By Debra Wood, RN, contributor
Oct. 29. 2009 - More than a million Americans suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome ― dealing with sleep, cognitive and physical symptoms that are often difficult to manage. While misperceptions have surrounded the disease, more health care professionals are beginning to recognize that they can help patients cope with the condition, manage symptoms and improve function and quality of life.
“Perceptions are changing,” said K. Kimberly McCleary, president and chief executive officer of the CFIDS Association of America, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. “We’ve seen dismissal and disbelief give way to the need for tools. Health care professionals in the past said it was not real: a collection of symptoms or a name for something until we find what is really causing the problems. Now there seems to be recognition the patient is really sick.”
K. Kimberly McCleary
K. Kimberly McCleary indicates there are many ways nurses can help chronic fatigue patients cope with their illness.
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also known as chronic fatigue and immune deficiency syndrome (CFIDS), was first recognized about 25 years ago. Experts still do not know the cause. As recently as 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that less than 20 percent of Americans with CFS have been diagnosed.
Profound exhaustion, poor stamina with post-exertional relapse, and difficulty with concentration, processing thoughts and short-term memory characterize the condition. Joint and muscle pain, unrefreshing sleep, tender lymph nodes, sore throat and headache may accompany the core symptoms, which can vary in severity.
“The most disabling symptoms are usually those that, if treated, can improve the whole symptom complex and function,” McCleary said.
Treatment often entails correcting sleep abnormalities, with behavioral management strategies and medications, such as amitriptyline or antihistamines.
“Most nurses understand if there is poor sleep, pain is worse, cognitive problems are worse,” McCleary said. “That becomes a cycle that is difficult for the patient to break.”
Some providers will prescribe Provigil or Ritalin to boost energy levels. Prescribers, typically, start with the lowest possible dose. But in addition to medications, patients must adjust their lifestyles and learn to pace activities. They also need emotional support, even professional counseling.
“Nurses play an important role in the care of patients, in the inpatient and outpatient settings,” McCleary said. “Nurses have a mindset oriented to patients’ needs, beyond the prescriptions that need to be written, and they can be important links in a health care system that doesn’t always serve chronically ill patients as well as it should.”
Three forms of chronic fatigue exist: a sudden-onset, post-viral condition; a remitting-relapsing form; and a severely ill or progressive type. About one-quarter of patients receive disability benefits, and others may work part time in less-demanding positions than they once held.
Suzanne D. Vernon, Ph.D.
Suzanne D. Vernon, Ph.D., said nurses can help patients receive an earlier diagnosis, which might improve outcomes.
“It’s important to get people diagnosed earlier,” said Suzanne D. Vernon, Ph.D., scientific director of the CFIDS Association of America. “Data shows if a person with CFS is diagnosed early, once they meet the case definition, which is six months or longer, the likelihood of recovering from the illness is greater than if it goes beyond two to five years.”
Current Research, Tools and Awareness Efforts
The CFIDS Association of America, together with the CDC, created a national public health education campaign called Spark! to increase understanding of CFS among individuals experiencing symptoms of the illness, the general public and health care professionals. The campaign includes a national traveling photo exhibit called The Faces of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Along with the campaign, the CFIDS Association has developed several free resources for nurses and other health care professionals, including a 12-page CFS Toolkit, a two-hour self-study course, a quick-reference brochure and several CFS-related articles, all available for download from the CFIDS web site.
Research continues in an attempt to find a cause for CFS, a test to help diagnose the disease, and better approaches to treating the illness.
In October 2009, a team from the Whittemore Peterson Institute at the University of Nevada, Reno; the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health; and the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio announced a potential retroviral link to chronic fatigue syndrome, after discovering the xenotropic murine-related retrovirus was present in 67 percent of a specific group of long-term CFS patients with cognitive deficits but in only 8 percent of the healthy controls.
Vernon describes this as a possibly “game-changing scientific event,” if the data can be replicated, since it could help as a diagnostic tool.
“It clearly shows an indisputable biologic basis for describing the immune dysfunction in CFS,” Vernon said.
