Today much of world medicine is working on the problem of how to raise the quality of life and prolong it. Slowing down aging processes has become a unifying component of all medical sciences, a sphere in which traditional and alternative medicines intersect and a wide spectrum of scientific knowledge and practical achievements is applied. The key fields are therapy, preventive medicine, gerontology, endocrinology, neurology, diet, physiology, and many other directions. Thanks to the unification of these medical spheres, a new science has been born — anti-aging.
While gerontology is the study of aging, anti-aging is oriented at preventing diseases and using methods to slow down aging processes so that people can remain young for as long as possible, retain energy, and live a full life.
The founders of contemporary anti-aging studies are three top Ukrainian medical scientists — Professors Oleksandr Bohomolets, Borys Mankovsky, and Volodymyr Frolkis. They are members of the Association of Anti-Aging Medicine, founded in Ukraine three years ago.
The first international conference on anti-aging recently took place in Kyiv. Oksana SAVENKO, the vice-president of Ukraine’s Association of Anti-Aging Medicine and head doctor at the Ukrainian-German Clinic, explains the tasks of this branch of medicine.
How topical is the development of anti-aging innovations in Ukraine?
“The problem of prolonging life and preserving health is extremely topical for Ukraine and Ukrainians. Today we are seeing problems not only with the low birth rate but also the high death rate, and with the quantitative correlation between the numbers of able-bodied and non-able-bodied people. We occupy the second-to-last spot in Europe in terms of longevity. Experts have already recorded a catastrophic death rate among men, and the gap between women and men’s longevity is 11 years. The mortality rate threshold has risen, especially because of oncological pathologies. It is difficult to speak about this, but we are growing older, and the Ukrainian nation is simply degenerating. Ukraine is now at a very interesting stage: because of the Chornobyl catastrophe, which has had a great impact on our health, we have become a model for Europe, on which all the aging processes, ruination, and emergence of oncopathologies are very clearly seen. Today at any European conference everyone considers the opinions of Ukrainian medical researchers and listen attentively to their reports. We have received international acknowledgement and become members of the European Anti-Aging Association.”
How can anti-aging help us?
“Anti-aging is not a narrow specialization, and the coordinated efforts of many medical spheres and all of society represent an essentially fresh look. Medical scientists have to unite, cooperate, and share their experience. Now everyone is asking the state for money, but I am sure that the way to Europe does not lie through state agencies but through professional civic organizations. Let’s take Europe as an example. Longevity is reaching 80 years now. A woman of 50 there looks very nice and has lots of energy and strength. By the way, in the last centuries, longevity in developed countries has increased by 40 years.
“Unfortunately, Ukraine is not one of these countries. The most striking thing to our citizens who come to a European country is the appearance of elderly people. They are fit, smiling, and energetic, and we ask ourselves: why do we look so bad at 30, and why do we feel so bad in comparison to much older people? The answer is: it is not cosmetology or financial welfare that matter; it is a different approach to health. First of all, from early childhood children in Europe are taught to take care of their health. Second, diagnostics are better in European clinics (it differs in quality, because new, more progressive methods are used) and third, both individuals and society have a different attitude to health.
“In the West you won’t find any good job with a future if you look bad or if you are sick. Before getting a job, you need to have a medical. It is understood clearly there that health is prestigious and a guaranty of success not just because the person will work but will work efficiently. Health is a cult there, and a person needs to look good and be fit.
“Men are also interested in prolonging their lives. Men and women have to look and feel good to work actively and to live a full life when they are 50. We don’t have the same thing here. Foe some reason people here are not interested in their health and do not appreciate it.”
What concrete things are anti-aging specialists doing for patients who have decided to live to 100?
“Unfortunately, it is too early for Ukrainians to dream about this. We are realists, and so far we are simply working toward the goal of getting our women to live to the age of 60 on average and our men — to 58. Our first piece of advice to everyone is to find a good doctor. At the heart of anti-aging lies professionalism, a systematic and individual approach to each patient.
“First of all, this approach is based on studying the patient’s genetic factors that lead to aging. According to analyses, doctors apply various measures to improve a concrete individual’s life style in order to prevent genetic changes. When a person’s genetic peculiarities are studied, two circumstances are taken into account: the person’s genotype and life style, inherited from parents, and the influence of the environment on his or her genetics — phenotype.
“The main thing is genetic polyformism. This helps predict which disease a specific person may get, and how to avoid or postpone it. The ideal person for the work of anti-aging experts is one who is active and strong at 60. Research on the genetic level is helping to show each organ and system’s inclination to any pathology, helping to predict how they will behave in the future and how a person responds to one medication or another. We can determine which medications are necessary and which are not. We can foresee the possibility of oncopathologies and recommend what a person should avoid, and design appropriate diets and lifestyle.
