The Emergence of Geroscience as an Interdisciplinary Approach to the Enhancement of Health Span and Life Span

Abstract

Research on the biology of aging has accelerated rapidly in the last two decades. It is now at the point where translation of the findings into useful approaches to improve the health of the elderly population seems possible. In trying to fill that gap, a new field termed geroscience will be articulated here that attempts to identify the biological underpinnings for the age-dependency of most chronic diseases. Herein, I will review the major conceptual issues leading to the formulation of geroscience as a field, as well as give examples of current areas of inquiry in which basic aging biology research could lead to therapeutic approaches to address age-related chronic diseases, not one at a time, but most of them in unison.

Figure 1.

Aging is the major risk factor for most chronic diseases. CVD, Cardiovascular disease; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; CKD, chronic kidney disease.

Figure 2.

The main pillars of geroscience research. Aging physiology results from multiple interconnections among these pillars, including “other biology,” to indicate our incomplete knowledge about the process.