A major change in global demographics is currently underway, almost certainly it will intensify over the next generation. The evidence for an increasingly aging population has been documented in almost all developedt nations, and developing nations will soon begin the same process, as health care in poorer nations improves with increases in resources.
Health problems accompaning aging are well known, including increasing incidence of Alzhheimer disease, hypertension, obesity, diabetes mellitus and the metabolic syndrome. Coronary heart disease is a well established chronic illness which has a variety of effective pharmacological therapies, proven invasive procedures, and hygienic measures including dietary and exercise programs. The therapeutic approach to aging has remained muted at best. Currently no new pharmacologic agent is believed to approach aging in a therapetic fashion. Until recently aging and its accompaning frailty have be shrugged off by physicians and patients alike as a " natural " process, and one that merely requires acceptance. Perhaps it is time to challange this nihilistic approach and intiiate some research into the way aging effects the individual and what measures might be appropriate in modifing aging.
Here I do not suggest the marked reduction in caloric intake, which appears to prolong the lifespan of yeasts and small mammals, but are unlikely to be acceptable to most humans. I believe that an aggressive approach to investigating aging must include lipidologists, geriatricians, exercise physiologists,general physicians, nurses, and most of all intelligent laymen who can make real contributions based on their own opinions and experiences.
I would appreciate your comments and input. Think of this effort as lighting a small candle,. We all have cursed the darkness long enough.
Respectively submitted
David T Nash M.D. Clinical Professor of Medicine
