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Dr Klatz & Goldman - original


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#1 Bruce Klein

  • Guardian Founder
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Posted 03 April 2004 - 06:39 AM


Dear Mr. Klein,

Attached please find the submission from Dr Klatz of a manuscript for your ImmInst Book Project. We hope it meets with your approval. If you require editorial assistance on the attached manuscript, please feel free to contact me directly.

Dr Klatz wishes you all the best on your ImmInst organization and your web and print projects. Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to your worthy endeavor.

Kind regards,
~Catherine editor@a4minfo.net
Catherine Cebula
Vice President of Publishing & Communications
The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, A4M (www.worldhealth.net)
Visit A4M's Special Information Center at www.a4minfo.net
Direct tel: (877) 572-0608 [wait through the routing messages] / fax: (978) 742-9719
---------

Thanks, Catherine.

I've forwarded Dr. Klatz and Dr. Goldman's essay to the editing team. As the first book
is nearing publication, we will included this essay for consideration in the next book
project.

Take care,

-- Bruce




-------
ESSAY


Anti-Aging Medicine At Eleven Years
Reflections and Projections as a New Era Begins
Dr. Robert Goldman and Dr. Ronald Klatz

"The end of the beginning"
The American Academy for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) proclaims in Science magazine's February 28, 2003 issue that current aging research has reached its concluding point. Explaining that "[Scientists who study aging] have focused on physiological mechanisms underlying the processes of aging, rather than on the large array of debilitating and costly disorders that so commonly emerge during the latter half of the lifespans of human beings," AAAS points to "the 'one disorder at a time' approach" as "having limited power to ¡K extend the human lifespan." Rather, Dr. Martin et al submit while curing individual diseases can achieve a gain in life expectancy on the order of 30-40 years, slowing down aging offers "the biggest bang for the buck" by adding 60-70 years. As a result, those who celebrate their 50th birthday attain the opportunity to live to 120 years.1
The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M, Chicago IL USA; www.worldhealth.net and www.a4minfo.net) salutes this declaration because it hails a new era for preventive medicine specifically aimed at improving health as we age that is consistent with the anti-aging medical model. Since its inception a decade ago, the A4M has advanced an innovative healthcare model involving the detection, prevention, and treatment of aging-related disease and the promotion of research into methods to retard and optimize the human aging process. A4M's model for anti-aging medicine embraces a multi-disciplinary approach for wellness-based healthcare, as our membership includes specialists in areas such as endocrinology, neurology, oncology, gynecology, pain management, and cosmetic surgery ¡V- as well as general and family practice physicians. A4M continues to unite physicians and scientists across specialties in a spirit of cooperative research and application to promote a scientifically-validated whole-body approach to aging intervention.


Indeed, Science magazine's special Aging issue (February 28, 2003) contains important testimonial to the important near-term applicable advancements being made in human aging intervention. Dr. Valter Longo and colleagues at University of Southern California reported that animal research on longevity is very near its transference to human application. Dr. Longo's article in Science remarks that viable techniques to extend the human lifespan by 20 years of more could be "standard procedure 30 or 40 years down the road," but by prompting "as many people as possible to get into this novel way of looking at disease prevention, anti-aging drugs could be available in the next ten years."2

Prestigious Recognition
A4M continues to be the world's leading professional organization dedicated to advancing research and clinical pursuits that enhance the quality, and extend the quantity, of the human lifespan. The 12,000 physician, scientist, and health practitioner members from over 70 countries who belong to the A4M are forging an innovative model of healthcare that alleviates the mounting social, economic, and medical woes otherwise anticipated to arrive with the rapidly growing volume of an aging population. This movement is no longer denied, rather it is becoming a widely embraced resource being explored by many public health and public policy experts who seek to minimize the impact of old-age disability and dependence to burden individuals and societies at-large.
The February 2003 issue of San Francisco Medicine, published by the San Francisco Medical Society, was devoted entirely to the subject of anti-aging medicine. Featured was an article authored by A4M's president Dr. Ronald Klatz, in which he reviewed the broad-ranging benefits of anti-aging medicine. Dr. Klatz's article concluded that we are now "ushering in a new reality ¡K in which 75 years old may well be considered middle age."3 San Francisco Medical Society's all anti-aging issue continues the affirmation of this medical specialty that was conferred by the San Francisco-based American Society of Aging one year ago in that organization's all anti-aging issue of Generations, that society's bimonthly journal.
"Winning the War Against Aging" by Dr. Joao Pedro Magalhaes at the University of Nemur (Belgium) and appearing in the March-April 2003 issue of The Futurist extends the ongoing recognition of anti-aging medicine by The World Future Society, a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational and scientific organization of 30,000 individuals who are interested in how social and technological developments are shaping the future. A microbiologist studying the biology of aging, Dr. Magalhaes reports that "many advances in antiaging science have been made at the cellular level," and suggests that "aging may soon become nothing more than a scary bedtime story."4 Commenting in Dr. Magalhaes article, Dr. Steven Austad, biology professor at the University of Idaho remarked that "the prospects of dramatically increasing human longevity are excellent." 4 Dr. Austad is one of anti-aging's most ardent independent supporters, previously expressing that by January 1, 2150 it will be documented that a human has reached the age of 150 or more. His confidence in this prediction is so steadfast that he's wagered $500 million dollars to that effect.5


