The Biological Basis of Ageing

摘要

An important issue identified at various stages in the workshop was the difficulty in distinguishing between research into the causes of ageing, and research into the causes of specific diseases associated with ageing. Indeed, there is no satisfactory definition of ageing which is not, in some way, predicated upon the increased probability of disease development as the organism moves through time. This difficulty impacts directly upon the public perception of ageing research, which in general is negative. Concern is often expressed about the desirability of extending life if the added years are a period of disability and disease. Yet gerontologists, in the main, argue that this is not their intention. Instead they identify their goal as being to understand the biological ageing process and to identify risk factors for age-associated pathology, in order to provide a scientific knowledge base that might be exploited to secure a higher quality of life in later years. Successful interventions against age-related diseases might have important social and economic benefits for individuals and society.