Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy

, Volume 9, Issue 1, pp 87–96 | Cite as

Life Extension Research: An Analysis of Contemporary Biological Theories and Ethical Issues

Scientific Contribution

Abstract

Many opinions and ideas about aging exist. Biological theories have taken hold of the popular and scientific imagination as potential answers to a “cure” for aging. However, it is not clear what exactly is being cured or whether aging could be classified as a disease. Some scientists are convinced that aging will be biologically alterable and that the human lifespan will be vastly extendable. Other investigators believe that aging is an elusive target that may only be “statistically” manipulatable through a better understanding of the operational principles of systems situated within complex environments. Not only is there confusion over definitions but also as to the safety of any potential intervention. Curing cell death, for example, may lead to cell cancer. The search for a cure for aging is not a clearly beneficial endeavour. This paper will first, describe contemporary ideas about aging processes and second, describe several current life extension technologies. Third, it analyses these theories and technologies, focusing on two representative and differing scientific points of view. The paper also considers the public health dilemma that arises from life extension research and examines two issues, risk/benefit ratio and informed consent, that are key to developing ethical guidelines for life extension technologies.

Keywords

biological aging ethical issues informed consent life extension technologies public health risk/benefit ratio theories of aging 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Banks, D.A., Fossel, M. 1997‘Telomeres, Cancer and Aging: Altering the Human Life Span’Journal of the American Medical Association27813451348CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  2. Bonneux, L. 1998‘The Expiry Date of Man: A Synthesis of Evolutionary Biology and Public Health’Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health52619623PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  3. Brandt, A.M., Rozin, P. 1997Morality and HealthRoutledgeNew YorkGoogle Scholar
  4. Butler, R.N. 2000‘“Anti-Aging” Elixirs’Geriatrics5534Google Scholar
  5. Callahan, D. 1994‘Aging and the Goals of Medicine’Hastings Center Report243941PubMedGoogle Scholar
  6. Cassel, C.K. 2001‘Successful Aging: How Increased Life Expectancy and Medical Advances are Changing Geriatric Care’Geriatrics563539PubMedGoogle Scholar
  7. Davidow-Hirshbein, L. 1999‘Masculinity, Work and the Fountain of Youth: Irving Fisher and the Life Extension Institute, 1914–31’Canadian Bulletin of Medical History1689124Google Scholar
  8. Davidow-Hirshbein, L. 2001‘Popular Views of Old Age in America, 1900–1950’Journal of the American Geriatrics Society4915551560CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Grey, A.,  et al. 2002‘Is Human Aging Still Mysterious Enough to Be Left Only to Scientists?’BioEssays24667676CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  10. Ettinger, B.,  et al. 1998‘Overview of Estrogen Replacement Therapy: A Historical Perspective’Proceedings of the Society of Experimental Biology and Medicine21725Google Scholar
  11. Fagagana, A.F.,  et al. 1999‘Functions of Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerase in Controlling Telomere Length and Chromosomal Stability’Nature Genetics237680Google Scholar
  12. Freedman, B.,  et al. 1992‘Demarcating Research and Treatment: A Systematic Approach for the Analysis of the Ethics of Clinical Research’Clinical Research40653660PubMedGoogle Scholar
  13. Fulop, T. 2000‘Biogerontological Research in Canada’Experimental Gerontology35271289CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  14. Garrett, L. 2001‘The Collapse of Global Public Health and Why It Matters for New York’Journal of Urban Health78403409PubMedGoogle Scholar
  15. Gems, D. 2003‘Is More Life Always Better? The New Biology of Aging and the Meaning of Life’Hastings Center Report333139PubMedGoogle Scholar
