Healthy Lifespan Extension is the clinical and scientific goal of increasing the healthspan, which is the duration of life spent in good health and functionally free from chronic, debilitating disease. This crucial focus is central to modern longevity medicine, prioritizing sustained vitality, functional independence, and a high quality of life well into advanced age. It represents a significant paradigm shift from merely managing disease to proactively optimizing health across the entire life course. The ultimate aim is to compress the period of morbidity at the end of life.
Origin
This term is a cornerstone of geroscience and biogerontology, making a clear distinction between quantitative life extension and qualitative life extension. It gained widespread prominence as research demonstrated that targeted interventions could significantly delay the onset of age-related diseases. The ethical and practical origin lies in the desire to make late life functionally robust, active, and enjoyable.
Mechanism
The primary mechanisms targeted for extension involve intervening in the nine recognized hallmarks of aging, such such as mitigating cellular senescence, improving mitochondrial function, and maintaining proteostasis. Hormonally, this includes sustaining optimal endocrine signaling to support continuous tissue repair and metabolic health. Lifestyle and pharmacological interventions work synergistically to reinforce these intrinsic maintenance systems, thereby delaying the onset of age-related chronic conditions like cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
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