In addition, the CFIDS Association is funding research to better understand the association between CFS and Epstein-Barr virus. The viral infection may possibly be a triggering event. Another study is researching a marker present after CFS patients exercise.
“There is hope,” McCleary said. “There are things that help to give patients a foothold in trying to get their function and daily life improved, while the science continues looking for better answers.”
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Changing Behavior Helps Patients Take Medication As Prescribed
Taking medication as the doctor prescribes is crucial to improving health. However, 26 to 59 percent of older adults do not adhere to instructions, according to a 2003 study published in Drugs and Aging. In a new study, researchers at the University of Missouri found that applying behavior changing strategies, such as using pill boxes or reducing the number of daily doses, can improve patients' abilities to take their medications as required.
"It is very important for physicians and nurses to move past educating patients about the need for medication and focus on teaching behavior strategies," said Vicki Conn, associate dean of research and Potter-Brinton professor in the MU Sinclair School of Nursing. "Implementing these strategies can help older adults take their medications, resulting in better health and well-being."
The Mizzou researchers found that behavior-changing strategies have a greater impact on medication adherence than reinforcing the importance of taking medication to patients. Effective strategies include reducing the number of doses taken daily, prescribing medications so they can be taken at the same time as other medications, and encouraging the use of pill boxes. Giving patients clear, easy to read instructions for the medications also proved to be effective.
There are many reasons older adults have difficulties with medications, Conn said. Vision changes can interfere with reading medication bottles, and arthritis can make it difficult to handle pills and containers. However, the majority of adherence problems are not related to physical health. For example, many people simply forget to take their medications.
"There are approaches to overcome almost all problems," said David Mehr, co-author of the study and director of research in the MU Department of Family and Community Medicine. "It makes a huge difference in patients' adherence and health if they have some type of organized system for taking medication."
Failure to take prescribed medications can result in costly health interventions, including expensive tests and unnecessary additional prescriptions, Conn said. An interest in medication adherence research has grown recently due to its low rates among the adult population. In this study, the researchers conducted an analysis of 33 trials to combine and relate the findings of previous research.
The study "Interventions to Improve Medication Adherence Among Older Adults: Meta-Analysis of Adherence Outcomes Among Randomized Controlled Trials" was published in the August issue of The Gerontologist.
Source:
Emily (Smith) Martin
University of Missouri-Columbia
"It is very important for physicians and nurses to move past educating patients about the need for medication and focus on teaching behavior strategies," said Vicki Conn, associate dean of research and Potter-Brinton professor in the MU Sinclair School of Nursing. "Implementing these strategies can help older adults take their medications, resulting in better health and well-being."
The Mizzou researchers found that behavior-changing strategies have a greater impact on medication adherence than reinforcing the importance of taking medication to patients. Effective strategies include reducing the number of doses taken daily, prescribing medications so they can be taken at the same time as other medications, and encouraging the use of pill boxes. Giving patients clear, easy to read instructions for the medications also proved to be effective.
There are many reasons older adults have difficulties with medications, Conn said. Vision changes can interfere with reading medication bottles, and arthritis can make it difficult to handle pills and containers. However, the majority of adherence problems are not related to physical health. For example, many people simply forget to take their medications.
"There are approaches to overcome almost all problems," said David Mehr, co-author of the study and director of research in the MU Department of Family and Community Medicine. "It makes a huge difference in patients' adherence and health if they have some type of organized system for taking medication."
Failure to take prescribed medications can result in costly health interventions, including expensive tests and unnecessary additional prescriptions, Conn said. An interest in medication adherence research has grown recently due to its low rates among the adult population. In this study, the researchers conducted an analysis of 33 trials to combine and relate the findings of previous research.
The study "Interventions to Improve Medication Adherence Among Older Adults: Meta-Analysis of Adherence Outcomes Among Randomized Controlled Trials" was published in the August issue of The Gerontologist.
