Kment A, Hofecker G, Skalicky M, Niedermüller H
Fortschr Med. 1980 Jan 24;98(3):75-80.
The high average life expectation in the civilized and industrial countries can be attributed to a considerable extent to the achievements of the medical sciences. However, medical research also has the task of providing the physiological basis which will ensure that the extra years do not mean just an extension of the period of senility but instead form a period valuable for the individual and society. In accordance with the common definitions, one expects a "geriatric agent" (geriatricum) to slow down the aging process or to diminish its effects. Such influences are usually referred to as revitalization. However, a rejuvenation in the sense of a genuine reversal of the aging process is--according to our present knowledge--not possible. An objective assessment of revitalising effects can be reached by means of multivariate models of biological age, orientated on the aging process of a "normal population". However, research on human beings causes methodical difficulties and considerable expense because of the necessity for long-term studies and the importance of assessing psycho-social factors. Thus, it is necessary to test the effectiveness of "geriatric agents" primarily in the animal experiment. The laboratory rat seems well-suited for such studies. Using a multivariate model of the biological age of the rat, research into experimental influences on the aging process is demonstrated. The statistical testing and the analysis of the effects are carried out by means of discrimination analysis and factor analysis. With regard to the "geriatric agents" at present in use and the aims of experimental gerontology, it is established that such research has not yet been carried out to a satisfactory extent.
文明国家和工业化国家较高的平均预期寿命在很大程度上可归因于医学科学的成就。然而，医学研究还有一项任务，即提供生理基础，以确保这些额外的岁月并不只是意味着衰老期的延长，而是对个人和社会都有价值的时期。根据通常的定义，人们期望一种“老年药物”（geriatricum）能够减缓衰老过程或减轻其影响。这种影响通常被称为恢复活力。然而，就我们目前的知识而言，真正逆转衰老过程意义上的返老还童是不可能的。通过以“正常人群”的衰老过程为导向的生物年龄多变量模型，可以对恢复活力的效果进行客观评估。然而，由于需要进行长期研究以及评估心理社会因素的重要性，对人类的研究存在方法上的困难和相当大的费用。因此，有必要主要在动物实验中测试“老年药物”的有效性。实验室大鼠似乎很适合这类研究。利用大鼠生物年龄的多变量模型，展示了对衰老过程的实验影响的研究。通过判别分析和因子分析对效果进行统计检验和分析。就目前使用的“老年药物”以及实验老年学的目标而言，已确定此类研究尚未达到令人满意的程度。
