Aging in the Era of Regenerative Medicine: Analysis of Aging-Related Representations among Canadian Researchers

Abstract

Explicitly aimed at understanding and controlling molecular and cellular processes at the root of senescence and biological aging, regenerative medicine aspires to artificially reproduce the biological processes that enable the body to regenerate itself. This no longer involves conserving the body's state of balance by combating disease, as in clinical medicine, but rather fighting degeneration itself. From stem cell research to gene therapy to the production of replacement tissues, regenerative medicine perfectly corresponds to the logic of biomedicalization specific to postmodern society. Based on a series of 18 interviews conducted with Canadian researchers and clinicians in the field of regenerative medicine, this article seeks to understand representations of the aging body among researchers in this field. Seen from a strictly negative angle, aging is assimilated by researchers to an inevitable catastrophe that nevertheless must be combated. More closely observing the theoretical model of regenerative biology and the types of treatments developed, it can be observed, however, that this medicine of the future does not target the elderly, but rather promises youth the ability to regenerate themselves to avoid aging.

NOTES

Notes

¹ This study was conducted thanks to a research grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada as part of a project entitled “De la guérison à la régénération: vers un nouveau paradigme biomédical. Étude des représentations du corps et de la vieillesse portées par la nanomédecine et la médecine régénérative” [From healing to regeneration: toward a new biomedical paradigm. Study of representations of the body and old age within nanomedicine and regenerative medicine] (2009–2012).

² All translations from French to English in this text are from Joachim Lépine.

³ “Regenerative medicine is an interdisciplinary field of research and clinical applications focused on the repair, replacement or regeneration of cells, tissues or organs to restore impaired function resulting from any cause, including congenital defects, disease, trauma and aging” (Daar and Greenwood 2007:181).