We are living longer today than ever before. Life expectancy for an American recently hit a record 78.8 years; other countries are seeing similar increases in longevity.
This is great news, but it also means that we live in greater fear of decline that often accompanies old age. For most people, the fear is the sharpest stuff mental decline.
The fear is understandable, especially since the possibility is not as remote and most of us would want. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of irreversible dementia in people 65 and older, affects approximately 5 million Americans. Alzheimer’s Association predicts that number could triple by 2050. (1)
But some new drug therapies have offered hope that it could be on the way treatments that can stop or even reverse Alzheimer’s disease. The biotechnology company Biogen made headlines recently with the announcement of the latest experimental treatment that performed better than expected first trials. The drug showed a statistically significant effect on slowing cognitive decline and reduce amyloid plaque, deposits of protein in the brain that are believed to be one of the main causes of the disease is. Tau protein, another factor that researchers at the Mayo Clinic recently proposed may be even more critical, is the target for several drugs in development by Biogen and other companies. (2)
These recent drugs are not the only sign of progress. A few years ago, a biomedical engineer and neuroscientist at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles shown some success with attempts to use neural prostheses – silicon chips designed to mimic the ability of nerve cells to work signals the brain. The idea is to eventually restore the ability to create new memories for those who have lost it due to decay or trauma. Some scientists Alzheimer’s are also shifting the focus of their research on the ApoE protein, which serves unknown function in the brain and is very tied to the risk of early-onset Alzheimer’s. Gene therapy can also offer great promise in the fight against the disease. While a cure, or even a full understanding of, Alzheimer’s has not yet come, these developments offer strong hope that it is a question of when, not if, it will.
But even the world completely free of Alzheimer’s was not a perfect world for those living and increasingly extends beyond our survival. Other diseases can also cause dementia, including Parkinson disease and dementia, neither of which are now back. Older adults are also at risk of developing depression, which can go undiagnosed and may be exacerbated by isolation and loneliness.
There are other physical ailments that can ultimately prevent most people refs time of extreme old age of living independently, even if they are lucky enough to avoid mental deterioration of any kind. Older adults often lose mobility and dexterity, making daily activities difficult; they can also experience impaired vision, hearing or both. Walking, cook, care for personal hygiene and housework can all become too much to handle – and this is by giving up the car keys, voluntarily or otherwise. Accidents, especially falls, becoming more risk and can suddenly pull independence.
Treatments to stop the cognitive decline will be a great boon for the aging population, but they will not be the only solution to create the ninth or tenth of our decade. We are going to need a lot more care, especially affordable in-home care, where by far the most convenient and economically efficient solution to the needs that arise in a longer life is to be in a familiar environment. We should also have plans in place with our loved ones well before impair mental or physical abilities will be a problem. And we will need social outlets, too, to ensure that we do not find ourselves cut off from the outside world that we live in the last few years. Some of them are problems to tackle as individuals, but many of them that we must address together as a community.
We know a lot about how to live longer, and we are learning more all the time. Now we need ways to live those extra years more. Medical science will return part of the answer; social sciences will provide the rest.