplay between nutrient availability and longevity programs in model organisms reveals a complex network of cellular responses and strategies that challenge conventional aging theories. By activating regenerative and rejuvenating processes through target-specific pharmaceuticals or periodic fasting, organisms can achieve a longer healthspan and lifespan, even in accelerated aging phenotypes. Juventology takes the focus away from the dysfunction and high morbidity associated with old age, shifting it towards maximizing organismal functions during periods of low morbidity and mortality. By studying how evolution has created efficient disease prevention mechanisms in the first 40 years of life, juventology offers a new perspective on extending healthspan and lifespan through dietary and pharmacological interventions.
Overall, juventology provides complementary strategies to traditional biogerontology approaches by focusing on maintaining cellular “youthspan” and functional periods in a biological younger state. By understanding and activating alternative longevity programs through approaches like periodic fasting and calorie restriction, researchers can potentially prolong healthspan and address age-related dysfunction more effectively.
