Limelight Young at any age By Lubna Abdel Aziz Was it not only yesterday that we wriggled and writhed, rocked and reeled, rattled and rolled to the amazingly haunting voice and music of Elvis Presley? The fact that this week the world commemorates 25 years since his passing proves once again that flitting and fleeting 'Father Time' flies faster than we would like. Something has to be done about this 'time' issue. It must be stopped. At the very least, we must stop the assault and ravages that it carries on its wings. With more people living longer, scientists began to focus on age -- to understand, control, curtail and even end it. Tired of the same old platitudes about age and ageing, "you are as old as you feel" etc, we started vigorously to pursue the question as the ageing population grew. The premise that the human body is a well-engineered machine, well-oiled and maintained when young, eventually malfunctioning and breaking down with age, had to be shelved. Scientific research began to focus on the collective mechanisms that start with birth and end with death. By 1940, a new branch of medicine, 'Geriatrics', was established, dealing with old age and its diseases. After the groundbreaking work of Gregor Mendel (1860s), Genetics became a recognised science (1900s). By the 1940s scientists established that genes were made up of the chemical DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). DNA serves as the blueprint for making proteins, which are the soldiers that perform the functions of the cells and of all living things. Why one 60-year-old may look 30 and another 80 is not only a matter of genes, but also of lifestyle. One of the main environmental factors is the food we eat. Ingested food particles become armies, which either protect or destroy us. They either preserve our cells from the destructive effects of oxidative process, or they are aggressive battalions of potent complex chemicals that mutilate and destroy our cells, rushing us towards old age and death. Ageing occurs when cells are permanently damaged by continual attacks from chemical particles called 'free radicals', which are the by-products of normal cell function and metabolism. However, "no one dies of old age", said a British pathologist, William Boyd, in 1938. We die of disease. Even in his recorded case of a 94-year-old, he discovered a heretofore-undiagnosed lobar pneumonia, one of the most common causes of death among the old. While ageing may be the law of nature, many facts have shown that it is not an inescapable process, because of the profound difference between one human and another. Some 'old' people may succumb completely to certain events, others partially, and others still may escape them entirely. In each of us dwells the wherewithal to resist age. "Without negative influences from within and without" writes health guru Deepak Chopra "our tissue organs could last 115-130 years, before sheer age could cause them to stop functioning." Actually, we have two ages, our chronological age in actual years since birth, and our biological age that takes into account the cumulative effects of our lifestyle over the years. Many studies have established that if you lose weight, stop smoking, improve your diet and consume far less food than you normally do, you can add up to 10 years to your life, and the good news is that it is never too late. Many battles have been waged against the ravages of time, but now a full- fledged war has been declared -- World War III is the war on ageing. Scientists and nutritionists believe that a strategic attack should be armed with rows of pills, in every colour, every shape, and every form. The infantry should consist of the Anti-oxidants (Vitamins A, E and C, zinc and selenium) that delay cell death by neutralising the oxidants released during the normal metabolism of cells. Following them, the B-battalion with folic acid, beta carotene, minerals, herbs, fibres, and other natural substances. This army will succeed in destroying the ageing elements, allowing us to live as young as possible, for as long as possible. The Austrian biochemist Dr Alfred Einhorn, in 1905 pioneered the principles of cell rejuvenation. He combined PABA and DEAE, two natural products within the human body, both belonging to the B-vitamin group. When combined, they are infinitely more potent than when taken separately. The product became known as 'Gerovital 3', or as procaine or novocaine, and was used extensively by dentists for its anesthetic properties. By the late 1940s the aggressive Romanian research scientist Dr Ana Aslan, added several items to the product and promoted it as Gerovital H3 (GH3, H3). She claimed that H3 works in the human body at the cellular level. New cells are being continuously formed in our bodies as some cells die and therefore we continue to grow. After age 30 however, we lose more cells than we gain, therefore the decline begins and continues to accelerate in pace with age. H3 seems to correct these problems altering the balance in favour of gaining new cells. Today, all over Europe, over 50 million people, including presidents and heads of state, have used it. The newest technology in this war on cell ageing is regenerative medicine. Its weapon is replenishing or replacing diseased or dead cells with new cells that have been cultured in vitro. Stem cells are extracted from the embryos of humans or animals and can be stimulated to multiply and grow indefinitely in cultures in the laboratory. The magic of these cells is that when removed from the cultures they can be directed to develop into any one of the some 210-cell types that make up the human body. Whenever cells in the body die, or are diseased or injured, they can be replaced by these specialised cells breathing new life into the person. Will this work? Numerous diseases, ranging from diabetes to blindness, spinal cord injuries to strokes, parkinsons to Alzheimer's have already been successfully treated in animals and every indication is that, with some refinement, it should work in humans just as well. Some have even gone so far as to claim that under such optimum circumstances, life may go on indefinitely. Our war will be won with the ultimate conquest of life over death. The only alternative to ageing is death. Not any longer. Our expanded and vigorous stem cell research has put new life in our lives. But since this is still years away, one major rejuvenating element often overlooked is love. Love may well be the eternal secret of life. "Its positive aura envelops and protects that body and mind whose ageing we hate so much. If you want to be happy, be," wrote Leo Tolstoy. If you are depressed, lonely, worried, you accelerate the ageing process; if you are happy, if you love your life, work, companions, children, hobbies, involvement, the reverse is true. So is love the answer? It well may be. "An ounce of love is worth a pound of knowledge." Dr Ward Dean wrote in Life magazine, October 1992: "We're in a war. It's life against death, and we're all in the killing zone of the ageing process. To do nothing is to be wiped out." Had he enlisted in that war too, Elvis would have been with us today, still shivering and shaking, rocking and rolling our cares away, even at 67. So do we want a universe inhabited by walking, talking, active, healthy, vigorous, intelligent human beings who cannot be categorised as young or old, healthy or sick? Absolutely! We may not want to live forever, but we would like to be young as long as we live. American comedian George Burns (1896- 1996), who lived to be 100, said it best: "You can't help getting older, but you don't have to get old."