  16. Gershon, H., Gershon, D. 2000‘Paradigms in Aging Research: A Critical Review and Assessment’Mechanisms of Ageing and Development1172128CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  17. Glannon, W. 2002‘Identity, Prudential Concern, and Extended Lives’Bioethics16266283CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  18. Glannon, W. 2001Genes and Future PeopleWestview PressCambridge, MAGoogle Scholar
  19. Grimley-Evans, J. 2000‘Ageing and Medicine’Journal of Internal Medicine247159167CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  20. Groopman, J.: 2002, ‘Hormones for Men’, The New Yorker 2002–07–22Google Scholar
  21. Hall, W.J. 2000‘The Doctors of Time’Annals of Internal Medicine1321824PubMedGoogle Scholar
  22. Heard, A.: 1997, ‘They Want to Live’, The New York Times Magazine 1997–09–28, pp. 84–88Google Scholar
  23. Hekimi, S., Guarente, L. 2003‘Genetics and the Specificity of the Aging Process’Science29913511354CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  24. Hekimi, S.: 2003, What Genetics Tells Us About the Nature of Aging. Life Extension Technology Workshop, McGill University (April 11–12, 2003)Google Scholar
  25. Holden, C. 2002‘The Quest to Reverse Time’s Toll’Science29510321033CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  26. Houck, J.A. 2003‘“What Do These Women Want?” Feminist Responses to Feminine Forever, 1963–1980’Bulletin of the History of Medicine77103132PubMedGoogle Scholar
  27. Jazwinski, S.M. 2002‘Biological Aging Research Today: Potential, Peeves and Problems’Experimental Gerontology3711411146CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  28. Juengst, E.,  et al. 2003‘Biogerontology, Anti-Aging Medicine, and the Challenges of Human Enhancement’Hastings Center Report332130PubMedGoogle Scholar
  29. Juengst, E. 2002‘Growing Pains: Bioethical Perspectives on Growth Hormone Replacement Research’Journal of Anti-Aging Medicine57379CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  30. Kirkwood, T.B.L. 2000‘Molecular Gerontology: Bridging the Simple and the Complex’Annals of the N.Y. Academy of Sciences9081420CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  31. Kirkwood, T.B.L. 1997‘The Origins of Human Ageing’Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B35217651772CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  32. Levy, D.L. 1999‘Venerable Ancestors: Strategies of Ageing in the Chinese Novel The Story of the Stone’Lit. Ageing354SIII13SIII16Google Scholar
  33. Longo, V.D., Finch, C.E. 2003‘Evolutionary Medicine: From Dwarf Model Systems to Healthy Centenarians?’Science29913421346CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  34. Mangel, M. 2001‘Complex Adaptive Systems, Aging and Longevity’Journal of Theoretical Biology213559571CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  35. Martensen, R.L. 1995‘The Emergence of Old Age as a Scientific Struggle’Journal of the American Medical Association27419071908Google Scholar
  36. Miller, R.A. 2002‘Extending Life: Scientific Prospects and Political Obstacles’Milbank Quarterly80155174CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  37. National Institute on Aging (NIA): 2001, In Search of the Secrets of Aging. Accessed at: www.nia.nih.gov/health/pubs/secrets%2Dof%2Daging/p5.htmGoogle Scholar
  38. Partridge, L., Gems, D. 2002‘Mechanisms of Ageing: Public or Private?’Nature Reviews: Genetics3165175CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  39. President’s Council on Bioethics (PCBE): 2003, Beyond Therapy: Biotechnology and the Pursuit of Happiness. Chapter 4, Washington, DC: Ageless BodiesGoogle Scholar
  40. Shapin, S. 2000‘Descartes the Doctor: Rationalism and Its Therapies’British Journal for the History of Science33131154CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  41. Shapin, S., Martyn, C. 2000‘How to Live Forever: Lessons of History’British Medical Journal32115801582PubMedGoogle Scholar
  42. Stipp D.: 1999, Hell No, We Won’t Go. Fortune 1999–07–19, pp. 102–108Google Scholar
  43. Strehler, B.L. 1977Time, Cells and AgingAcademic PressNew YorkGoogle Scholar
  44. Sudbery, P. 1999Human Molecular GeneticsLongmanLeedsGoogle Scholar
  45. Tri-Council Policy Statement on Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans. Accessed at: www.nserc. ca/programs/ethics/english/policy.htmGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer 2006

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Biomedical Ethics UnitMcGill UniversityMontrealCanada

Personalised recommendations