The prevention of disease must become a priority for healthcare managers in order to achieve healthy aging. This is one of the main conclusions of the first day of the Longevity World Forum, the global longevity summit, whose fourth edition is taking place from February 18 to 20, 2026 at La Nave (Madrid).
“We need to prevent aging before diseases appear. The goal should be to invest time in prevention rather than lose it treating diseases,” explained Nir Barzilai, Director of the Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, who opened the event with the keynote lecture How to Die Young at a Very Old Age, in which he presented research involving centenarians.
The researcher stressed the importance of healthy lifestyle habits. “We must spend time optimizing health rather than treating diseases. We cannot maximize, but we can optimize exercise, diet, sleep, and social connections,” he added, while regretting that nutrition, exercise, and sleep are not included in the curriculum of all medical schools.
Felipe Sierra, Chief Scientific Officer of Hevolution Foundation, expressed a similar view, addressing the paradigm shift in geroscience in his presentation. “Initially, the idea was to connect the biology of aging with disease, but now the real goal is to connect the biology of aging with health. We must put health first, not disease,” he said.
Frailty Can Be Modified
Leocadio Rodríguez Mañas, Head of the Geriatrics Department at Hospital Universitario de Getafe, discussed the relationship between frailty and aging. “What defines healthy aging is not age, but functionality and being able to do what one wants to do. You do not become old the day you turn 65; aging is a process that occurs over time,” he explained. Rodríguez also highlighted the need for a personalized approach tailored to each patient’s characteristics. “Depending on the individual’s condition, the objectives differ: prevent, delay, or treat. Frailty is a global concept that can be modified. If it has already progressed, you are late — action must be taken earlier,” he added.
Cellular Reprogramming, AI, and Future Trends in Focus on Day Two
This Thursday, February 18, the second day will take place, with a cross-cutting focus on longevity trends for the next decade. The session will open with a talk on the so-called “silver economy” by Pedro Ros, who will analyze the market impact of population aging among those over 50. A roundtable discussion will also explore trends in nutritional and pharmacological interventions, and a presentation on NAD+ boosters will be delivered.
The sessions will continue with three talks on cellular reprogramming and advanced therapies in longevity, featuring speakers such as Jean-Marc Lemaitre, researcher at the University of Montpellier (France) and a pioneer in cellular reprogramming. Cristina Sánchez Puelles, researcher at Tetraneuron (a spin-off of the Cajal Institute-CSIC), will present new gene therapies for Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases; and Valle Palomo, researcher at IMDEA Nanociencia, will share the latest advances in nanotechnology for neurodegenerative conditions.
The day will also explore how Artificial Intelligence can redefine long-term health, with presentations by Ana Jiménez Pastor, Head of Artificial Intelligence at Quibim; Daniele Magistro, researcher at Nottingham Trent University; and neurosurgeon José Hernández Poveda.
