responses leading to a classic “fight or flight” response. This chain of chemical and physi-ological reactions, crucial in an emergency response situation, can have disastrous consequences if uncontrolled. Stress, when it becomes chronic, has a direct impact on mortality. Studies have shown that persons suffering from chronic stress die significant-ly earlier than age-matched controls and, in one study, the chances of dying early were as much as 63 per cent greater among per -sistently distressed individuals. 1 Why does stress kill us? A 2004 study measured telomere length in mothers who were caring for disabled children. 2 Telo-meres hold the chromosome coiled at the end and prevent it from fraying. With each replication, the telomere gets shorter until it reaches a point where its gets too short and the cell goes into senescence and dies – hence the impact on aging. The study found that the longer the period of caregiv-ing by those women, the shorter the telo-mere length leading to impaired telomere function and accelerated cell senescence. Others have speculated on the possibility of increased oxidative damage along potential pathways by which chronic stress impacts telomere length. 3 Science shows us that stress gets all the way down to the cell but where, Dr. Hara-mati asks us, would you intervene? Do we somehow try to augment our telomeres? Do we try to mitigate oxidative damage in some way? Or do we want to prevent or attenuate that cascade as it begins? To combat perceived stress, George-town instituted a program in mind-body medicine using techniques such as medita-tion, imagery to induce relaxation, biofeed-back, autogenic training (self-hypnosis), breathing techniques, exercise, yoga, tai chi and group support to nurture participants. So far, the results have been encouraging. Mind–body approaches appear to not only be effective in helping to reduce stress and anxiety but also teach the power of self-awareness and self-care with the ultimate goal of producing better caregivers. Although the Georgetown experience is couched in the context of its physician training program, the lessons learned are equally applicable to all health profes-sions – and to us all. Stress not only im-pacts professional performance but also has profound implications for health, well-being and longevity. Jeanne Calment, at 122 the world’s longest-lived human be-ing, attributed her longevity at least in part 20 • CANADIAN CHIROPRACTOR | MAY 2012 to her sense of humour and unflappable approach to life. ImmORTAlITY, INC. “Newest research suggests that extreme longevity is largely determined by our genes.” 4 This does not mean, however, that there are not proponents of the possibility of extreme life extension. Some believe that “people could live 1,000 years” if it were possible to eliminate all processes of aging and if oxidative stress damage could be re-paired. 5 According to Aubrey de Grey, chief science officer of the Sens Foundation, if a means could be found to unravel the Gordian knot that is the relationship be-tween telomerase and cancer, aging could be stopped entirely. The same group pre-dicts an end to aging as a cause of death this century. 6 And where science beckons with the tantalizing possibility of radically extend-ing our years, the money quickly follows. Elizabeth Blackburn, Nobel Prize laureate for the discovery of telomeres, has come up with a commercially available procedure to measure the length of telomeres. 7 Others have developed the first product targeting telomeres, which at $8,000 per year is now sold as a nutritional supplement. Accord-ing to the company, early adopters of the supplement – derived from the Chinese herb astragalus – report enhanced ath-letic, visual and cognitive performance. 8,9 The same company is pursuing a separate telomere therapy aimed at fighting cancer while another is looking at a number of chemicals that turn on the telomerase gene and hopes to have an approved drug with-in the next 15 years. 10 On the genetics front, the pharmaceuti-cal giant GlaxoSmithKlein paid $720 mil -lion in 2008 for a biotechnology company that focused on finding sirtuin 1 (SIRT1)-activating compounds. Sirtuin genes and the proteins they encode have fascinated anti-aging researchers ever since they were first linked to longevity in yeast. But since then, results suggesting that SIRT1 affects lifespan in fruitflies and nematodes have been challenged amid claims of flawed research design and no effect of SIRT1 on longevity in mammals has been demon-strated. In February of this year, however, hopes that the crumbling empire of sirtu-ins – and the millions invested in them – could somehow be linked to longevity in complex organisms were revived with an announcement that another sirtuin gene, sirtuin 6 (SIRT6), appeared to extend life-span in mammals. The study, published in Nature, reported that over-expression of the SIRT6 gene lengthened lifespan in male mice by as much as 15.8 per cent. 11 What all this tells us about our life ex-pectancy, or what we can do about it, is not clear. What is clear, however, is that modern society’s obsession with aging has turned the anti-aging industry into a mul-timillion-dollar concern with one of the fastest growing markets in the world. All manner of laboratory tests, procedures and protocols will, for a price, be available in coming years purporting to give us a crys-tal ball on how long we are likely to live and what potentially lethal health issues are lurking in our genes. But before you hop on the longevity train, ask yourself what you are prepared to do for that bonus time. Are you will-ing to endure a spartan dietary regimen or even semi-starve yourself depending on the prevailing wisdom of the day? Would you be willing to commit to a lifetime of structured exercise? Are you prepared to invest in a bevy of supplements – all prom-ising a breathless array of health benefits? What would you pay to know the length of your telomeres and what, if anything, would that tell you about the likelihood of your getting age-related diseases such as heart disease, cancer and stroke? You might also want to know whose genes you’ve in-herited and which components of lifestyle, diet and the environment influence their genetic expression the most. How you answer these questions could have significant lifestyle and cost implica-tions depending on just how much are you willing to accommodate the shifting landscape of longevity research. At the end of the day, it comes down to this: What quality-of-life sacrifices are you prepared to make and how much would you pay for a shot at immortality? Twenty-first century research has opened the door to the enticing prospect of redefining the limits of our life-span -per-haps to immortality itself. Like the ancients’ quest for the Philosopher’s Stone, however, the search often comes with a price. Even if eternal youth turns out to be elusive, the quest itself is likely to be immortal – and not without cost. Whether it proves to be a Faustian bargain remains to be seen. • For article with references, visit Current Issue at www.canadianchiropractor.ca. www.canadianchiropractor.ca
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