Modest Inroads Into Reducing Mitochondrial Damage
As Wired notes, the old school drug development community is making some inroads into altering the level of age-related damage suffered by mitochondria, and thereby improving health. This is small potatoes compared to what will soon be possible, but inroads are inroads: "The drugs target mitochondria, the cellular power generators that provide our bodies with chemical energy. Over time, mitochondria accumulate damage, causing cells and eventually tissues to malfunction and break down. Some scientists believe that such seemingly disparate diseases as cancer, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, diabetes and heart disease - all of which become more common with age - share a mitochondrial root. Fix the mitochondria, and you might fix aging itself. Preliminary research suggests that mitochondria-rejuvenating drugs are capable, at least in lab animals, of halting these diseases and extending longevity." Unfortunately, more than just repairing mitochondria is required to sort out aging - a number of other classes of age-related biochemical damage are also important and must be addressed.
Link: http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2007/12/anti-aging-drug.html