Nonprofit Global Foundation for Human Aging Research Launches to Support Development of Technologies that Increase Healthspan for the Aging Global Population
MONTCLAIR, N.J., June 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Founded by renowned anti-aging medicine pioneer Dr. Vincent Giampapa, the Global Foundation for Human Aging Research (http://globalhumanaging.org/) is looking to change the future of human health. The nonprofit organization funds research addressing the fundamental, cellular-level causes of aging and age-related conditions.
"We need to transform our health care system into a 'prevention and wellness system' instead of a 'disease mitigation system,'" says Dr. Giampapa. "Today, our medical system attempts to merely suppress symptoms using prescription drugs. These drugs then cause additional problems that lead to more symptoms — and the patient is trapped in a downward spiral of more and more maintenance drugs. As the global population gets older and sicker while healthcare costs skyrocket, this flawed system creates an economic and potentially humanitarian time bomb."
According to the United States Census Bureau, the number of people aged 65 and older will reach 83.7 million by 2050. And by the end of the next decade, more than 20 percent of U.S. residents will be seniors — up from just 13 percent in 2010. If medical solutions to age-related illness and infirmities do not substantially improve, the health care system will be stretched to the breaking point. The problem is by no means isolated to the U.S.; the entire developed world is on the same trajectory, and the developing world is likely not far behind.
Government health care policy changes alone are inadequate to tackle the consequences of this demographic shift, says Giampapa and his colleagues. What's needed is a complete re-orientation to how we treat and provide healthcare to aging adults, and it will require entrepreneurialism and private capital. The Global Foundation for Human Aging Research believes epigenetics, cellular technologies, and stem cell therapies are an excellent starting point for this necessary revolution in our healthcare system.
In addition, continuing research into stem cells will provide fuel for further breakthroughs in anti-aging medicine. Dr. Giampapa is personally invested in this field, and he was a keynote speaker at the Second International Adults Stem Cell Conference at the Vatican in Rome. He was also a stem cell expert featured on Discovery Science Channel's stem cell special narrated by Stephen Hawking.
Another focus of the foundation is on the development of a BioBanking system for young, healthy cells that can be used later in life to maintain healthy function and dramatically enhance quality of life relative to today's expectations of the aging process. Indeed, the collection and storage of cellular material may become the foundation of health care in the future.
Recent beneficiaries of the foundation include Whitehead Institute, Wellomics, Inc. and the Harvard Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging. As a 501(c)(3) organization, donations to the foundation from the community are tax deductible.
About the Global Foundation for Human Aging Research
The Global Foundation for Human Aging Research is a nonprofit organization working to support the front lines of medical research and development related to the biology of human aging with the goal of improving healthspan for aging populations worldwide. It contributes funds to other non-profit institutions, universities, and companies that are working in line with its mission. It was founded by renowned anti-aging medicine pioneer Dr. Vincent Giampapa, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Contact:
Laura Martinez
862-333-4180
[email protected]
SOURCE Global Foundation for Human Aging Research
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