International Participation
At the Second World Assembly on Aging that was convened by the United Nations last year, much concern was focused on the growing number and proportion of older persons affecting every nation around the world. The Assembly reported that while one 1 of every 10 persons is 60 years or older, that ratio accelerates to 1 out of every 5 by 2050 and 1 out of every 3 by 2150. Global life expectancy now stands at 66 years ¡V- a gain of 20 years being made in just the last half of the 20th century.6 As a consequence, a universal dilemma of how to provide and care for the world's aging residents has emerged.
In reaction, many nations have adopted a new reality of aging. From Europe to Asia, national health ministries, universities, and public policy officials are now recognizing that aging is a treatable condition that need not relegate a swelling demographic of adults ages 60+ to disability and dependence.
A4M's training and education initiatives have been responsible for expanding the availability of leading-edge preventive healthcare around the world. In its eleven-year history, A4M has trained over 25,000 physicians and scientists in the new science of anti-aging medicine. A4M's 12,000 members now provide advanced preventative and prospective clinical healthcare to over 200,000 men and women around the world. Each day, the ranks of A4M's membership and their patient population grows steadily. In addition, millions of people have embarked on their own anti-aging regimens that do not require regular physician supervision, a testament to the safety of anti-aging therapies.
A4M has witnessed nations that embrace anti-aging medicine as a clinical specialty undergo rapid and positive transformations in their approach to aging as a political, economic, and social issue. To continue this trend, over the course of the next twelve months, A4M will organize, sponsor, or coordinate anti-aging training programs in new venues in China, Brazil, Germany, Spain, Australia, and the Middle East. A4M also looks forward to continued involvement in France and Singapore as established anti-aging educational forums.


Presidential Validation
In March 2003, the United States President's Council on Bioethics issued a working paper on the status of aging intervention.7 The A4M commends the Council's outline of the science of life extension because the principles contained in the working paper are consistent with A4M's multi-modal model for anti-aging and include the following:
(1) "Allow more individuals to live to old age by combating the causes of death among the young- and middle-aged":
Improvements in basic public health, sanitation, and immunization resulted in the marked gains in life expectancy of the 20th century, rising from 48 years (1900) to 78 years (1999) in the US. The President's Council observes that "This approach has been so successful that almost no further gains in life expectancy can be expected from efforts to improve the health of the young." To continue making gains in life expectancy "would require a much greater feat: extending the lives of older people."

(2) "Extend the life of the elderly by combating particular causes of death or reversing some of the damage done by senescence"
The President's Council reports that this approach "has already contributed to the improved health of the elderly and to moderate extensions of life." Most compelling is the Council's observation that "if diabetes, all cardiovascular diseases, and all forms of cancer were eliminated today, life expectancy at birth in the US would immediately rise to about 90 years, from the present 78."

(3) "Direct age retardation to extend the average and maximum lifespans":
The President's Council acknowledges two key anti-aging interventions in which A4M has played a pivotal role in advancing worldwide, namely:
(a) Prevention of oxidative damage: "For many years, there has been ample evidence that oxygen free radicals ¡K cause gradual deterioration of the body's cell's and tissues. Our bodies produce or obtain through diet, antioxidants ¡K such as vitamin E, vitamin C, coenzyme Q10, and alpha lipoid acid, that destroy many ¡V-but not all ¡V- of these free radicals." The President's Council observes that "naturally occurring and synthetic antioxidants in humans [may] retard the degeneration of cells, reduce and slow the accumulation of errors in DNA replication, and thereby extend the human lifespan, perhaps significantly."
(b) Methods of treating ailments of the aged, including hormone therapy: "In the past 15 years, researchers have investigated the possibility of slowing or reversing the effects of aging by the replenishment of certain hormones to more youthful levels, with particular focus on Human Growth Hormone, DHEA, Testosterone, Estrogen, Pregnenolone, Progesterone, and Melatonin." Most notably in this discussion, the President's Council cites Dr. Rudman's 1990 HGH study, commenting specifically that the elderly men who received HGH "experienced increased muscle mass, a loss of fat, improved skin elasticity, and decreased cholesterol levels." As such, the Council states that "hormone treatments may play an important role in unlocking the secrets of the aging process, and in future aging [intervention] techniques."

Additionally and in alignment with A4M's forecast for the role of biotechnology in future aging intervention, the President's Council acknowledges the significance of advancements in stem cell research, tissue and organ replacement, and nanotechnology to extend life as well as halt degeneration of physical and mental performance. Included in this realm the President's Council also recognizes the potential for genetic manipulation to apply single-gene alterations that dramatically extend life in animal models, to humans.
Concluding the scientific review portion of the President's Council on Bioethics' working paper on the status of aging intervention, the group writes: "Scientists may indeed be able to retard the human aging process and significantly extend the maximum and average human lifespan in the foreseeable future."


