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Aging happens to all of us, and is generally thought of as a natural part of life. It would seem silly to call such a thing a “disease.”
On the other hand, scientists are increasingly learning that aging and biological age are two different things, and that the former is a key risk factor for conditions such as heart disease, cancer, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, and many more. In that light, aging itself might be seen as something treatable, the way you would treat high blood pressure or a vitamin deficiency.
Those two are in the current International Classification of Diseases (ICD), a manual published by the World Heath Organization — but aging is not. The next revision of the manual is due out in 2018.
Related on the SLP
While there is no formal campaign to add aging to the official list of diseases, new medical discoveries have opened the discussion. For instance, after studies showed that metformin, a common diabetes drug, could extend lifespan in rodents, researchers went to the federal Food and Drug Administration in June and won approval for human trials of the drug’s anti-aging properties.
But there’s no assurance that the FDA would approve an anti-aging drug, even if the clinical trials are positive. The agency has never allowed such a drug on the market, because aging hasn’t been designated as a condition needing treatment.
Read full, original post: Can we ‘cure’ aging? Scientists disagree
