Newly Identified Genes Linked to Aging

In the largest human molecular aging study to date, researchers discovered some 1,450 genes newly identified aging genes. These, together with factors such as diet, smoking, and exercise are linked to aging.

The underlying causes of human aging are largely unknown. However, growing old has been linked to the increased risk of diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and stroke - three of the leading causes of death.

According to the authors of the study, this large amount of newly identified genes provides a key breakthrough to better understand the molecular changes during aging.

Dr Marjolein Peters and Dr Andrew Johnson, from the Erasmus Medical Center and the Framingham Heart Study, respectively led this extensive study of the aging process.

Professor David Melzer from the University of Exeter oversaw the Exeter contribution.

Dr Luke Pilling, Associate Research Fellow in Genomic Epidemiology at the University of Exeter and part of the research team said:

This study has discovered many genes that change in their patterns of expression with age. This study has not only given insights into aging mechanisms – such as mitochondrial function – but these techniques have potential use in prediction and treatment.

Large, observational, and collaborative projects such as these provide a great platform to focus aging research in the future, with the hope that predictive tests can be developed, and treatment strategies for age-related conditions improved.

Researchers looked into the changes in gene expressions in blood samples of some 15,000 people from all over the world to find easy to measure markers of human aging. Information in the genes were analyzed by reading the DNA sequence and creating RNA, and then proteins.

The study showed that many of these genes work are responsible for generating the energy supply of the cells (mitochondrial function), metabolic processes, and the stability and flexibility of the cells.

By using the gene expression profiles, authors said that it allowed them to calculate the ‘transcriptomic age’ of an individual, and show that differences between transcriptomic age and chronological age are associated with biological features linked to aging, such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels, fasting glucose, and body mass index.

A potential limitation of their study, according to the authors, is that they relied on a linear regression model to identify age-associated genes. A linear model assumes constant change over age, which may not be always correct in biological processes that stretch over several decades (adulthood).

The research is published in the online edition of respected scientific journal, Nature Communications. http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/151022/ncomms9570/full/ncomms9570.html

When Clients Demand a Refund: Free Webinar

Our friends over at Healthy Aging Magazine are hosting a free medical webinar that should be of great interest to our members.

What happens when a patient is not happy with service or the result and demands a refund? ADVANCE for Healthy Aging, a trade magazine for cosmetic medicine professionals, will be offering a medical webinar, called “Doctor, I want my money back.”

• This free webinar takes place Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011, 8:00-9:00 p.m. EST, with presenters Jeffrey Segal, MD, board certified neurosurgeon and CEO of Medical Justice; and Michael J. Sacopulos, partner with Sacopulos, Johnson & Sacupulos of Terre Haute, Ind. The Webinar will address how doctors can level the playing field; and when refunding makes sense and doesn’t. In addition, these presented will also discuss what to do with negative online reviews—that often come as a result of disgruntled patients.

Use the link below to register:

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/590756176

Healthy Aging's Annual "Top of Class" Survey

Our friends over at Healthy Aging are gathering their annual "Top of Class" votes for our industry.  Cast your votes and we will publish their results in January.

Physicians must stay on the cutting-edge of technology. Your knowledge of leading industry reps, manufacturers and distributors can assist your colleagues during crucial equipment selection and purchasing decisions. Share your experience with colleagues in our annual "Top of the Class" survey, which allows dermatologists, estheticians and plastic surgeons to identify companies they feel are "among the elite."

Review the categories listed below, then cast your vote for your favorite vendors* by Dec. 30, 2010. We’ll tabulate the results and share the "Top of the Class" vendors online in January 2011. 

Click here for the survey.

Medical Spas & Cosmetic Crimes

From our friends over at Healthy Aging Magazine, an article that may or may not surprise you......

Depending on what statistics you read, tight economic times can either produce crime increases or decreases. However, a particularly peculiar variety of crime seems to be increasing these days—vanity crimes.

No, I’m not talking about the crime of going too big on your lip plumper or stripping 20 years off your skin when 10 would look more natural. I’m talking about people ripping off the dermatologists and plastic surgeons they’ve gone to for aesthetic procedures. 

A newspaper in Florida reported recently on several cosmetic crime cases:

• A woman came in for Botox and fillers totaling $3,300 then pulled a dine and dash. When she walked out of the office to visit an ATM to get the money, she bolted and never returned. Although she declined the before and after pictures, the office captured her on security video.

• A women received a $9,000 breast augmentation and tried to pay for it with a stolen credit card.

• A Fort Lauderdale women was charged with using a stolen credit card to pay for a tummy tuck.

• In a similar case, a Des Moines woman was accused of identity theft when she used a credit card to pay for over $6,000 in cosmetic surgery. She took out the credit card in her estranged husband’s name—probably not a good way to win him back.

