We know that some people look older than their age and some people look younger than their age, but researchers haven't discovered the biology of aging in a way that might lead us to develop a drug that will allow us to not (only) live longer, but to avoid disease.
If you are looking at factors that have been linked to healthier ageing (compared to developing neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia), some of these include regular exercise (there have been some trials on this), cognitive activity (i.e. puzzles, sudoku etc), healthy diets (also to reduce the risk of vascular dementia and associated coronary diseases).
In fact, living a cognitive stimulating lifestyle increases cognitive reserve, a term coined by Y. Stern first a decade ago, which suggests that if staying cognitively active increases the development of a certain protective mechanism of developing dementia. Now, this protective mechanism also has limits, of course, yet it shows that not always medication or 'drugs' can help, but that one's own lifestyle choices play a critical factor.
A review of mind/body therapies in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders with implications for the elderly.
http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/10710803
“A comprehensive, but not systematic, review of the research on complementary and alternative treatments, specifically mind/body techniques, on musculoskeletal disease was conducted at Stanford University. The goals of the review were to establish a comprehensive literature review and provide a rationale for future research carrying the theme of "successful aging."”
I like the terminology adopted by Clarissa above, namely, “healthier ageing”; this shows that aging is a process or physiological process. There is nothing to be alarmed about the process of aging. As individuals age, and reach advanced stages, their bioenergy generating capacity in their mitochondrion is fully functional, and their respiratory complexes and the enzymes involved therein are robust and thriving, duly recognizing changes that might be inherent or adaptive in their mitochondrial DNA. This would, in a way, explain their healthier sojourn on earth beyond their 90s’.
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