Antiaging Clinics Are Gaining in Popularity

Whether it's medicine showmen, pioneers of cryonics or "life extensionists," anti-aging salesmen have cropped up in every epoch of American history. And now our own era is taking the fight against aging into an entirely new financial realm. The U.S. market for anti-aging products and services is growing rapidly and will hit $72 billion in 2009, according to "Nutraceuticals International," a trade publication. Three trends, each feeding boomers' quest for immortality, are fueling the current boom.

First, scientists are unlocking several key factors in the aging process, generating headlines about how it might be slowed or reversed. In studying metabolism, for example, researchers have zeroed in on proteins called sirtuins, specifically one called SIRT1, which apparently control age-related illnesses in other organisms. Resveratrol, a substance found (in small amounts) in red-grape skins and red wine, is believed by some scientists to boost sirtuins in humans, which has triggered excitement about its potential benefits. Biogerontologists have also started to understand what makes cells age. IGF-1, for instance, is an insulin-like hormone that tells cells to grow; mTOR is a protein that shapes how cells respond to chemical instructions. By altering the pathways of these substances, scientists might be able to stop cells from dividing — that is, from aging. Other researchers are exploring the effects of the enzyme telomerase, which could thwart the natural tendency of chromosomes to break apart as cells age. And beyond these possibilities, stem cells hold out the promise that doctors might someday be able to regenerate body tissue or even grow whole new replacement organs.

These are all legitimately exciting avenues of research. But before we go any further, let's stipulate one fact that you should plant in your mind: No drug, nutritional supplement or medical regimen has been proven to extend human life spans. There are plenty of studies about the effects of various treatments on sick people. But despite what you'll read on the Internet, you cannot extrapolate their conclusions. Vitamin B-12 shots have a fairly miraculous energizing effect on individuals who are B-12-deficient, for example, but no demonstrated effect on persons who aren't. Chelation therapy, the process of separating heavy metals from the body's tissues, aids people who are suffering from lead poisoning but is useless otherwise. Double-blind, controlled studies on healthy human beings showing a particular substance leading to greater longevity? There simply aren't any. Unfortunately, this reality has been obscured by the second factor contributing to the antiaging boom: Custom-designed treatments have gone mainstream.