The quest to legitimize longevity medicine (MIT)

RapAdmin · March 20, 2024, 9:58am

Longevity clinics offer a mix of services that largely cater to the wealthy. Now there’s a push to establish their work as a credible medical field.

On a bright chilly day last December, a crowd of doctors and scientists gathered at a research institute atop a hill in Novato, California. It was the first time this particular group of healthy longevity specialists had met in person, and they had a lot to share.

The group’s goal is to help people add years to their lifespans, and to live those extra years in good health. But the meeting’s participants had another goal as well: to be recognized as a credible medical field.

For too long, modern medicine has focused on treating disease rather than preventing it, they say. They believe that it’s time to move from reactive healthcare to proactive healthcare. And to do so in a credible way—by setting “gold standards” and medical guidelines for the field. These scientists and clinicians see themselves spearheading a revolution in medicine.

Eric Verdin directs the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, which hosted the meeting. “We will look back in 20 years at this meeting as really the beginning of a whole new field of medicine,” Verdin told attendees. Referring to the movement as a “revolution” would be an understatement, he said. “We can write new rules on how we treat patients.”