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Is the antiaging drug that you use actually successful in delaying aging or is it just your illusion? A recent study attempts to look for scientific evidence (if any) behind these antiaging formulae.

In today’s society, there is almost nothing that money cannot buy you; it can buy you even age. Supposedly, if the buzz is to be believed, you can manage to minus a few years from your appearance. The Antiaging formulae available in markets globally promise “younger looking skin”. But is this for real? Who knows!The basic principle of antiaging medicine, that of delaying, halting or reversing the normal human biological aging process, contradicts scientific facts, which distinguish between aging as a natural phenomenon and the role of aging as a risk factor for certain diseases. The conduct of those who practice antiaging medicine should also be distinguished from public health-related actions for the promotion of health and disease prevention. The objective of antiaging medicine is to interfere in the normal human biological aging process. Is there any scientific basis to justify classifying Antiaging medicine as a medical specialty and not a branch of basic biological science? The basis and/or scientific evidence justifying its existence as a specialty of human medicine and not a branch of basic biological sciences are currently being questioned.

A recent review used standardized, evidence-based scientific methodology to analyze studies published in journals in the field of human health that involve antiaging techniques, procedures and therapies. The review attempts to define the level of evidence in these published studies and establishes the percentage in which the methodological structure is sound and assesses their applicability in current clinical practice.The review evaluated 110 papers, nine of which reported studies involving human subjects. Only one of these studies was randomized and double-blinded. Therefore, there does not appear to be any solid scientific and/or clinical evidence that would justify the application of Antiaging medicine in current medical practice.

The findings of the review indicate that the laboratory studies conducted in cells or in animals represent the first steps towards future studies and therapies in human beings. There are, however, significant distances between the studies on animals and the immediate applicability of the findings in human beings. This would represent the most significant methodological error in antiaging medicine. The inference that one draws out of this is that: the Antiaging formulae are mere extrapolation of results from basic science studies to medical practice without going through the clinical research stages.

Since the present literature review was able to identify limited reference to studies conducted exclusively in humans and considering the vastness of the proposed field of action of antiaging medicine, there is no solid scientific and/or clinical evidence that justifies its applicability in current medical practice.

Reference:
Is there any scientific evidence supporting Antiaging medicine?- A review by Milton Luiz Gorzoni and Sueli Luciano Pires, Convalescent Hospital and the Basic Gerontology Course of the Department of Clinical Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Brazil.  http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0365-05962010000100008&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en

Disclaimer: This article is written by a non-medical professional.