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, cofactors, 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, “anti-aging 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.
A forum has been organized in recognition of the need for a reliable source of scientifically
valid information on interventions in aging. Its purpose is to serve the needs and
interests of medical practitioners whose practices include some aspect of longevity
medicine. The forum includes a new international organization called the Society for
Applied Research in Aging (SARA) and its official, peer-reviewed journal, Clinical
Interventions in Aging (CIA). As a first step, SARA will sponsor, jointly with the
University of South Florida College of Medicine, an organizational and charter member
meeting and symposium in Tampa, FL, USA on October 28–30, 2005. All speakers will
be experts in their field and have peer-reviewed publications demonstrating their
competence. Participation is open to all physicians and healthcare providers, and
SARA will take applications for charter membership at the meeting. The Society will
offer a unique opportunity for members to contribute to the development of longevity
medicine while at the same time provide the means to gain recognition of their skills
and elevate their professional status among peers and patients alike. Achievement
of these goals will be facilitated by participation in Society activities including
the Institutional Review Board-approved clinical trials of hormone replacement therapies,
protocols, and treatment paradigms for a variety of clinical situations; e-consult
services/chat rooms for questions and debate of controversial issues; and training
sessions/focus groups for intensive analysis of specific subjects. University-based,
continuing medical educational credits (CME) will be provided for participation at
many Society functions. As the result of participation, members will gain basic information
on how the use of exercise, diet, nutrition and natural products, hormone and antioxidant
replacement therapies, chelation and acupuncture, meditation, and other approaches
may help promote and extend healthy life. They will also come to understand the risks
and benefits of interventions in aging as well as some of the legal and ethical questions
relevant to the healthcare practitioner. Through such professional development, the
practitioner will more easily discriminate between legitimate and unfounded claims
about healthy aging and longevity.
Most importantly, members will receive subscriptions to CIA and will also be provided
with instruction and assistance on gathering outcomes of their work, analyzing data,
and creating publishable articles. Clinical Interventions in Aging will provide anti-aging
practitioners the opportunity to gather information and communicate new perspectives,
questions, and issues of importance to their peers through its pages. A major objective
of SARA is to collect and report outcomes from studies of aging and its treatments;
therefore, submissions of manuscripts for publication in CIA will be solicited as
a major part of the Society's efforts. The journal is devoted to reporting the outcomes
of current research and therapies that increase our knowledge of how the aging process
can be better managed. Its highly respected editorial board will ensure publication
of only the highest quality, peer-reviewed reports. In recognition of the value of
clinical data and the relevance of such information to the needs of longevity medicine
practitioners, the journal's format will include observations, case reports, new techniques,
subjective conclusions and opinions, letters, and relevant articles. These submissions
will be held to the same high standards for publication as are basic and clinical
research papers. Accordingly, they should complement practical information on current
treatments as reported by other practitioners. The journal will also periodically
publish an educational section on current topics in longevity and integrative medicine
for which CME credits as well as those for related healthcare professionals (CPE)
will be offered.
As Founding Editor of Clinical Interventions in Aging, I am proud to be part of these
worthy efforts. I thank Dove Medical Press for giving me the opportunity to be integral
to the initiatives that will make the practice of longevity medicine more interactive
among its practitioners, and through their complementary efforts, bring the practice
of “anti-aging medicine” to unprecedented levels of excellence.