Can you really reverse ageing? UAE doctors cut through the longevity hype and what extends lifespan
At this point, you might just believe that ageing is sold in bottles. A pharmacy can almost feel like a enchanted apothecary, with colourful bottles promising to reverse your biological clock. Hello boosters, powders, supplements and everything that sounds like it belongs on a chemist’s roster. It all comes under the increasingly popular term ‘longevity’. But speak to doctors and the picture is a…
The world seems captivated by the idea of ageing reversal, with pharmacies full of colorful bottles promising a younger biological clock. However, doctors caution that the reality is far less magical. Instead of miracle molecules, the focus lies on blood pressure, exercise, and restful sleep. While doctors may not fully agree on every aspect of longevity, they do agree on the core principles.
Longevity medicine is not about simply adding years to life but extending the years lived in good health. It aims to increase the health span – the years of life with physical, mental, and functional capacity. The goal is to identify and modify biological and clinical factors that contribute to diseases such as cardiovascular, metabolic, musculoskeletal, and neurodegenerative disorders before significant functional decline occurs.
This approach is rooted in the geroscience hypothesis, which suggests that tackling shared mechanisms behind multiple age-related diseases may be more effective than treating each one separately.
Biological-age tests, including DNA-methylation and telomere testing, provide estimates of ageing-related mortality and disease risk. However, routine measures such as blood pressure, cholesterol, HbA1c, kidney function, body composition, and fitness are often more clinically useful. These tests can offer valuable insights into how key physiological systems are functioning.
However, ageing occurs across multiple biological systems, so a layered picture should be built, including clinical and phenotypic biomarkers, cardiorespiratory fitness, body composition, muscle strength, cognitive assessment, and epigenetic clocks.
Written by urgent.news from Gulf News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
