Age reversal therapies and women: New therapies upends societal norms

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  Quantumrun Foresight
• February 1, 2022

Insight summary

The quest for longevity is driving businesses and scientists to develop therapies that delay aging and enhance life span, with promising research in proteins that promote skin health, diabetes drugs with potential anti-aging effects, and gene therapies that rejuvenate cells. Anti-aging technology not only offers potential health benefits but also impacts societal norms, particularly for women, by offering new ways to maintain a youthful appearance, potentially making current cosmetic procedures obsolete and influencing industries like fashion. However, these developments also bring broader implications, including shifts in population demographics, changes in labor markets, and potential disparities in access to these technologies.

Anti-aging technology context

Hundreds of businesses are striving to create therapies that will delay the ageing process and enhance longevity. While scientists work hard to produce significant advancements, global firms are providing substantial funding for the development of breakthrough anti-aging solutions. The three research examples below are just a few of many in active development.

Researchers at Japan's Tokyo Medical and Dental University have discovered that a protein called, COL17A1, helps keep the skin looking young by promoting cell competitiveness. Ageing, UV exposure and stress factors result in a depletion of COL17A1. When this occurs, weaker cells replicate, resulting in thinner skin that is more prone to injury and heals more slowly. Two chemical substances, Y27632 and apocynin, may help stimulate the production of COL17A1. Besides promoting anti-aging, the application of these chemicals to skin wounds has been shown to boost skin regeneration and aid wound healing.

Metformin, a generic drug commonly used to treat type-2 diabetes, has acquired a new reputation as a potential anti-aging miracle drug that modulates a variety of metabolic and cellular processes implicated in the development of age-related diseases. Promising studies on metformin and age-related illnesses have come from small cell and animal research, with some showing that metformin may slow the aging process, play a neuroprotective role, and lower mortality. Meanwhile, a new gene therapy, developed by scientists in South Korea, has also been shown to reverse aging by rejuvenating skin cells. 

Disruptive impact

Anti-aging technology provides women with new opportunities and choices to shape and mold their appearance to adapt to feminine cultural norms biased toward a youthful appearance. Women's naturally aging faces and bodies present an exceptionally lucrative market for anti-aging technologies. Women may feel empowered by and through their use of these technologies, which may reduce, stop, and even reverse age-related physical changes beyond their control. New anti-aging technology is expected to make even greater advances in the coming years, and this may make current cosmetic procedures and treatments (such as facelifts, Botox, and fillers) obsolete. 
 
The “look better-feel younger” approach may have an immediate visual effect on elderly peoples’ appearances, with long-term benefits on their state of mind. Anti-aging biotech companies may start marketing their products to individuals at an early age so that they can remain younger and healthier for longer, thus maintaining their productivity in society. Chronologically older women may begin “encore” jobs and professions, further their education, or use their talents to start a new venture that combines personal meaning with social impact and continued income.

Since older generations tend to have a wealth of knowledge, there may be many more opportunities to work and pursue a new career path later in life, while some women may decide to have children later in life after achieving their professional goals. In a society where women remain eternally young, new industries and businesses may be required to cater to this segment of the population. The fashion industry, for example, may need to consider the shift in buying patterns of the more mature women and pivot accordingly.

Implications of anti-aging technology

Wider implications of anti-aging therapies may include:

• A lower incidence of age-related diseases, reducing the cost of health and long-term care.
• Economic benefits, since cohorts of highly educated, skilled, and increasingly healthy seniors can remain engaged in economic activity.
• Opportunities for older people to pursue new activities such as further education, new careers, or pursuing long-neglected interests.
• The gradual dismantling of societal age-based stereotypes.
• Structural reform of public policies to ensure the sustainability of pension systems or alternatively, even their complete erasure.
• A significant shift in population demographics, with a larger proportion of older individuals in society, leading to the need for a reevaluation of social support systems, retirement age, and healthcare resources.
• Those with greater financial resources having more access to these technologies, leading to a disparity in lifespan and health between different economic classes.
• New political debates and policies around equitable access, ethical implications, and regulation of these technologies, influencing the political landscape and public discourse.
• A larger, healthier, and longer-living population increasing resource consumption and environmental impact, requiring further advancements in sustainable technologies and practices.

Questions to consider

• What are other considerations for how anti-aging therapies may impact women, in particular?
• Do you think that it is morally acceptable to use anti-aging therapies that extend life radically?