Translating longevity research into healthspan

At the beginning of the 20 century the names of deadly childhood diseases were whispered in fear. Everyone knew a family visited by the shadow of tuberculosis, rickets, polio or smallpox. Chickenpox and rubella brought their own forms of misery. Each disease presented in different ways, affected different organs and had distinct prognoses. Many of us will remember the endless cycles of bake sales and charity runs aimed at raising funds to buy iron lungs for local children badly damaged by polio, and the strings of sanatoriums built for the isolation and treatment of tuberculosis. At the beginning of the 21 century, young parents are scarcely aware of the names of these conditions, never mind stress over their children contracting them. What happened? The germ theory of infectious disease provided the causal framework for the development of Erlich’s magic bullets, Fleming’s antibiotics and Salk’s vaccine. Society didn’t need more iron lungs or sanatoriums; it needed preventions and cures and it got them through investment in microbial, immunological and pharmaceutical research. At the beginning of the 21 century, the names of different deadly diseases are now whispered. Every family is visited by cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, heart disease, type 2 diabetes or stroke. Other conditions such as arthritis, macular degeneration and generalized frailty bring misery to millions of older adults and their families. Each disease presents itself in different ways, affects different organs and has distinct prognoses. The bake sales and charity runs are still with us; this time it’s not the children they intend to benefit. Our seniors are now the target and there is an urgency to combat these conditions as we are a rapidly aging population. Life expectancy is increasing at approximately two years per decade, with the increase in our elders greatest in the oldest old, the over 85 years group. As a consequence of our failure to develop treatments for the