Why is “aging” an issue that is worth solving?

Aging is the single biggest risk factor for acquiring certain diseases. Now what’s worse than having a disease? Having multiple diseases! This is precisely what happens with age — it is called multi-morbidity.

The reason is simple: aging leads to damage accumulation in several tissues and organs, so that a disease emerges whenever the damage reaches a certain threshold. While accumulation of DNA mutations may cause cancer, decreased proteostasis may lead to neurodegenerative diseases, and as a result multiple diseases can occur around the same time.

Because of global demographic aging, a recent study from UK researchers predicted that multi-morbidity will double by 2035.

The current healthcare system is built to treat one disease at a time, raising healthcare costs as people keep developing additional diseases as they age. Besides the burden on healthcare costs, there is also a significant decrease in productivity and most importantly for those affected: a reduction in quality of life.

Solving “aging”, meaning the aging-associated deterioration of our bodies, would significantly reduce the health and social burden that will be aggravated by the impending rise in multi-morbidity.