Traditional medicine and healthcare have focused on diagnosing and treating diseases. Anti-aging medicine focuses on using scientific, evidenced-based methods to prevent, treat, and even reverse diseases and aging. The goal is to live long and be in good physical and mental health at every age. The field is exploding with exciting findings in gene therapy, tissue engineering, stem cell therapies, hormone therapies, brain research, pharmaceuticals, and nanotechnology. The field also has considerable hype and even charlatanism.
This course examines anti-aging research and practices with an emphasis on what is evidence-based and what isn't. It looks at promising developments in the pipeline. It presents the best research and, when applicable, discusses controversies, concerns, and risks - and lets you draw the conclusions on what makes sense for you and your clients.
This course is composed of several short articles and 11 audio (MP3) interviews with top experts in the field of Anti-aging:
In the first section Michael Brickey, Ph.D. gives an overview of the field of anti-aging medicine and gerontology.
The second section, Longitudinal Research, includes an interview with Leslie Martin, Ph.D., who emphasizes aging and longevity issues in the latest findings from the ongoing Terman study begun in 1921.
The third section, Brains and Anti-aging Research, includes interviews with Judith Horstman, science journalist with Scientific American, on the latest research on human brains, and an interview with Barbara Strauch, New York Times Health and Science Editor, who focuses on surprising research about the uniqueness of "middle aged brains."
The fourth section, titled Nutrition and Anti-aging, includes an interview with Susan Yager, health journalist, who gives a perspective on the last 100+ years of nutrition and dieting and then focuses on anti-aging nutritional issues.
The fifth section covers the important topic of Hormone Therapies. This section includes an interview with Jonathan Wright, MD, the world's preeminent expert on bioidentical hormone replacement, who focuses on his research and clinical experience with bio-identical hormone replacement; an interview with Jonathan Morgentaler, MD, the world's preeminent expert on male hormone replacement, who examines hormone replacement for men; and an interview with Sergey Dzugan, MD, Ph.D. and George Rozakis, MD, who examine holistic approaches to rebalancing hormones (restorative medicine).
The sixth section covers the often neglected but extremely important topic of Over-Diagnosis and Over-Treatment. It includes an interview with H Gilbert Welch, MD, a prominent expert on evidence-based medicine, who examines how the over-diagnosis and over-treatment of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis often do more harm than good. It also includes an interview with Michael Ozner, MD, preventive cardiologist, who examines the overdiagnosis and overtreatment of cardiovascular disease.
The seventh section is focused on The Future of Anti-aging and includes a couple of short articles on the Artificial Retina Project and two MP3 interviews. One is with Terry Grossman, MD, which examines best practices in holistic medicine and what is in the future for anti-aging medicine, and the other is with Michael Fossel, MD, telomere researcher, which discusses the role of telomeres in aging.
Finally, the last section provides Online Resources and Annotated Resources for further reading.
Educational Objectives:
This course will teach psychotherapists to
Develop perspective on the history of anti-aging research, pertinent organizations, types of practitioners, and reliable sources of information.
Evaluate what factors contribute significantly to increased longevity.
Identify current major findings from the longitudinal Terman study started in 1912.
Evaluate advances in brain research and efforts to enhance brain functioning.
Identify ways teenage, adult, and senior brains function differently.
Evaluate anti-aging nutritional theories, research, and controversies.
Evaluate the risks and benefits of conventional and bioidentical hormone therapies for women.
Evaluate the risks and benefits and modalities for testosterone replacement therapies for men.
Evaluate holistic approaches to rebalancing hormones (restorative medicine).
Evaluate research on how over-diagnosis and over-treatment of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and osteoporosis can do more harm than good.
Explain advances and futurist projections of likely advances in gene therapy, tissue engineering, stem cell therapies, and nanotechnology.
Assess the role of vitamins and supplements in anti-aging medicine.
Identify research on the role of telomeres in aging and how lengthening telomeres may extend lifespans.
Summarize anti-aging ethical and political controversies.
Course Syllabus
What is Anti-aging?
Definitions:
Aging
Gerontology
Biogerontology
Geriatrics
Lifespan
What causes aging?