Source:
Emily (Smith) Martin
University of Missouri-Columbia
Unemployed nurses are switching to RN health coach careers
Although the contagious economic epidemic is killing off nursing jobs, the thriving RN health coach sector appears to be immune. Many underpaid or unemployed nurses are transitioning into the booming health coach field with help from L.I.T.E. Therapeutics -- a leading provider of health coaches with nursing backgrounds. The company operates two web sites, HealthCoachNursingJobs.com and RNHealthCoach.com, where nurses can discover exciting RN health coach careers that are personally, professionally, and financially rewarding.
Unemployment remains historically high, even within the nursing profession. But the recession is also inspiring consumers to take more responsibility for their own health and well-being in order to avoid costly visits to the doctor, especially since many Americans have lost their health insurance due to recent layoffs. That unique trend is creating a greater reliance upon professional health coaches as an alternative to doctors, clinics, and hospitals -- but has also created a shortage of qualified health coaches. Because nurses offer specialized health care knowledge, experience, and credentials that other coaches do not have, RN health coaches are suddenly in high demand.
Nursing jobs have historically been resilient during economic downturns. But as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and other business news sources have reported, this recession is different. Less health insurance money is in the system and cash-strapped Americans are having fewer elective medical procedures, which translates into dramatically lower health care industry revenues. A recent feature in USA Today, for instance, described how hospitals are delaying expansion projects and implementing hiring freezes. The American Hospital Association reports that nearly half of the hospitals it surveyed have postponed the expansion of medical wards, diagnostic equipment purchases, and planned staff increases in emergency departments. Meanwhile agencies have slashed student loan relief to recent nursing school graduates, leaving new nurses with fewer job prospects, lower pay, and bigger debt.
But RNs can become health coaches to easily avoid the problems facing their profession, says Dwayne Adams, RN, MS. The company he started, L.I.T.E. Therapeutics, offers an integrated health coaching system that was designed by nurses and for nurses. As Adams explains, "Our turn-key approach provides nurses with all the tools necessary to effectively manage both their patients and their businesses, to successfully transition into this growing field even during the nursing industry recession."
Coaches typically lack the medical training necessary to guide clients toward sustainable weight loss or improved health, for instance, but RNs are the best possible weight loss partners and personal trainers. Not only do they have advanced knowledge about diet, nutrition, and the accurate diagnosis of health challenges, but they also know how to keep clients safe, motivated, and effectively focused on essential health issues.
That makes them perfect candidates to excel within the burgeoning RN health coaching arena, where they can enjoy successful careers that are truly recession resistant.
Unemployment remains historically high, even within the nursing profession. But the recession is also inspiring consumers to take more responsibility for their own health and well-being in order to avoid costly visits to the doctor, especially since many Americans have lost their health insurance due to recent layoffs. That unique trend is creating a greater reliance upon professional health coaches as an alternative to doctors, clinics, and hospitals -- but has also created a shortage of qualified health coaches. Because nurses offer specialized health care knowledge, experience, and credentials that other coaches do not have, RN health coaches are suddenly in high demand.
Nursing jobs have historically been resilient during economic downturns. But as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and other business news sources have reported, this recession is different. Less health insurance money is in the system and cash-strapped Americans are having fewer elective medical procedures, which translates into dramatically lower health care industry revenues. A recent feature in USA Today, for instance, described how hospitals are delaying expansion projects and implementing hiring freezes. The American Hospital Association reports that nearly half of the hospitals it surveyed have postponed the expansion of medical wards, diagnostic equipment purchases, and planned staff increases in emergency departments. Meanwhile agencies have slashed student loan relief to recent nursing school graduates, leaving new nurses with fewer job prospects, lower pay, and bigger debt.
But RNs can become health coaches to easily avoid the problems facing their profession, says Dwayne Adams, RN, MS. The company he started, L.I.T.E. Therapeutics, offers an integrated health coaching system that was designed by nurses and for nurses. As Adams explains, "Our turn-key approach provides nurses with all the tools necessary to effectively manage both their patients and their businesses, to successfully transition into this growing field even during the nursing industry recession."
Coaches typically lack the medical training necessary to guide clients toward sustainable weight loss or improved health, for instance, but RNs are the best possible weight loss partners and personal trainers. Not only do they have advanced knowledge about diet, nutrition, and the accurate diagnosis of health challenges, but they also know how to keep clients safe, motivated, and effectively focused on essential health issues.
