Longevity & AgingSupercharging DNA Repair May Be the Next Frontier in Anti-Aging Medicine
DNA damage accumulates relentlessly in every human cell — up to 100,000 lesions per day — and mounting evidence identifies this as a root cause of aging, not merely a consequence. This comprehensive review from leading genome-stability researchers synthesizes three decades of evidence linking somatic DNA damage to aging hallmarks including cellular senescence, epigenetic drift, inflammation, and cancer. It surveys emerging pharmacologic strategies to enhance DNA repair capacity, reduce the burden of unrepaired lesions, clear senescent cells, and dampen DNA-damage-driven inflammation. Unlike most anti-aging approaches that target downstream pathways, the authors argue that directly boosting genome maintenance addresses aging at its most fundamental level, potentially preventing age-related multimorbidity — cancer, neurodegeneration, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes — simultaneously.
