December 13, 2002 / CHICAGO IL "Live to age 80? – Bah Humbug! We aim to live to a healthy, fit, active, robust, and productive 120+ years young," unanimously declares a group of nearly 4,000 physician and scientific delegates from 30 nations convening at the Tenth International Congress on Anti-Aging & Biomedical Technologies, sponsored by the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M, www.worldhealth.net).

Taking place 5-8 December 2002, the four-day scientific conference provided a forum of educational exchange on clinical applications and research breakthroughs in extending and enhancing the human lifespan. From its inception with one dozen scientific pioneers in 1993, the A4M has grown to an internationally respected professional organization composed of 11,500 members from 70 countries, many of whom hold some of the most prestigious positions at both academic and clinical hospital-based facilities and are published scientific researchers.

Central to the Tenth International Congress was the focus on safe and effective ways to prevent, intervene, or minimize the disabilities, diseases, and dysfunctions that currently plague us as we age. A few of the highlight presentations, and A4M's predictions for near-term eradication of aging-related diseases, included:

~ Bill Anton, BSc, Swinburne University (Australia): emphasized the importance of achieving optimal hormonal balance in the aging body, and its clinically proven role in slowing aging-related diseases.
> A4M Prediction: In an informal survey of the 1,700 attendees present at the event's Opening Remarks, it was noted that over 25% of the physician audience routinely utilized bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) in their practices. Only two physicians observed serious adverse effects, neither of which were resultant from BHRT. A4M predicts a rapid and widespread adoption of BHRT in the preventive health setting as this anti-aging intervention becomes mainstreamed in the next 18-24 months.

~ Barry Halliwell, DPhil, DSc, National University of Singapore: explained the multitude of health benefits of the judicious utilization of nutritional supplements and encouraged safe and qualified dispensation by trained physicians.
> A4M Prediction: In February 2002, Dr. Bruce Ames (University of Berkeley, California USA) reported that rats for which their diets were supplemented with acetyl-L-carnitine and alpha lipoic acid performed better on memory tests, had more energy, and improved cellular metabolic activities, leading Dr. Ames to comment "everything we looked at looks more like a young animal." A4M predicts a steady stream of age-combatting nutritional supplementation research breakthroughs in 2003.

~ D. Alan Butterfield, PhD, Sanders-Brown Center on Aging/University of Kentucky (USA): elucidated the role of oxidative stress in brains of those genetically predisposed to Alzheimer's Disease (AD) due to the ApolipoproteinE allele 4 to the onset of AD.
> A4M Prediction: A new brain-draining shunt system for AD and other neurodegenerative diseases of aging in-development at Stanford University Medical Center (California USA) may help to reduce the buildup of neurotoxins including products of oxidative stress in brain cells Projected time to broad clinical application: 3-5 years.

~ Alexander Eaton MD, Duke University School of Medicine: reported on results from the Age-Related Eye Disease Study Research Group which definitively showed the protective effect of antioxidants and minerals on macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss in the US and Europe.
> A4M Prediction: Sandia National Laboratories (USA) is presently developing a light-sensitive microchip retinal implant, containing 1,000 electrodes that stimulates neural pathways to convey visual images to the brain, thereby circumventing cells in the eye that are damaged in macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. The chip is expected to restore sight sufficient for reading; remarks project leader Dr. Wessendorf, "The images will come a little slowly … but people who are blind will see." Projected time to broad clinical application: 3-7 years.

~ Frederic Vagnini MD, Cornell University: alerted the audience to the epidemic of obesity plaguing the US, and its correlation to the soaring number of cases of diabetes, Dr. Vagnini reviewed the importance of early diagnosis of insulin-related disorders that contribute to cardiovascular disease.
> A4M Prediction: In October 2002, researchers at the Baker Institute (Australia) found that a type of blood pressure drug known as ACE inhibitors, which help diabetics to lower their risk of developing secondary cardiovascular complications, could help to delay the effects of aging. Diabetics produce complex proteins known as advanced glycation end products (AGEs) faster than non-diabetics, but the researchers found that ACE inhibitors reduced AGE production in diabetics. Drugs designed to suppress AGE production could provide an entirely new class of age-delaying drugs. Projected time to broad clinical application: 4-6 years.

~ Steven Feinstein, MD, Rush Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center (Chicago IL USA): to measure atherosclerosis – the leading contributor to coronary artery disease (CAD) – the nation's #1 killer, Dr. Feinstein elaborated on the use of noninvasive ultrasound imaging techniques of arteries and heart tissue in order to identify high-risk individuals while in the earliest stages of the disease and up to 15 years before a heart attack, thereby improving the efficacy of intervention.
> A4M Prediction: Adjunct use of noninvasive imaging along with nanotechnology-delivered drugs and laser therapy that are activated by ultrasound to break plaques that lead to the atherosclerotic state, thereby reducing the incidence of CAD and perhaps eliminating heart disease as the #1 killer. Projected time to broad clinical application: 5-15 years.

Dr. Ronald Klatz, A4M President, commented in the event's closing remarks that: "This past weekend, 4,000 of the brightest minds in the new science of anti-aging medicine united in an educational forum that promoted an open academic discourse on cutting-edge life-enhancing, life-extending medical advancements. Over the past decade, we have witnessed a broad array of breakthrough diagnostic technologies and therapeutic interventions that have been first reported at A4M's scientific conferences achieve mainstream acceptance. Anti-aging advancements enhance the quality, and extend the quantity, of the human lifespan, and A4M is widely respected as an international body of innovative, forward-thinking physicians and scientists leading the future of clinical medicine, scientific research, and public policy."

Mark your calendar for the A4M's "Anti-Aging Therapeutics for the Office-Based Physician & Health Practitioner" summer seminar program, taking place June 6-8, 2003, in Fort Lauderdale, FL (USA). The A4M is also proud to support the Second Annual Asia-Pacific Conference on Anti-Aging Medicine, taking place June 26-28, 2003, in Singapore. Visit The World Health Network, the Internet's leading anti-aging portal and official website of the A4M, at www.worldhealth.net, for event details.


SOURCE: The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, Chicago, IL
CONTACT: Catherine Cebula
PHONE: (877) 572-0608
FAX: (978) 742-9719
E-MAIL: media@worldhealth.net
WEBSITE: www.worldhealth.net





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