That makes them perfect candidates to excel within the burgeoning RN health coaching arena, where they can enjoy successful careers that are truly recession resistant.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Obese and Overweight Women Have a Higher Risk of Giving Birth to Baby with Heart Defects
The largest study of obesity during pregnancy and babies with heart defects in the United States finds that women who were overweight or obese before they became pregnant had an approximately 18 percent increased risk of having a baby with certain heart defects compared with women who were of normal body mass index (BMI) before they became pregnant. Severely obese women had approximately a 30 percent increased risk, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The study, “Association Between Prepregnancy Body Mass Index and Congenital Heart Defects,” published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, found a significant increase in several types of heart defects in babies born to overweight and obese women, compared to babies born to normal weight women.
These included obstructive defects on the right side of the heart, and defects in the tissue that separates the two upper chambers of the heart.
Obesity and overweight were determined based on the study’s participants’ BMIs. A BMI is a measure of weight in relation to height. Overweight is defined as a BMI of 25-29.9, moderate obesity is defined as a BMI 30-34.9, and severe obesity is defined as a BMI of 35 or higher. For example, a woman who is 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs 190 pounds has a BMI of 31.6 which places her in the moderate obesity category; a woman of that same height who weighs 160 pounds has a BMI of 26.6 which places her in the overweight category.
“Congenital heart defects are the most common types of birth defect, and among all birth defects, they are a leading cause of illness, death, and medical expenditures,” said Dr. Edwin Trevathan, director of the CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. “Women who are obese and who are planning a pregnancy could benefit by working with their physicians to achieve a healthy weight before pregnancy.”
The study looked at 25 types of heart defects and found associations with obesity for 10 of them. Five of these 10 types were also associated with being overweight before pregnancy. Women who were overweight but not obese had approximately a 15 percent increased risk of delivering a baby with certain heart defects.
The study accounted for several important factors such as maternal age and race-ethnicity. Mothers with type 1 or 2 diabetes before they got pregnant, a strong risk factor for heart defects, were excluded from the study.
“These results support previous studies, as well as provide additional evidence, that there is an association between a woman being overweight or obese before pregnancy and certain types of heart defects,” said Suzanne Gilboa, epidemiologist at CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, and primary author of the study. “This provides another reason for women to maintain a healthy weight. In addition to the impact on a woman’s own health and the known pregnancy complications associated with maternal obesity, the baby’s health could be at risk.”
One important limitation of the study is that BMI is calculated based on self-reported weight and height, and weight may be underreported by women during the study interview. Although the study found an association between overweight and obesity and the risk of certain birth defects, further study is needed to determine whether body weight is the direct cause of these birth defects.
The analysis included 6,440 infants with congenital heart defects and 5,673 infants without birth defects whose mothers were interviewed as part of the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS). The NBDPS is funded by the CDC to collect information from mothers of children with and without birth defects in Arkansas, California, Georgia, Iowa, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Texas, and Utah. This study is the largest effort ever undertaken in the United States to identify risk factors for birth defects.
For more information about heart and other birth defects please call toll free 1-800-CDC-INFO or visit http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd.
Source: CDC
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The study, “Association Between Prepregnancy Body Mass Index and Congenital Heart Defects,” published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, found a significant increase in several types of heart defects in babies born to overweight and obese women, compared to babies born to normal weight women.
These included obstructive defects on the right side of the heart, and defects in the tissue that separates the two upper chambers of the heart.
Obesity and overweight were determined based on the study’s participants’ BMIs. A BMI is a measure of weight in relation to height. Overweight is defined as a BMI of 25-29.9, moderate obesity is defined as a BMI 30-34.9, and severe obesity is defined as a BMI of 35 or higher. For example, a woman who is 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs 190 pounds has a BMI of 31.6 which places her in the moderate obesity category; a woman of that same height who weighs 160 pounds has a BMI of 26.6 which places her in the overweight category.
“Congenital heart defects are the most common types of birth defect, and among all birth defects, they are a leading cause of illness, death, and medical expenditures,” said Dr. Edwin Trevathan, director of the CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. “Women who are obese and who are planning a pregnancy could benefit by working with their physicians to achieve a healthy weight before pregnancy.”
