Source: http://www.ageuk.org.uk/health-wellbeing/
In a nutshell, anti-aging medicine is a field of medical practice specifically aimed at reducing risk of diseases that are often associated with advanced age. It is a fancy term for preventive medicine.
Before explaining further, please take note that there are widespread misconceptions about anti-aging medicine in the community. Perhaps it is better to begin by explaining what anti-aging medicine is NOT about.
Anti-aging medicine is NOT about some special formulas contained in bottled pills and capsules. It is NOT about facial or skin creams. It is NOT about some solitary food or drink that would make anyone younger. It is NOT about injections that people claim to make consumers look beautiful and attractive. Anti-aging medicine is NOT about never getting old and it is definitely NOT about defying death!
So what on earth is this hoo-ha about anti-aging medicine then?
Imagine a typical 40 year old man whom we shall call Adam. According to studies, Adam has a very high risk of developing heart diseases because of several features commonly associated with the age 40 such as overweight, elevated blood pressure and high cholesterol level. In short, Adam has a 50% life time risk of developing a heart attack.
Compare that to another man, Danial, who is 20 years old. Danial’s risk of developing heart attack is relatively low. This is due to features commonly associated with him being 20 years old. Those features are fit and lean, normal blood pressure and normal cholesterol level. Let say Danial’s life time risk of developing heart attack is only 1% at his age.
Now, if a 40 year old Adam, after having been advised and treated by an anti-aging doctor, is able reduce his risk of having heart attack similar to that of 20 years old Danial, wouldn’t you say that 40 year old Adam has just been rejuvenated into a new ‘20 year old’ Adam?
That is all what anti-aging medicine is about!
Adam’s current age will always be 40 no matter what he does. This is called chronological age and it is usually what you mean when you refer to someone’s age. It’s a measure of how long you have been on this earth. Nothing you can do about it. There is another ‘age’ which is often associated closely to chronological age and it’s called biological age. Biological age is a measure of how old your body is in terms of functioning ability. Simply put, biological age is a measure of how you look, feel and perform. Adam’s chronological age is 40 and in this case we have assumed that his biological age is similarly 40 as well. If you look at Adam, you will be able to guess his age reasonably accurately because of the way he looks, the way he walks, the way he talks and so on. Again, this is because you have been conditioned to associate some features with the look of a 40 year old man. However, quite often, when you look at someone and you just have to agree that the person looks much younger than his/her chronological age. Sadly, it is also true that some people look much older than their chronological age.
Adam cannot reverse his chronological age but he can slow, temporarily halt or even reverse his biological age. People often forget that risks of developing diseases are NOT actually associated with chronological age, but to biological age. If Adam can reverse his biological age, he can also reduce his risk of developing diseases. This is the first and foremost concept of anti-aging medicine. Reverse your biological age and prevent or heal all those chronic diseases. Who cares about the number anymore? As they say, (chronological) age is nothing but a number!
Of course, there are multitudes of regimens Adam needs to follow for him to reduce his biological age. These include, but are not limited to, dietary and nutritional adjustment, physical exercise, food supplementations, hormonal corrections, lifestyle intervention and mental and social interaction modification. Indeed, it is a regimen of practices (almost a ritual) that he has to follow. That is why some learned people also refer anti-aging medicine as a wholly integrated preventive medicine. However, since that nomenclature is such a mouthful and boring, hence the more attractive name, albeit misnomer, of anti-aging medicine.
By the way, did I mention about the other interesting effects of reversing the biological age? I mean the ‘side effects’ of anti-aging medicine? These often include looking younger than your age, feels better than your peers, performing better physically, mentally (and sexually, I know you are waiting for that), less wrinkles, more attractive, more motivated, more energetic and more pleasant to the people around you and many more.
How exactly do you embrace this anti-aging medicine you may ask? For that you have to visit your nearest friendly anti-aging doctor.
This article was written by the Malaysian Medical Gazette’s permanent columnist Dr. Rizin H Kusop who is currently the proprietor and MO in charge of a group practice franchise in Sabah who has a special interest in Anti-aging, Regenerative and Aesthetics medicine. Find out more about him at The Team page.
Sources:
- Goldman, R. Klatz, R. The new anti-aging revolution. Australasian Edition.Petaling Jaya Malaysia: Advantage Quest Publication; 2007.
- Arking, R et al. What is anti-aging medicine? Journal of Anti-Aging Medicine. 2003; 6(2): 91-106.
- Haber, C. Anti-aging medicine: The history. Journal of Gerontology. 2004; 59A(6) 515-522
- LLyod-Jones DM et al. Lifetime risk of developing coronary heart disease. The Lancet. 1999; 353(9147): 82-83.
[This article belongs to The Malaysian Medical Gazette. Any republication (online or offline) without written permission from The Malaysian Medical Gazette is prohibited.]