Innovation UK > News > Innovation UK Vol5-1 > Addressing an age-old problem

For 200 years, life expectancy in the developed world has been increasing at the incredible rate of five hours per day. This 29-hour day, 24 for now and five for later, represents a great triumph for science and medicine.

But while past increases in life expectancy were driven by preventing premature death, in recent decades demographic trends show a dramatic reduction in mortality in older people. The concern is that, as lifespan lengthens, so too will the period of illness at its end.

Research has brought the realisation that ageing is not programmed, but results from a lifelong accumulation of faults, which can be influenced more easily than previously thought. Better nutrition, housing, medical care and working conditions are all likely to result in less accumulation of damage, which probably explains why more people reach old age in better health than in previous generations. There is good reason to suppose that this also explains the 10-year life span difference between better-off and economically deprived areas of the UK.

Newcastle University?s Institute for Ageing and Health

Europe?s leading research institute in ageing, the Institute for Ageing and Health (IAH), was founded in 1994. Based at the rapidly developing Campus for Ageing and Vitality, a unique, multidisciplinary environment for research, training, business and public engagement, it brings together basic, clinical, social and computer scientists, engineers, and researchers in a variety of other fields, to address the increasingly important issues of:

• how and why we age
• the treatment of associated disease and disability
• the support of through-life health, wellbeing and independence.

Our research is presented in six themes:

• Biology of ageing ? using systems biology techniques to understand how and why we age
• Experimental Medicine ? under the auspices of the Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre and supported by a purpose built Clinical Ageing Research Unit
• Translation for patient benefit ? seeking to improve the experience of medical treatment
• Technology for an ageing society ? seeking to support healthy ageing and people with age-related conditions
• Ageing, Health and Society ? in collaboration with the Institute for Health and Society
• Nutrition and Oral Health ? how nutrition, food products, the availability of food and our ability to eat affect how well we age.

Business and Commercial

Addressing the needs of the ageing society presents enormous opportunity and promises significant returns for those who engage early. The IAH is a major source of knowledge and innovation, with potential for translation into products or services to help everyone to age better and enjoy greater independence as we age. We work closely with the University?s Business Development Directorate to support the commercialisation of research activity, but need to work with business and other organisations to translate our research into products and services.

We are always seeking industry partners to engage with our broad range of disciplines for appropriate commercial or collaborative research projects. We lead the Quality of Age Research Centre, with access to researchers from other universities within the north of England to support projects. We have also developed a panel of hundreds of people interested in ageing and age-related issues from across the north east of England, to support the development of business ideas.

The IAH can provide:

• Access to the latest scientific ideas and research leaders
• Unique insight into the opportunities of demographic change and our ageing society
• Multidisciplinary research capability
• Access to representative public opinion about ageing and age-related needs

For more information, visit: www.ncl.ac.uk/iah.