Drs. Purcell,Sayeoft
Zimnv
k-
,B(,ardcertifiNI Family Medicine Specialk6 ,
HEALTH & FITNESS
Aging: Problem Or
Mystery?
Anthony J. Sayegh, a0.
Family Medicine
Kelly Purcell, D.O.
Family Medicine
Matthew C. Zimny, D.O.
Family Medicine
Spotlight turns to the dynamic of getting older.
*Specializing in All Aspects of Pediatric, Adult,
and Geriatric Medicine including...
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Special to the Jewish News
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The Aging Process
Cole was very direct in his criticism
of anti-aging research and physicians
who practice anti-aging medicine that
claims to slow, prevent or reverse the
aging process. He adamantly claimed
there is no legitimacy to anti-aging
medicine and that its tactics are dam-
aging to prospects for serious, scientific
research on aging.
"The studio was extreme-
ly easy to work with, and
our pictures turned out
great!" - Jennifer Jasgur
1222960
36
May 31 2007
efming the difference
between medical treatment
and medical enhancement
was the focus of the seminar presented
by Dr. Thomas R. Cole at Adat Shalom
Synagogue in Farmington Hills.
Cole was the final presenter in a
May series dealing with "The Ethics
of Enhancement" sponsored by Adat
Shalom's Physicians' Journey Group,
chaired by Drs. Rhonna Shatz and Dan
Guyer.
Cole began the seminar announcing
that many people are terrified about
getting older.
"Aging is a universal human experi-
ence, not a disease,'
says Cole. "It is a
mystery, constantly
in flux as people
move through the
years intellectually
and spiritually"
Cole, researcher
and
author on aging
Thomas R. Cole
issues, is director
of the McGovern
Center for Health, Humanities and the
Human Spirit at the University of Texas
Health Science Center.
"The Adat Shalom Physicians'
Journey Group was initiated to focus
on issues that cross the boundaries of
both science and religion and aren't
addressed at the usual synagogue
programs," says Shatz. "The group also
helps physicians learn about those
Jewish ethics which may come into
play professionally as well as promote a
sense of spirit with medical peers."
The primary objective of the study of
the biology of aging, or biogerontology,
is to understand the basic processes
that underlie aging and age-related
diseases. According to Cole, biogeron-
tologists are divided between those
who identify and remove pathologies
and those who search for anti-aging
interventions.
"The American Academy of Anti-
Aging Medicine was put together
by two entrepreneurial physicians','
explained Cole. "Its membership now
numbers 13,000 business people and
clinicians who offer dietary supple-
ments, cosmetics, hormone injections
and other goods and services with the
promise that these treatments combat
aging and its effects. Those who study
the basic mechanism of aging are seek-
ing treatments while those who look
for anti-aging interventions are seeking
enhancements."
Images of losing our teeth, hair,
muscle strength and memory are how
many of us fear seeing ourselves as we
age, especially when accompanied with
wrinkles, joint pain and a long list of
health problems.
The fact is these changes are age
related, but they are not considered
part of the biology of aging. Although
they may reflect changes from environ-
mental abuse, from disease and from
the wear and tear of normal living, the
study of normal aging focuses on age
changes resulting from basic biological
processes.
"In terms of the treatment-enhance-
ment debate, we might say that those
who study the basic mechanism of
aging are seeking treatments, while
those who look for anti-aging interven-
tions are seeking enhancements" says
Cole. "Public funding favors research
that fights disease over research aimed
at health promotion. Private funding
favors new biomedical enhancements
over cures. The questions are what are
the proper goals of research and are
there limits to unraveling and control-
ling the basic biological processes of
aging:'
Aging on page 39