Experts call for accelerated development of function-promoting therapies for older adults

Experts have identified a public health need in addition to strategic opportunities for the accelerated development of function-promoting therapies for older adults -; and present latest research on this topic in a supplemental issue of The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences inspired by a March 2022 workshop convened by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), a part of the National Institutes of Health.

The therapies addressed within the journal are those intended to forestall and treat functional limitations and physical disabilities related to aging and chronic diseases. Based on the opening article by Guest Editor Rosaly Correa-de-Araujo, MD, MSc, PhD, age-related lack of muscle mass, strength, and performance increases the danger of significant complications corresponding to mobility limitations, falls and fractures, lack of independence, disability, metabolic disorders, and mortality. Across 15 additional articles, other authors highlight challenges and opportunities for establishing latest function-promoting therapies, described as a “public health imperative.”

Correa-de-Araujo, who serves as a senior scientific advisor on the NIA’s Division of Geriatrics and Clinical Gerontology, said she sees a viable model within the recent response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which motivated efforts amongst various stakeholders -; multiple government agencies, the pharmaceutical industry, academic investigators, and others -; to rapidly and successfully develop latest vaccines.

In aging, similar complex and coordinated efforts will be taken to speed up the event of function-promoting therapies to handle the aging-related lack of muscle mass, strength, and performance and the resultant serious opposed effects on healthspan and quality of life. The knowledge shared on this special issue has the potential to facilitate such partnerships at national and international levels to handle a pressing public health need and to boost the health, functional independence, and quality of lifetime of older adults worldwide.”

Rosaly Correa-de-Araujo, MD, MSc, PhD