“We are able, and we must, correct these things. ‘We’ means the doctor applying the results of genetic research. The second task, which can be called the primary one, is the implementation in medicine of other kinds of analyses — more detailed, more precise, and more complete. We also implement aging markers for our patients. The thing is to determine, with the help of laboratory diagnostics, how much our metabolic age really corresponds to our chronological age, in which systems and organs aging are already taking place and the reasons for this.
“The third task is the implementation of cancer markers for each organ and system, which is aimed at early diagnosis of disease. As you can see, the expert’s first task is prevention, which allows him to show the organism’s real state.
“Practically everyone who comes to us is facing the problem of andro— and menopause, which is connected to many other problems — cosmetology, and physiological and psychological states. We have developed unique programs that are being successfully implemented, and patients are getting through this difficult period and enjoying their lives. If this problem is approached correctly, women may not feel all the problems connected with this transition period. So, a woman who complains about skin dryness not only gets the services of a cosmetologist, she goes through a complex treatment. She is examined by an endocrinologist and gynecologist, and we look at her aging markers, social and biological age. All this is very individual. We have women who have postponed menopause for up to five or six years.”
Who are our country’s experts on anti-aging?
“Unfortunately, we have very few experts in anti-aging, although this branch of medicine is very popular in Europe. For example, a specialists’ forum on anti- aging medicine took place in Monaco recently; even the king of Monaco attended the forum. This indicates the authorities’ attitude to the problem. As a rule, in the developed countries conferences take place in the largest cities under the patronage of the countries’ leaders. At the conference that took place in our country, a special workshop for medical scientists was held: we talked about aging mechanisms, diagnostics (ultrasound and lab work) aging markers, how to deal with this problem, how to convey the problem to the patient, and how to create an individualized program of rehabilitation, etc.
“Of course, we would like to implement this stream as a specialization at medical universities because we have all the materials, all the work, and we are ready to share them with specialists. The most important thing is that we have all the work, methods, theory, and even practical skills. The more I listen to Western colleagues, the more clearly I understand that in theory we do not lag behind them. Pick up the works of Ukrainian scientists, and you will see that our physicians and pharmacists have already talked about this; all this has been developed by our medical institutes. We just have to deal with this. We have things to share, because professors, like Bohomolets, Mankovsky, and Frolkis, were at the well-springs of anti-aging. The entire world’s science of anti-aging is based on their work.
“In May the International Forum on National Health will be held in Ukraine with state support. Our association will also be participating. We want to convey to the forum that we should solve all our global problems, like AIDS, drug addiction, tuberculosis, and oncological diseases within a complex, because all these diseases are linked to each other and involve a shortening of life span.”
Professor Hennadii Apanasenko has said that the average Ukrainian is 10 to 15 older than his or her chronological age. Do you agree with his statement?
“Hennadii Apanasenko was understating the problem. Generally speaking, the body’s real aging according to the level at which its organs and systems are worn out is 15 to 20 years older than the chronological age. The reasons are Chornobyl, ecology, bad habits, and unhealthy lifestyle. Let’s see: how much money does the average Ukrainian spend on cigarettes and alcohol? Everything depends on how much a person cares for his or her health, because aging can start at age 20 or 25. It is worth noting that there are already people in Ukraine who are interested in fighting for their health, in particular, to postpone old age. They are independent; they have money, and are able to take care of their and their children’s health systematically. Anti-aging is not health for today, it is the health of generations.”
Is it expensive for the average Ukrainian to obtain high-quality diagnostics, the kind you just mentioned?
“You do not need much money to get a complex medical examination — under 1,500 hryvnias. But if a person gives up cigarettes, vodka, and mayonnaise, and calculates everything, he or she will come for a consultation to a doctor, who will tell them how it will be better to take care of their health. They will not wait long for the results. Finally, everyone knows that you have to take long walks in the fresh air, eat fruit and vegetables, consume fatty acids, and engage in physical activity every day, but not everyone has such habits. The worst is that often people want quick results: prescribe two pills and three ointments so that everything works today. People want to go to expensive beauty salons and expensive resorts, where there is everything, except for the most expensive thing — a system.
“I would also like to say that we have no culture of attitude to doctors. People often consider doctors as people who take bribes, although that happens because the period of financial instability has had an impact on all spheres. A patient has to trust the doctor completely, but in our country the patient comes to the doctor and already knows everything that he needs to be healed. On the other hand, the doctor must be a professional, he must be trusted, and he must take an individual approach to each patient.
“Today it is impossible to find a good physician in Ukraine — everyone has become specialized to earn a quick buck. But the time of fast money is over. I experienced this too, when patients were “put on the conveyor,” but now I understand that it is better for me to spend one hour or more on one person, and I will fully understand his situation and make a diagnosis of all his organs.
“The main task of our association is to develop the inter-branch anti-aging program and involve experts and a program of study. To a large extent this is a program about medications that we should use to prevent diseases and complications. We are working to embrace all the medical specializations to popularize this stream of medicine.
