Interventions to Slow Aging in Humans: Are We Ready?

The workshop entitled 'Interventions to Slow Aging in Humans: Are We Ready?' was held in Erice, Italy, on October 8-13, 2013, to bring together leading experts in the biology and genetics of aging and obtain a consensus related to the discovery and development of safe interventions to slow aging and increase healthy lifespan in humans. There was consensus that there is sufficient evidence that aging interventions will delay and prevent disease onset for many chronic conditions of adult and old age. Essential pathways have been identified, and behavioral, dietary, and pharmacologic approaches have emerged.

BMP-2 immobilized on nanocrystalline diamond-coated titanium screws; demonstration of osteoinductive properties in irradiated bone.

Background: Irradiation results in impaired bone healing. Thus, osteosynthesis procedures are afflicted with increased failure rates. To improve osseointegration bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) immobilized on nanocrystalline diamond (NCD)-coated implant surfaces might be 1 solution.

The use of genetically engineered model systems for research on human aging.

A major goal in the field of aging research is to identify molecular mechanisms of aging at the cellular level, which are anticipated to form the basis for the development of age-associated dysfunctions and diseases in human beings. Recent progress in research into model organisms of aging has allowed determining precise molecular mechanisms and genetic determinants of the aging process, which appear to be conserved in evolution and some of which apply to human aging as well. The consortium of the authors focuses on aging mechanisms at the cellular level, and exploits the potential of genetic analyses in lower eukaryotic model organisms for a better understanding of regulatory pathways implicated in aging processes.