The center is located within the National University Health System (NUHS). The centre’s mission, led by co-directors Professor Brian Kennedy and Professor Andrea Meyer, is to extend healthy lifespans by slowing aging, increasing disease-free life and maintaining high functioning.
This is done by developing biomarkers to measure aging, testing interventions to slow aging, and creating implementation strategies to extend healthy lifespan.
The center is also researching the potential of dietary supplements to support healthy longevity through preclinical and clinical trials.
talk to NutraIngredients – Asia, Professor Mayer, who is also the Ng Chiu Seng Professor of Medicine, Healthy Aging and Dementia Research at the National University of Singapore (NUS), said the center will explore the protective potential of dietary supplements such as multivitamins, AKG and vitamin C in the elderly. He said he was testing. So far it’s NMN.
Research published in gero scienceLast February, we found that NMN supplementation can increase nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) concentrations and is safe and well-tolerated at doses up to 900 mg per day.
30 o’clockthand 60thThe increase in walking distance on the day of the study was also significantly higher in the intervention group receiving 300 mg, 600 mg, and 900 mg of NMN compared to the placebo group.
Future research at the center will assess the need for NMN supplementation among individuals and, if necessary, what is the optimal dose and frequency of NMN ingestion for clinically meaningful changes in NAD+ levels. It is to evaluate whether
Another trial being conducted is the ABLE study, also known as the “Alpha Ketoglutarate Supplementation Reduces Biological AgE in Middle-Aged Adults” study. This study involves middle-aged adults who are healthy but biologically older compared to their chronological age.
Dr. Meyer said supplements studied in human clinical trials always need to be proven in animal studies first.
“We always focus on supplements that are proven in animal studies.
“We are currently conducting an ABLE study using alpha-ketoglutarate. Alpha-ketoglutarate has been shown to have positive effects on the brain, heart, and muscles, and to change various physiological systems in the body. We know, this is an effect seen at least in animal models and has been proven to have positive effects on the human body in observational studies. It is possible to become younger.
“We’re currently testing it in a randomized controlled trial to see if that’s really true and if people with AKG are also biologically younger.”she said.
The center also plans to test the use of multivitamins and minerals in a large-scale study.
“We always start by writing up what the literature review says, what still needs to be known, and what advice we offer individuals. And based on that literature review, we We are conducting specific clinical trials.”
Chronological age, which is the number of years you’ve been on Earth, and biological age, which is how quickly you’re aging compared to other people, are two important indicators of aging.
Biological age can be measured by examining your microbiome, glycan age, epigenetic clock, etc.
The epigenetic clock is a mathematically derived age estimate based on a combination of methylation values that change with age at specific CpGs in the genome. It is widely used to measure the age of tissues and cells.
Consumers, self-monitoring devices, and research
Dr. Meyer believes that interest in healthy longevity is driven not only by consumer needs but also by the boom in self-monitoring devices and longevity research.
“I think it’s consumer-driven at the moment. People are aware that they are aging and that their body functions decline with the chronological aging process.
“Now there’s a desire to stay healthy and we have all these digital devices that tell us whether we’re moving a lot, the quality of our sleep, our heart rate and so on.”
At the same time, a large amount of related research, ranging from preclinical studies to clinical studies, has been published in the past decade and even in the past few years.
Dr. Meyer also cited the example of XPRIZE Healthspan, a seven-year, US$101 million global competition that aims to revolutionize the aging process.
“Existing research shows that not only can we extend the lifespan and healthspan of model organisms such as mice and worms, but we can do the same in humans, and this is what drives this field forward. We’re seeing an explosion of companies, an explosion of research, an explosion of funding in the health and longevity space. ”
Definition of healthy longevity
Dr. Meyer is currently leading an effort to provide a concise, standardized definition of the term “healthspan,” which is closely related to the concept of healthy longevity.
A recent study by Dr. Meyer and his team found that there are more than 100 definitions of “wellness period.”
“In my definition, healthy longevity refers to the absence of age-related diseases and functional impairments, as well as healthy longevity, which is a term that is often used in the same way as healthy longevity.
“A healthy lifespan is defined as years without physical limitations or age-related diseases.” she said.
Although the term “lifespan” is often discussed in conjunction with “healthspan,” the two are very different, Dr. Meyer said.
Unlike “healthspan”, “lifespan” only takes into account the period on earth, without considering other factors such as health status or quality of life.
“This is also why we take supplements, for example, to extend healthspan rather than lifespan. We focus on healthspan and not so much longevity.” she explained.
Health and longevity conference
Our center will hold two conferences on healthy longevity from February 26th (Monday) to March 1st (Friday).
The first is the “NUS Intensive Course on Healthy Longevity,” which will be held from February 26th to 28th, and will examine the theories and characteristics of aging and cell rejuvenation. The three-day event will be held at the NUSS Kentridge Guild House in Singapore.
The second one will be held from February 29th to March 1st and is known as “NUHS Healthy Longevity Center Conference 2024 – Unlocking Healthy Longevity: Supplements”. The workshop will explore the potential of Jello protection supplements to transform the aging process and will be held at the Shaw Foundation Alumni House at the National University of Singapore (NUS). This conference will also be available for virtual access via Zoom.
Professor David Sinclair from the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School’s Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging and Professor Guido Kramer from Paris Cité University will speak at the event.
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