don's report archive

by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.

Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

Old as I am, for ladies' love unfit,
The power of beauty I remember yet.
John Dryden (1631-1700), Cymon and Iphigenia. Line 1.

Remembering the power of beauty is not enough for most of us grown old--we want to remain fit for ladies' love, and for a host of other, even better purposes. How to do that has always eluded us, save, of course, by slowing the process of aging by living a wellness lifestyle. Yet, even the savants of virtuous mindsets and habit patterns know that infirmities associated with survival to even a modest old age (say 40!) invites all manner of infirmities, and that such travails will increase until at last we are called by the Grim Reaper (pronounced "Ree Pah" as in Monte Python movies.) In fact, if we last long enough, whether due to running, jumping, eating raw foods, minimizing stress and all of that, we may at last view the "Ree Pah" as a highly welcome, cheerful visitor too long in coming. A Gay Reaper, so to speak--in the old-fashioned sense of the term gay (NOT that would be anything wrong with a Gay Reaper!).

In any event, most people have more sense than to hope for a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, a lottery jackpot, a World Series win by the Chicago Cubs or Boston Red Sox or a magic bullet-like pill to counter the effects of aging. However, some real and quite sensible scientists have, of late, been holding out some hope that SOMEDAY, perhaps in our lifetime, an anti-aging pill will be ready for market. An anti-aging pill would enable longer life (by forestalling disease and disability), allow for a youthful appearance well into middle and even late age and enable geezers to indulge youthful ways, performance wise, if you get my drift (as wondrous gerontological stud muffins fit for ladies' love, for example.)

It's a pretty picture filled with dreams and fantasies, but is it realistic?

Well, some drug company executives are getting their hopes up. To somewhat dispassionately assess the matter, consider obstacles that scientists seeking an anti-aging pill will have to overcome. I'll mention four, though there are more.

1. For starters, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) would require evidence that such a pill does what claimants profess. This, in itself, would entail years of testing. A drug company would have to show that the pill was the independent variable in longitudinal studies wherein subjects who took the pill lived appreciably longer/better than control subjects who did not.
   
2. Researchers would have to demonstrate the pill to be safe.
   
3. The drug company that would invest many millions in the effort might not be able to protect its profits if the anti-aging pill did prove effective and safe. According to a NY Times story on November 9, 2003 written by Gina Kolata entitled "The Drug Industry's Holy Grail," a patent lasts only 17 years--it might take this long to satisfy the first couple of tests just mentioned.
   
4. Anti-aging may be genetic, not subject to manipulation by drugs. A November 11, 2003 article in the Wall Street Journal entitled "Longevity Is Linked To Gene Regulating 'Bad' Cholesterol Genes" references a study suggesting that hundreds of genes are likely linked to longevity. Few pills have been known to change genetic makeup.

All these factors militate mightily against the availability anytime soon of an anti-aging pill or other therapeutics to slow aging, extend a person's productive period of life and do some or all of those things that seekers of eternal or at least more lasting youth so desire. While waiting to see how this kind of research proceeds, do what you can to remain vigorous and well. Live so as to improve your odds of staying free of disrepairs and all other infirmities. Do this the old fashioned way, the only manner known to be safe and effective, namely by living each day an enjoyable, wellness-inspired lifestyle of your own design. Not even a magic bullet, if there ever is one, will change chronological age but your own choices will always make a difference in your lifestyle age. The latter age is the one that counts, as Oliver Wendell Holmes wryly noted "On the Seventieth Birthday of Julia Ward Howe" on May 27, 1899: "To be seventy years young is sometimes far more cheerful and hopeful than to be forty years old."

Be well, and always look on the bright side of life.

(Note: This essay will be filed in the archives in the PHYSICAL DOMAIN under the skill area of appearance and aging. Additional articles related to this theme may be found there.)

(Ed. Note: Views expressed in this and other columns are those of the author and not necessarily those of the SeekWellness Editorial Board.)

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