"The National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health at the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, was established to help improve the health and well-being of older people through research. Biology of Aging: Research Today
for a Healthier Tomorrow describes some of NIA’s exciting findings about the basic biology of aging and points to directions for future investigation.
Imagine if doctors were able to reverse age-related, chronic degeneration and bring the body back to its original health and vigor. While far too early to know if regenerative medicine will ever be a reality, research on stem cells opens up the possibility.
Many questions about stem cell (and induced pluripotent cell) therapy need to be answered: Do older adults have enough stem cells for this type of therapy or do they need to be donated from someone else? Would creating stem cells from an older person’s skin cells work? Would stem cell therapy restore health and vigor to an older person or only work in a younger person? How would stem cell therapy work on the cellular level—would stem cells replace the non-functioning cells or would they reactivate and repair the damaged cells? Would stem cell therapy work in all areas of the body, or only in some areas?
While many questions remain, the prospect of regenerative medicine could have important implications for the treatment of many degenerative diseases."