Dialogue Instead of Diatribe
As the goal of achieving healthy, productive, extended human lifespans grows near, those clinicians and scientists who have dedicated their professional lives to the pursuit of anti-aging in the form of safe, effective, and progressive interventions as advanced by the A4M have drawn much attention from the "biogerontologists" ¡V- biologists who research the processes of aging. As described by Dr. Robert Binstock and colleagues from the School of Medicine's Aging, Health, and Society Department at Case Western Reserve University in a February 2003 article appearing in The Gerontologist,8 the contemporary prominence of the anti-aging movement "threaten[s] biogerontological researchers and practitioners." According to Dr. Binstock, much of biogerontology's territorialism towards the study of aging stems from "the marginal status" of that field that required a dozen years of political lobbying in the 1970s and 1980s to overcome. Yet, Dr. Binstock warns that "through their attack on anti-aging medicine, [biogerontologists] may be shooting themselves in the foot."9 Instead, Dr. Binstock advocates "public dialogue ¡K to ensure that everyone benefits from [aging interventions]."
Indeed, it is the public that serves as the ultimate arbiter on the debate of gerontology versus anti-aging. They have already begun to vote on this discussion with their wallets:
„h The anti-aging medical marketplace is valued at $30 billion annually.10
„h Sixty percent (60%) of Americans age 65+ are pursuing anti-aging interventions -- including hormone replacement therapies and dietary supplementation.11
„h Dietary supplement sales in 2000 were $17 billion.12 Thirty-three percent (33%) of adults take supplements on the specific advice of their doctor.13
The public is, contrary to claims made to support gerontology's territorialism, evolving into what the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation calls the "top-tier healthcare consumer."14 Reports the Foundation's 2002 study, consumers in this category:
„h "have empowerment as their primary issue"
„h expect to engage "in shared decision making with their physicians"
„h are generally ¡V college graduates, computer literate, with a household income of $50,000 or more
The report states that top-tier healthcare consumers, due to their financial stature, level of education, and employment, "will have the greatest ability to effect change." These consumers are the precise audience that seeks the medical expertise of A4M's member physicians and health practitioners. Thus, A4M is fundamental to the integrity of the anti-aging medical movement, providing high-quality education and training to anti-aging medical professionals and functioning as an objective, reliable first-line resource to both clinicians and consumers on the subject of human aging intervention.


Concluding Remarks
Count Maurice Maeterlink (1862-1949), Belgian writer, poet, essayist, and Nobel Laureate wrote that "At every crossroads on the path that leads to the future, tradition has placed 10,000 men to guard the past.¡¨ In the decade-long history of the A4M, the sporadic adversities we have witnessed have served to reaffirm our convictions and reinforce our commitment. Science bears out that healthy, robust, extended lifespans are in our foreseeable future. Join A4M in welcoming the beginning of a new era in which we achieve a world that is absent of disease and disability, filled instead with productivity and vitality.


References
1 Martin GM, LaMarco K, Strauss E, Kelner KL. "Research on aging: the end of the beginning," Science, Feb. 28, 2003.
2 Mitchell S. "Scientists developing drugs to extend life," NewsFactor Sci-Tech, Feb. 28, 2003.
3 Klatz RM. "Human Growth Hormone," San Francisco Medicine, 76(2), February 2003, 14-16.
4 deMagalhaes JP. "Winning the war against aging," The Futurist, March-April 2003, 48-50.
5 "How long have you got," Scientific American--The Quest to Beat Aging, Summer 2000
6 "UN-Ageing: Second World Assembly on Aging," IRNA, http://www/irna.com/...ng/19214553.htm, accessed April 9, 2002.
7 The President's Council on Biotechnics, Age Retardation: Scientific possibilities and moral challenges, http://bioethicsprin...etardation.html, accessed March 12, 2003.
8 Binstock RH. "The war on 'anti-aging medicine,'" The Gerontologist, 43(1), 4-14.
9 Radkiewicz M. "The war against anti-aging medicine," EurekAlert Press Release, Feb. 10, 2003.
10 "Dateline NBC," March 27, 2001.
11 MSNBC Jan. 28, 2002.
12 Nutrition Business Journal, Nov. 2001.
13 Harris Interactive survey, 2001.
14 Morgan CM, Levy DL. Marketing to the Mindset of Boomers and Their Elders, The Brewer House, 2002.

AUTHOR BYLINE:
Dr. Robert Goldman and Dr. Ronald Klatz are the physician co-founders of the anti-aging medical movement and the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M; Chicago, IL USA), 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. Visit The World Health Network, the Internet's #1 anti-aging portal, offering thousands of pages of free life-enhancing, life-extending information and the Electronic Biotech Newsletter. Visit The A4M's Special Information Center, www.a4minfo.net, where A4M showcases its award-winning publication in a library of online magazine galleries. A4M founded and continues to lead the anti-aging specialty by sponsoring physician and practitioner training programs around the world.

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