AGING: THE LONGEVITY DIVIDEND

Aging is one of the greatest challenges currently facing society. People are living longer than ever, but many of the later years are fraught with frailty and disease, placing an enormous burden on health-care systems. Understanding the biological changes that occur during aging and developing strategies to address them are therefore urgently needed.
Written and edited by experts in the field, this collection from Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine examines the biological basis of aging, strategies that may extend health span, and the societal implications of delayed aging. Contributors discuss genetic variants that accelerate or protect against aging, biochemical pathways that modulate longevity (e.g., mTOR), biological consequences of aging (e.g., decline in stem cell function), and various animal models used to study aging processes. They emphasize that age-delaying interventions will yield greater health and vitality than disease-specific treatments. Drugs that may promote health span or longevity (e.g., metformin) and efforts to prevent and treat frailty (e.g., through exercise) are explored.
The authors consider the socioeconomic benefits and costs of delayed aging and also outline directions for future research and translational efforts. This volume will serve as a vital reference for all involved in the fields of geroscience and geriatric medicine, as well as anyone wishing to understand physiological processes that generate health and disease, regardless of chronological age.

Authors
• S. Jay Olshansky, University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Public Health.
• George M. Martin, University of Washington.
• James L. Kirkland, Mayo Clinic.

Contents
Foreword
Preface
INTRODUCTION
The Emergence of Geroscience as an Interdisciplinary Approach to the Enhancement of Health Span and Life Span
• PART I: BASIC MECHANISMS OF BIOLOGICAL AGING
The Role of the Microenvironmental Niche in Declining Stem-Cell Functions Associated with Biological Aging
Biochemical Genetic Pathways that Modulate Aging in Multiple Species
DNA Damage, DNA Repair, Aging, and Neurodegeneration
How Research on Human Progeroid and Antigeroid Syndromes Can Contribute to the Longevity Dividend Initiative
Dissecting the Mechanisms Underlying Successful Human Health Span and Life Span
The Companion Dog as a Model for the Longevity Dividend
• PART II: CLINICAL AND TRANSLATIONAL ASPECTS OF AGING
Translating the Science of Aging into Therapeutic Interventions
Interventions for Human Frailty: Physical Activity as a Model
The Aging Heart
Inhibition of the Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin (mTOR)—Rapamycin and Beyond
Metformin: A Hopeful Promise in the Aging Research
• PART III: SOCIETAL IMPLICATIONS OF DELAYED AGING
Articulating the Case for the Longevity Dividend
The Economic Promise of Delayed Aging
Past, Present, and Future of Healthy Life Expectancy
Has the Rate of Human Aging Already Been Modified?
Index