The Imperative of Female Longevity

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Anyone in life sciences knows that it has been male-dominated for far too long. Not only are senior doctors and executives more often male than female, the very clinical trials we conduct ar biased towards male subjects. As we move into the healthspan-focused era, it is time to rebalance our efforts.

Last week I attended the Dublin Longevity Summit and among the most interesting sessions was one on female longevity. Even men understand the impact of the menopause on women. What they probably do not know is that the aging of women’s ovaries affects many other health conditions, and that - if we could delay menopause - we would also delay or avoid some age-related chronic disease. Linked to that, of course, is the pervasive impact of estrogen on aging and disease.

Looking at other organisms provides some useful clues. Studying the famous naked mole rat, a species that essentially doesn’t age (its risk of death does not increase with age as with all other mammals) we find that the females remain their fertility throughout their lives. And in mice the popular NAD precursor supplement, NMN, recovers ovarian function after exposure to chemotherapy drugs, and the rapamycin drug increasingly being trialled for anti-aging also slows ovarian aging.

So ovarian function and overall aging are closely intertwined. Speaking of chemotherapy, there are some important research findings on the prevention of infertility in females that have undergone chemotherapy for childhood cancers. Removal and freezing of ovarian tissue can provide a path to fertility later in life, when it is transplanted. And the implantation of ovarian tissue delays menopause.

So far these are just hints of the power of approaching female longevity as a distinct challenge. In most societies women live longer than men - but all too often the extra years are in poorer health. This needs to change.

Best regards

Richard