Improved medical care has made people living longer. Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages? The improvement of the species is at the base of survival and the key of progress. Extending its lifetime has always been one of the objectives of human kind. Initially, humans didn't live much longer than many other big mammals, but the development of society and technology has gradually led people to live up to 80 years and longer. At the moment, it appears we have reached a hard cap, given mostly by the onset of neurodegenerative diseases, like dementia, which represent one of the limits of modern medicine. Because of such pathologies, old people may become unable to take care of themselves and need continual assistance. Sadly, in some cases, a longer life may not be seen being worth to be lived, if lived in this way. This is an important problem of modern society, and for this reason, it's extremely important to improve medical science in order to learn how to cure, and even prevent, these deseases. On the other hand, people who are 'lucky' enough to not experience such problems can actually make much more long term plans and projects, they can enjoy their retirement while still being active and, maybe, watch their grandchildren become parents and helping them. Hopefully, this will be true for anyone in the near future thanks to research. I strongly believe that anything that improves human life should be appreciated without any doubt. We should continue to promote medical care in order to reduce the cognitive impairment caused by neurodegenerative diseases, but, in the meantime, we should also learn, as a society, to take care of our ill elderly loved ones, without letting them feel like burdens. Both will lead not only to a longer life for all, but also a richer and better one.