Alliance for Aging Research, Washington, DC, USA.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2010 Jun;1197:vii-x. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05394.x.
A rising tide of chronic age-dependent diseases, co-morbidities, and geriatric syndromes--a veritable Silver Tsunami--will soon present serious challenges for North America, Europe, Japan, and other industrialized nations. Meanwhile, a growing number of scientists, led by biogerontologists, maintain that the key to blunting the societal impact of large-scale decline and disability among older populations lies with better understanding and potential manipulation of biological mechanisms of aging itself. Well-characterized interventions that slow aging and extend health and vigor in animal models may be forerunners of technologies that preserve additional years of healthy productive life in humans. What will it take to validate these momentous insights from biogerontology and their potential applications for human populations? What are the points of resistance for key opinion leaders and policy makers? And how can biogerontologists make common cause with those outside the discipline to inform larger and more politically powerful audiences?
不断增加的慢性与年龄相关疾病、合并症和老年综合征——名副其实的银色海啸——将很快给北美、欧洲、日本和其他工业化国家带来严峻挑战。与此同时，越来越多的科学家，包括生物老年医学家在内，坚持认为缓解老龄化人口大规模衰退和功能障碍对社会造成的影响的关键在于更好地理解和潜在地操控衰老的生物学机制本身。在动物模型中减缓衰老、延长健康和活力的特征明确的干预措施可能是技术的先导，这些技术可以延长人类健康、富有成效的寿命。要验证这些来自生物老年医学的重大见解及其对人类群体的潜在应用，需要什么条件？关键意见领袖和政策制定者的阻力在哪里？生物老年医学家如何与该学科以外的人建立共同立场，以告知更多、更有政治影响力的受众？
