Researchers have long struggled to find a reliable way to accurately determine biological age or the rate of aging. This makes developing new treatments to slow down aging very difficult and time-consuming. Until now, studies have often taken years, even in mice. As a result, discovering effective methods to stay healthy longer is slow and costly.
Scientists are now proposing a new method that could speed up the process. They have looked at existing large animal studies that slowed down aging. In doing so, they found common changes in biochemistry and metabolism in mice that remained healthy for longer. Such metabolic signals could serve as measuring instruments to assess the pace of aging more quickly.
This approach focuses primarily on therapies that stimulate cells through stress responses to repair and maintain themselves, such as calorie restriction or substances that appear to have that effect. However, it remains uncertain whether these measurement points are also useful for other forms of treatment, for example based on stem cells or the clearance of damaged cells.
A quick and reliable measure of biological age could accelerate much research. This helps in developing new ways to promote healthy aging and thus maintain a good quality of life for longer.
Source: Reason
