Leonid Gavrilov just recently pointed out the hefty Handbook of Models for Human Aging It's also on Amazon if you're interested in a less hefty price tag.

This Handbook is designed as the only comprehensive work available that covers the diversity of aging models currently available. For each animal model, it presents key aspects of biology, nutrition, factors affecting life span, methods of age determination, use in research, and disadvantages/advantes of use. Chapters on comparative models take a broad sweep of age-related diseases, from Alzheimer's to joint disease, cataracts, cancer, and obesity. In addition, there is an historical overview and discussion of model availability, key methods, and ethical issues.

...

Readership: Researchers interested in the mechanisms of aging, gerontologists, health professionals, and allied health professionals and students

The index of contents certainly reads like a who's who for half of modern gerontology. Some of what caught my eye:

2. Species Selection in Comparative Studies of Aging and Anti-Aging
Joao Pedro de Magalhaes

5. Models of Systems Failure in Aging
Leonid A Gavrilov, Natalia S. Gavrilova

17. Telomeres and Aging in the Yeast Model System
Kurt W Runge

20. Strongyloides Ratti: A Nematode with Extraordinary Plasticity in Aging
Michael P. Gardner, David Gems, Mark Viney

34. Life Extension in the Dwarf Mouse
Andrzej Bartke

41. Mitochondrial DNA and Aging
Mikhail Alexeyev, Susan P. LeDoux, Glen L. Wilson

45. Therapeutic Potential of Stem Cells In Aging Related Diseases
Shannon Whirledge, Kirk C.L. Lo, and Dolores J. Lamb

66. Human T Cell Clones in Long-term Culture as Models for the Impact of Chronic Antigenic Stress in Aging
Graham Pawelec, Erminia Mariani, Rafael Solana, Rosalyn Forsey, Anis Larbi, Simone Neri, Olga Dela Rosa, Yvonne Barnett, Jon Tolson, Tamas Fulop

80. Werner Syndrome as a Model of Human Aging
Raymond J Monnat, Jr

A thought: if you can reasonably claim to cover the diversity of scientific approaches to aging - we'll take it that the diversity of experimental classes (or models) scales with the diversity of the science - in one fairly hefty book, that seems to be to indicate that nowhere near enough resources are presently focused on this very complex topic. I don't believe one could adequately tour models for cancer research in 1075 pages, for example. That's something to think about when looking at what must be done to ensure a future of large-scale, effective, well-supported longevity research.

Technorati tags: aging, books, gerontology, medical research

Posted by Reason at May 26, 2006 10:10 PM | TrackBack (0)