Wear and tear
Limited number of cell divisions
Telomere length
DNA errors and repair
Autoimmune
Inflammation
Waste product accumulation
Caloric restriction
The Free Radical Theory
Cross linking (Glycosylation or Glycation)
Membrane theory
Neuroendocrine
Hormone imbalance
Death hormone
Senescent cells
Life Expectancy
Definitions and data
Sex differences in life expectancy
US racial differences in life expectancy
What caused the increase in life expectancy in the US?
International comparisons of life expectancy
Centenarians
Compressed morbidity
Future advances in life expectancy
Longitudinal Research
Overview of the Longevity Project
MP3 interview with Leslie Martin, Ph.D. Dr. Martin is a psychology professor at La Sierra University in Riverside California and a research associate of Howard Friedman, Ph.D.
Brains and Anti-aging
Overview of brain research
MP3 interview with Judith Horstman. Ms. Horstman is an award winning science journalist and author of five books including The Scientific American Brave New Brain.
MP3 interview with Barbara Strauch. Ms. Strauch is the Health and Medical Science Editor at the New York Times and is the author of The Primal Teen: What the New Discoveries about the Teenage Brain Tells Us about Our Kids and author of The Secret Life of the Grown-up Brain.
Nutrition
Overview of nutrition and anti-aging
MP3 interview with Susan Yager. Ms. Yager is a health journalist, an adjunct instructor at New York University, and author of The Hundred Year Diet: America’s Voracious Appetite for Losing Weight.
Hormone Therapies
Overview of hormone therapies with women: Premarin,® Prempro,® and Provera.®
The Women’s Health Initiative
MP3 interview with Jonathan Wright, MD. Dr. Wright is the author or co-author of 14 books, Editor of the monthly newsletter, Health and Nutrition, a radio commentator, and principle physician at The Tahoma Clinic near Seattle Washington.
Overview on hormone therapies with men
Testosterone replacement
Testosterone delivery modalities
MP3 interview with Jonathan Morgentaler, MD. Dr. Morgentaler is an associate clinical professor at Harvard Medical School and Founder of Men’s Health, Boston. He is author of three books: The Male Body, The Viagra Myth, and Testosterone for Life.
Human Growth Hormone
Overview of balancing hormones (restorative medicine)
MP3 interview with Sergey Dzugan, MD, Ph.D. and George Rozakis, MD. Dr. Dzugan is a cardiologist who emigrated from the Ukraine. He has a distinguished career in cardiology, cancer, and migraine research and has worked for the Life Extension Foundation.
Over-Diagnosis and Over-Treatment
Overview of over-diagnosis and over-treatment
MP3 interview with H. Gilbert Welch, MD. Dr. Welch is an internist and professor at Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. He is a nationally recognized expert on evidence-based medicine and the principle author of Overdiagnosed: Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health.
Overview of the treatment of cardiovascular disease
The historical emphasis on cholesterol
The Life Extension Foundation’s 17 factors that contribute to cardiovascular disease
Other factors affecting cardiovascular disease
The effectiveness of cardiovascular tests and surgeries
MP3 interview with Michael Ozner, MD
The Future of Anti-aging Medicine
The rapid growth of technology
Genetic engineering
Tissue engineering
Vaccines
Individualized pharmacology
Real-time electronic monitoring and electronic records
Nanotechnology & biotechnology
The Artificial Retina Project
MP3 interview with Terry Grossman, MD. Dr. Grossman is the Founder and Medical Director of the Grossman Wellness Center in Denver, Colorado. His third and most recent book is Transcend: Nine Steps to Living Well Forever, which he coauthored with futurist and inventor Ray Kurzweil.
MP3 interview with Michael Fossel, MD. Dr. Fossel is a professor at Michigan State University and the founding editor of The Journal of Anti-Aging Medicine. He is principle author of The Immortality Edge, which describes the role of telomeres in aging.
Traditional medicine and healthcare have focused on diagnosing and treating diseases. Anti-aging medicine focuses on using scientific, evidenced-based methods to prevent, treat, and even reverse diseases and aging. The goal is to live long and be in good physical and mental health at every age. The field is exploding with exciting findings in gene therapy, tissue engineering, stem cell therapies, hormone therapies, brain research, pharmaceuticals, and nanotechnology. The field also has considerable hype and even charlatanism.