An article on MSNBC cites Botox bandits Newport Beach, CA; Port St. Lucie, FL; Tampa, FL; Brisbane, Australia and Kenton, England. Jeff Karzman from the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery states that it's a problem happening "coast to coast."

Dallas plastic surgeon Rod Rohrich, MD, says he's having patients pre-pay for procedures to prevent what he calls "runners." Many medical spas have turned to an up-front payment system. 

Is smoother skin or a slimmer figure really worth a crime? How many months or years in the slammer would you do for a breast job or Brazilian butt lift? What should practice owners do to protect themselves against this kind of thing? Post security guards? Perform preemptive credit and background checks? Charge for procedures up front? If charge up front, should that apply to all patients or just new or suspicious ones? 

Guest post by Grant Clauser, Editor of Healthy Aging Magazine.

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The Cancer No One Takes Seriously

Last month, honor of National Melanoma Cancer Awareness Month, Healthy Aging interviewed a dozen folks who have been diagnosed with skin cancer. I digitally recorded their stories, and our photographers took lifestyle photographs. Their voices and images tell their story in the following slideshow.

 
Surprisingly, I noticed something different in these cancer survivors than other people I had interviewed with other types of cancer, such as breast cancer. The survivors' attitude upon diagnosis was almost systematically laissez faire at first.
 
While the diagnosis of any type of cancer is so difficult that generations of people still whisper the word or refer to it generically as "C," most people I interviewed were more intrepid about treatment. Their thoughts weren't on radiation or chemo.

There may be reasons why people don't take skin cancer so seriously. For one, the two most common types of skin cancer are generally not lethal.

Skin cancer is the number one diagnosed cancer in the United States. In fact, more than one million people are diagnosed with basal cell or squamous cell (non-melanoma) carcinoma annually. Given the high numbers, we all likely know someone who had a skin cancer removed. However, basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are slow growing and are most often not lethal. For example, less than 1,000 people die from non-melanoma cancer annually.

Melanoma is what you do need to worry about and why we need to seek out dermatologists, who are trained to recognize all types of skin cancer.

Most recent statistics estimate that 68,720 new cases of melanoma will have been diagnosed in 2009. That's far less than breast cancer (194,280), colon cancer (106,100) and lung cancer (219,440). But there's one noticeable difference:

We have the tools necessary (our eyes and a hand mirror) to detect possible problem areas. Our follow-up with a dermatologist annually can ensure the cancer is simply removed, before it spreads to our lymph nodes. 

"It's so easy," Elizabeth Encarnacion says, after being diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma at 32. "It's not even like you have to get a mammogram or a colonscopy, you just have to go and have someone look at your skin."

The good news is when melanoma is caught early, it is highly curable, boasting 90 percent to 95 percent survival rates. 

On the other hand, malignant melanoma, when caught later, is a cancer with few effective treatments. The median number of people who are diagnosed with advanced stage melanoma, for example, don't live a year, according to the Melanoma Research Foundation.

And while many say ignorance is bliss; denial can kill.

"The best thing you can do, if you have any doubt, is go and get it checked," says Schilling. "The last thing you want to do is lose your life to something you have been looking at."

Read the rest of this article

Marci A. Landsmann is managing editor of Healthy Aging. She can be reached at mlandsmann@advanceweb.com.

Submit a guest post to Medical Spa MD and be heard.

Healthy Aging Magazine Articles

Healthy Aging Magazine is now a Select Partner. Welcome!

Healthy Aging has a pretty well-stocked store choc-a-block full of the kinds of stuff that makes my eyes glaze over, but is a veritable playground for whoever does the ordering in your clinic.

If you go to the Healthy Aging Magazine page, you'll find a code that will give you an additional 10% off of any purchase you make.

Healthy Aging also has a number of sites and blogs as well as their general publication online. Here are a couple of tidbits from their site.

Evidence-Based Practice Medical Spa

Implementing an evidence-based practice (EBP) change with health care professionals in a medical setting can be daunting, but implementing it in a practice where some staff members are not medical clinicians presents unique challenges. This article discusses an EBP change for the treatment of acne in adult women by nonmedical clinicians in a medical spa setting.
 
With organized team processes, documented plans for intervention and ongoing evaluation, evidence-based practice intervention should be sustainable. Nonmedical clinicians can learn that not all studies are scientifically strong. They can learn to carefully consider study details to determine scientific validity. And they can follow and use evidence-based treatment protocols. Read more.

HGH: Safe or Not

A recent editorial in the journal Aging Healthy (not to be confused with Healthy Aging www.advanceweb.com/healthyaging) reignited the debate of Human Growth Hormone as an anti-aging supplement. Last year the AMA came out against HGH, citing a lack of clinical evidence, yet physicians argue with that claim and continue to endorse its use.  Read more.