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By Dr. Robert Goldman and Dr. Ronald Klatz
Welcome to the Ageless Society
In 1993, we convened a meeting of a group of a dozen physicians that, nearly a decade later, has profoundly changed the course of preventive medicine. Recognizing that scientific research was quickly making important discoveries towards identifying the mechanisms of deterioration and vulnerability to age-related diseases, we introduced a new definition of aging. In this new perspective, the frailties and physical and mental failures associated with normal aging are caused by physiological dysfunctions that, in many cases, can be altered by appropriate medical interventions. As a result of this meeting, an innovative model for healthcare was proposed that focused on the application of advanced scientific and medical technologies for the early detection, prevention, treatment, and reversal of age-related dysfunction, disorders, and diseases. "Anti-aging medicine" was born.
Since then, anti-aging medicine has achieved international recognition and is now practiced by thousands of physicians in private medical offices as well as some of the most prestigious teaching hospitals around the world. Many medical schools now include anti-aging in their curriculums and health practitioners attend continuing medical education sponsored by the A4M. Anti-aging medicine is now being embraced as a viable solution to alleviate the mounting social, economic, and medical woes associated with the aging of nearly every nation on the planet.
When we rang in this new millennium, we also shattered previous records for life expectancy. Since 1950, average life expectancy worldwide has increased by twenty years, and now stands at 66 years. By 2050, the UN projects steady increase in life expectancies for all countries: worldwide, life expectancy will stand at 76 years.1 Eventually, lifespans of 120 years may be the norm, and the oldest and healthiest of us may not start feeling past our prime until age 100. We will all be citizens of The Ageless Society. Through this regular column in NutriNews, we hope to provide insight on this fast-growing clinical specialty, so you may subsequently empower your patients to enhance and extend their lives and achieve maximum peak performance.
The following are but a few of the recent and most notable nutritional advancements in anti-aging medicine:
Coenzyme Q10 Slows Progression of Parkinson's — Results of a recent study presented at the annual meeting of the American Neurological Association suggest that coenzyme Q10 could slow down the progression of Parkinson's disease. Lead researcher Professor Clifford Shults of the Univ. of California in San Diego and his colleagues enrolled 80 Parkinson's patients, all of whom had early-stage Parkinson's, and did not yet need levodopa. The patients were randomly assigned to a treatment with 300 - 1200 mg/d of CoQ10, or an inactive placebo. After eight months of treatment patients who had received the highest dose of CoQ10 were fairing significantly better than those given the placebo and exhibited a 44% reduction in disease progression, compared with the placebo group. Even patients treated with the lowest CoQ10 dose were more able at carrying out simple daily activities and demonstrated better mental functioning and mood. The findings suggest that Q10 slows the progression of the neurodegenerative disease; although Shults stresses that his research is not conclusive proof as the study group was relatively small. He also believes that it would be "premature" to recommend the supplement to people with the disease.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Archives of Neurology 2002; 59:1541-1550
Vitamins C and E Protect Arteries — Taking vitamin C or vitamin E could help to keep your arteries healthy, say researchers from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Dr. Han-Yao Huang and colleagues got participants to follow one of four daily regimens in order to determine what effects the antioxidant vitamins C and E have on lipid oxidation, a process thought to play a key role in the development of the arterial disease atherosclerosis. Participants took either 500 mg of vitamin C alone; 400 I.U. of vitamin E alone; both vitamins together; or an inactive placebo for 2-months. Results showed that both vitamin C and E lowered urine levels of a by-product of lipid oxidation, however taking both vitamins at once was no more beneficial than taking either vitamin alone. The researchers also note that the daily dose of vitamin C used in the study is easily achievable by eating vitamin C-rich foods, however it would be "virtually impossible" to consume the dosage of vitamin E through food alone.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2002; 76:549-555
Dietary Supplements Restore Rats Youth — Researchers at the Univ. of Berkeley found that rats given acetyl-L-carnitine and alpha-lipoic acid performed better on memory tests and had higher energy levels. Tests also revealed that their mitochondria (energy-producing cell organelles) worked more efficiently. The effect of the supplements on the rats was so dramatic that many researchers were surprised by the results. An increasing body of evidence is indicating that the deterioration of mitochondria plays an important role in aging, thus these researchers believe that they can rejuvenate cells by preventing this deterioration caused by free radicals.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Reported by www.eurekalert.org on the 18th February 2002
Dr. Robert Goldman and Dr. Ronald Klatz are the physician co-founders of the anti-aging medical movement and of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M; Chicago, IL USA; www.worldhealth.net), a non-profit medical organization dedicated to the advancement of technology to detect, prevent, and treat aging related disease and to promote research into methods to retard and optimize the human aging process. A4M is also dedicated to educating physicians, scientists, and members of the public on anti-aging issues.
1 "World population prospects: The 2000 revision—highlights," (ESA/P/WP.165), Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations, 28 February 2001. |