Editorial: Clinical Interventions in Aging: a forum for practitioners of evidence-based || FREE PAPER ||

Richard F Walker

International Society for Applied Research in Aging (SARA)

In 1990, data from an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggested that the age-related decline in human growth hormone (hGH) production contributes, at least in part, to senescence (Rudman et al 1990). Youthful changes in body composition associated with hGH administration to elderly men gave rise to the idea that replacement of vital substances such as hormones, co-factors, neurotransmitters, antioxidants, and other intrinsic factors that decline during aging might oppose or even reverse senescence. Adoption of this concept by healthcare providers during the 1990s resulted in the coining of the now popular term, “antiaging medicine”. At first, the practice of replacement therapy to maintain health and vitality during aging seemed reasonable and scientifically valid. However, overinterpretation and sensational reporting of research data by the media misled many lay persons into believing that the means to reverse aging had been discovered. Public enthusiasm for access to the “fountain of youth” presented a great opportunity for entrepreneurs and charlatans to sell “anti-aging” products without providing evidence of their safety and efficacy. Eventually, commercial interests that exploited the public desire for enduring youth had tainted anti-aging medicine and raised concern among many healthcare professionals that the field was illegitimate. Commercialism also significantly reduced the availability of private and public research funds that could have helped expand upon the legitimate, original findings. This created significant obstacles to generating a database of information on safe, effective, and practical methods for increasing longevity with good quality of life during aging. The use of anti-aging products by those concerned with protecting their professional and ethical reputations became something of a liability (Wick 2002). Nonetheless, public interest in anti-aging therapies, especially those involving hormone and other vital substance replacement, continues and in many cases is growing. As a result, many physicians and healthcare providers have been forced to treat their patients without the benefit of reliable information that could be provided by professionally organized educational programs, seminars, and evidence-based, peer-reviewed reports from their colleagues in research and practice.