The study looked at 25 types of heart defects and found associations with obesity for 10 of them. Five of these 10 types were also associated with being overweight before pregnancy. Women who were overweight but not obese had approximately a 15 percent increased risk of delivering a baby with certain heart defects.
The study accounted for several important factors such as maternal age and race-ethnicity. Mothers with type 1 or 2 diabetes before they got pregnant, a strong risk factor for heart defects, were excluded from the study.
“These results support previous studies, as well as provide additional evidence, that there is an association between a woman being overweight or obese before pregnancy and certain types of heart defects,” said Suzanne Gilboa, epidemiologist at CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, and primary author of the study. “This provides another reason for women to maintain a healthy weight. In addition to the impact on a woman’s own health and the known pregnancy complications associated with maternal obesity, the baby’s health could be at risk.”
One important limitation of the study is that BMI is calculated based on self-reported weight and height, and weight may be underreported by women during the study interview. Although the study found an association between overweight and obesity and the risk of certain birth defects, further study is needed to determine whether body weight is the direct cause of these birth defects.
The analysis included 6,440 infants with congenital heart defects and 5,673 infants without birth defects whose mothers were interviewed as part of the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS). The NBDPS is funded by the CDC to collect information from mothers of children with and without birth defects in Arkansas, California, Georgia, Iowa, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Texas, and Utah. This study is the largest effort ever undertaken in the United States to identify risk factors for birth defects.
For more information about heart and other birth defects please call toll free 1-800-CDC-INFO or visit http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd.
Source: CDC
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Goal-setting helps smooth way to smoke-free future
By Jennifer A. Kern, M.S., C.T.T.S.
When planning to stop smoking, applying goal-setting strategies can help you create doable steps while preparing for your smoke-free date.
Effective goal-setting involves not just saying what you want to accomplish, but actually planning what to do, how much of it and by when. Your goals should be achievable for you and realistic within your normal routine. By setting measurable goals, you can tell whether or not you achieved them.
Vague goals, which neglect the planning stage, can leave your ambitions hanging somewhere out in the future, without your moving closer to them. The image that comes to my mind is of a donkey following a carrot on a stick that is dangled in front of it. No matter how much or how far the donkey walks, it never gets any closer to the carrot. By setting goals and effectively planning, you create strategies to "reach the carrot."
In the process of preparing to stop smoking, I find some people have more success if they break it down and start by creating small goals along the way. Below is an example of how this might look:
Goal: Stop smoking in my car
Date (by when): Oct. 15
Planning (what to do):
* Buy substitutes: 1 bag of suckers, 10 packs of chewing gum, a stress ball and an audio book.
* Stock the car with substitutes on Oct. 14.
* Plan alternate routes to drive to regular destinations by Oct. 14.
* Buy air freshener and begin using on Oct. 15.
* Empty ashtrays and remove lighters on Oct. 15.
Once the first goal is accomplished (which you will know by Oct. 15), you can focus on the next aspect of moving toward your smoke-free date. Goal-setting and well-planned "baby steps" will support your transformation from smoker to non-smoker and make it more sustainable over the long haul.
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When planning to stop smoking, applying goal-setting strategies can help you create doable steps while preparing for your smoke-free date.
Effective goal-setting involves not just saying what you want to accomplish, but actually planning what to do, how much of it and by when. Your goals should be achievable for you and realistic within your normal routine. By setting measurable goals, you can tell whether or not you achieved them.
Vague goals, which neglect the planning stage, can leave your ambitions hanging somewhere out in the future, without your moving closer to them. The image that comes to my mind is of a donkey following a carrot on a stick that is dangled in front of it. No matter how much or how far the donkey walks, it never gets any closer to the carrot. By setting goals and effectively planning, you create strategies to "reach the carrot."
In the process of preparing to stop smoking, I find some people have more success if they break it down and start by creating small goals along the way. Below is an example of how this might look:
Goal: Stop smoking in my car
Date (by when): Oct. 15
Planning (what to do):
* Buy substitutes: 1 bag of suckers, 10 packs of chewing gum, a stress ball and an audio book.
