If the theme chosen this year was prevention, it was not only to remind us that it is the condition for successful ageing. It was also, it seems, to say that the earlier you take care of your health, the better it works! It would not be only the hygiene of life to rectify before 60 years… The molecules tested to help to cross the years in good health would also be more effective when one takes them earlier. In support of these assertions, which could make pharmaceutical companies happy: the presentation of several studies suggesting clearer effects at 40 than at 70.
Metformin, promising results
Among the anti-aging molecules being tested, an “old” antidiabetic that is taken orally, metformin, clearly stands out. Specialists began to take an interest in it after observing better survival in diabetic patients with breast cancer.
“It is thought to act on 17 different tissues, exerting a very interesting anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer action, undoubtedly responsible for the increase in survival observed in certain cancer patients”, explained a Russian specialist, Dr. Vladimir Anisimov. But to obtain an action on longevity, preliminary studies seem to show that it is necessary to start before the age of 50…
Curcumin to detoxify the brain
Turmeric, this saffron spice highly concentrated in curcumin, has anti-inflammatory properties and thwarts the growth of cancer cells in the laboratory. This is why it is proposed in the anti-cancer diet, associated with pepper. Curcumin would also have an interest in detoxifying the brain from heavy metals. Their accumulation in certain areas of the brain is indeed invoked as one of the many factors involved in neurodegenerative diseases. “The idea is to equip curcumin, and other natural products like gingko or beta-carotene, with ‘rockets’ to get them to the right place to detoxify the brain”, explained Professor Jean-François Narbonne, toxicologist. A trial with this nutraceutical food (health food) is underway in the United States in Alzheimer’s disease.
The importance of the thyroid highlighted
TSH, the hormone that links the brain to the thyroid, tends to increase with age.
“It would be a factor of longevity, as studies carried out among centenarians have shown”, emphasized Dr. Luca Chiovato (University of Pavia, Italy). But it is of course necessary to check that this is not a sign of a drop in thyroid hormones, which is frequent with age, and therefore to ensure that the gland is well “nourished”. She needs iodine, but also zinc and vitamin D, of which there is often a deficit in people suffering from hypothyroidism.
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Aesthetics: the boom in injections In all the congresses, stands present the latest novelties. In fourteen years, the devices put forward in that of Monaco have evolved a lot… While at the beginning, we mainly found devices to reduce cellulite, the techniques of injection of filler product (hyaluronic acid, in particular ) clearly dominated this year. With the presentation of various post-intervention “treatments”, such as this cream that is mixed with collagen powder to complete the result. By observing the visitors in the aisles, one could see the boom in injections, because many Russian and American female doctors had obviously used them! But in aesthetics, as in medicine, the French trend is for less aggressive gestures. |
*In English: AMWC (Aesthetic & Anti-Aging Medicine World Congress), which brought together 9,000 medical specialists from 120 countries, under the honorary chairmanship of Randolph Waldman (plastic surgeon, Lexington, Kentucky), Heidi Waldorf (dermatologist, New York) and Barry Sears (PhD, anti-aging specialist, Peabody, Massachusetts).
For further
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