New Technological Innovations That Could Make Living to 100 More Probable

Highlights

• Remarkably, some sources project that 5-year-olds today will have about a 50% chance of living to 100.
• A combination of health diagnostics, large-scale data integration, and the emergence of new medications and therapies for longevity may enable this leap in projected lifespan.
• AI (artificial intelligence) is being used to enable and drive the development of these technological advancements in the longevity field.

Imagine having physiological markers of aging measured and monitored daily, taking a pill that slows your cellular processes of aging, and having an AI personal longevity assistant. Such a scenario may become the new reality in the next decade, extending human life without a debilitating disease and perhaps lifespan beyond our present reality.

All of this falls in line with global projections suggesting that present-day five-year-olds have about a 50% chance of living to 100, something that could also apply to present-day adults. Additionally, while there are about 700,000 people 100 years of age or older, the UN projects that there may be 25 million of these people by the year 2100.

What could facilitate these advancements in the extension of healthy years and lifespan is a combination of new health diagnostics, data integration and analysis, and the emergence of new medications and other therapeutics that promote longevity. Notably, AI will likely propel the development and refinement of these advancements. Moreover, combining these longevity-focused technological advancements with beneficial lifestyle choices, like eating a well-balanced diet, exercising, and getting sufficient sleep, could provide a roadmap to living past 100.

Some New Innovations Described

As reported in a news piece, at the Digital Health Pavilion at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, some of these new innovative advancements currently available, and some that will become available in the future, were showcased. At the CES, several experts tracking the development of these longevity science innovations also provided insight related to their emergence.

“This year, there were almost 100 exhibitors that self-identified that they are in the longevity space,” said René Quashie, Vice-President for Digital Health at Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the organizer of the show.

More specifically, some of these innovations included the Ultrahuman RING AIR, a wearable device that tracks sleep using high-resolution audio analysis to track snoring and potential respiratory issues. Another featured device, the Ascentiz modular exoskeleton, provides knee and hip support to boost mobility and reduce fatigue.

According to Quashie, one of the major innovative trends includes precision healthcare that attempts to proactively prevent the emergence of healthcare issues. Such precision healthcare advancements will rely on large quantities of data and AI, leading to personalized predictive care. With advances in genetics, the detection of aging markers, and AI-based analytics, health risks can be identified, and interventions tailored to each individual can be applied.

Another trend that Quashi pointed to was continuous patient care through wearable devices that connect to diagnostic software for remote patient monitoring. An example of this kind of technology is ElliQ, an AI-powered, proactive companionship robot designed to help seniors combat loneliness, while also reminding them to take medicine and recording health metrics like blood pressure.

With the ability to collect large amounts of health data with these kinds of devices, some doctors predict that longevity science is at a pivotal moment. Along these lines, large troves of health data may help drive targeted therapeutics for the promotion of longevity, possibly extending lifespans at some point.

“The tools that are coming out will allow us to digest the huge proliferation of data that is available,” said Rafid Fadul, MD, a Washington-based physician. “We want to be able to take all of those insights to create a whole new category of tests, leading to solutions on the cellular level. What’s around the corner, for example, is the ability to compare an individual’s prostate cancer with millions of data points from others of the same age and same stage. It will lead to a personalized subset of therapeutics that will be given to the individual.”

FDA-Approved Drugs for Longevity

Dr. Nir Barzilai, MD, PhD, a professor of medicine and genetics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, has been tracking the effectiveness of new drugs that also impact longevity. In that regard, there may be some in existence that extend human lifespan.

“There are four drugs that are FDA approved that also happen to be longevity drugs,” said Dr. Barzilai. “In preclinical trials, we want to show that if we put the drug in cells, it changes the biology of aging. When the drugs are given to animals, they live healthier and longer lives. Clinical studies need to show that they prevent other age-related diseases than the diseases they were intended to treat, and all-cause mortality (death, rather than disease-specific mortality).”

The four FDA-approved drugs that Dr. Barzilai talks about are metformin, SGLT2 inhibitors like Farxigia, GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro, and bisphosphonates like zolendroic acid. For a more detailed explanation of these drugs, metformin is a diabetes medication used to lower blood sugar levels; SGLT2 inhibitors are drugs for diabetes meant to remove excess blood sugar through excretion via the urine; GLP-1 drugs regulate blood sugar, reduce appetite, and promote weight loss; and bisphosphonates are used to strengthen bones. According to Dr. Barzilai, these four types of drugs have been shown to delay aging in animal models. Dr. Barzilai has also expressed excitement about the idea that these drugs may extend human lifespan in the future.

“Right now, potential life expectancy is around 120,” he said. He went on to add that he believes aging researchers will one day find a way to extend human lifespan beyond 120 years.

Dr. Barzilai has also spent time studying 850 people, 100 years of age or older, of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, individuals who share exceptionally close DNA inheritance patterns. In these individuals, he has sought to determine what genetic factors might contribute to their long lifespans. In doing so, he has uncovered evidence that genetics is a key contributor to living an exceptionally long life, and has started an effort to develop drugs that may replicate some of the longevity-enhancing characteristics of long-lived people. Developing these genetics-based drugs may help others live to 100 or beyond, too.

“One is a drug from Merck…” he explained. “We’ve already seen that it has some benefit for improved cognitive function.”

A New Age with Lifespan-Extending Therapeutics and Drugs, Developed with AI-Powered Analytics

Some of the experts at the CES say we are now entering a new golden age of medicine. In this new age, we may soon have all of the preventative tools necessary for significant human lifespan extension at our disposal. It is now up to clinicians and patients to take advantage of and pursue all of the longevity-focused innovations available. The prospect of living to 100 may depend on it.