Editorial: Clinical Interventions in Aging and SARA || FREE PAPER ||

Richard F Walker

International Society for Applied Research in Aging (SARA)

An organizational meeting of the International Society for Applied Research in Aging (SARA) was held in Tampa, FL, USA on October 28 – 30, 2005. The new society was created by and for practitioners of longevity medicine who seek evidence-based information on clinical methods for improving and extending health, vitality and quality of life during aging. Through application of these methods, onset of intrinsic diseases associated with senescence can be delayed and possibly prevented instead of being treated after they occur. In support of this goal, the newly organized society sponsored a scientific symposium entitled, Clinical Interventions in Aging (CIA), to coincide with its organizational meeting. The title of the first Symposium was chosen to be the same as this Journal, which is SARA’s official publication. Speakers were experts in their respective fields, having published their work in peer-reviewed medical and professional journals. Because it was the first annual SARA meeting, the program was specifically designed to provide a broad-brush approach to the field of antiaging medicine. It began with a historical perspective of research data that originally provided clues as to how life may be extended, and also how those insights eventually reached clinical application. Methods with the potential to maintain homeostasis were discussed. These focused primarily upon age-related decay of neurotransmitter dynamics, neuroendocrine dysfunction, and the positive effects of caloric restriction. Philosophical issues such as whether aging is a disease or a process were also debated. Subsequent sessions extended the earlier research findings into present day antiaging applications including such diverse subjects as nutrition, exercise, lifestyle and behavior, cosmetic surgery, dermatology, and even chelation. Although most of the information conveyed was essentially a review of previously published data, new findings were also presented as “hot topics” from investigators with studies either in progress or recently finished but unpublished.