* Stock the car with substitutes on Oct. 14.
* Plan alternate routes to drive to regular destinations by Oct. 14.
* Buy air freshener and begin using on Oct. 15.
* Empty ashtrays and remove lighters on Oct. 15.
Once the first goal is accomplished (which you will know by Oct. 15), you can focus on the next aspect of moving toward your smoke-free date. Goal-setting and well-planned "baby steps" will support your transformation from smoker to non-smoker and make it more sustainable over the long haul.
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Scientists find path to fountain of youth
by Jean-Louis Santini Jean-louis Santini – Thu Oct 1, 11:10 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The fountain of youth may exist after all, as a study showed that scientists have discovered means to extend the lifespan of mice and primates.
The key to eternal -- or at least prolonged -- youth lies in genetic manipulation that mimics the health benefits of reducing calorie intake, suggesting that aging and age-related diseases can be treated.
Scientists from the Institute of Healthy Ageing at University College London (UCL) extended the lifespan of mice by up to a fifth and reduced the number of age-related diseases affecting the animals after they genetically manipulated them to block production of the S6 Kinase 1 (S6K1) protein.
Scientists have shown since the 1930s that reducing the calorie intake by 30 percent for rats, mice and -- in a more recent finding -- primates can extend their lifespan by 40 percent and have health benefits.
By blocking S6K1, which is involved in the body's response to changes in food intake, similar benefits were obtained without reducing food intake, according to the study published in the US journal Science.
The results corroborated those of other recent studies.
"Blocking the action of the S6K1 protein helps prevent a number of age-related conditions in female mice," explained UCL professor Dominic Withers, the study's lead author.
"The mice lived longer and were leaner, more active and generally healthier than the control group. We added 'life to their years' as well as 'years to their lives.'"
The genetically altered female mice lived 20 percent longer -- living a total of 950 days -- or over 160 days more than their normal counterparts.
At age 600 days, the equivalent of middle age in humans, the altered female mice were leaner, had stronger bones, were protected from type 2 diabetes, performed better at motor tasks and demonstrated better senses and cognition, according to the study.
Their T-cells, a key component of the immune system also seemed more "youthful," the researchers said, which points to a slowing of the declining immunity that usually accompanies aging.
Male mice showed little difference in lifespan although they also demonstrated some of the health benefits, including less resistance to insulin and healthier T-cells. Researchers said reasons for the differences between the two sexes were unclear.
"We are suddenly much closer to treatments for aging than we thought," said David Gems of UCL's Institute of Healthy Aging, one of the authors of the study, which was primarily funded by the Wellcome Trust.
"We have moved from initial findings in worm models to having 'druggable' targets in mice. The next logical step is to see if drugs like metformin can slow the aging process in humans."
Other studies have also found that blocking S6K1 were channeled through increased activity of a second molecule, AMPK, which regulates energy levels within cells.
AMPK, also known as a master "fuel gauge," is activated when cellular energy levels fall, as takes place when calorie intake is reduced.
Drugs, such as the widely-used metformin, that activate AMPK are already being used in human patients to treat type 2 diabetes.
Recent studies by Russian scientists suggested that metformin can extend mice's lifespan.
Another drug, rapamycin, was found to extend the lifespan of mice, according to a study published in the British journal Nature.
As rapamycin is already used in humans as an immunosuppresant -- to prevent a patient from rejecting an organ after transplant -- it could not be administered as an anti-ageing drug in its current form.
But rapamycin blocks S6K1 activity and could thus extend lifespan through its impact on S6K1.
Seizing on the potential, US firm Sirtris Pharmaceuticals uses resveratrol, a powerful anti-oxidant found in red wine, as well as other fruits than raisin.
Sirtris scientists -- including co-founder David Sinclair, also a researcher at Harvard Medical School -- have found that resveratrol activates the production of sirtuin proteins, which also unleash the same physiological effects as reducing calorie intake.
Sirtris has produced highly concentrated doses of resveratrol and is currently leading clinical trials with diabetes patients and others suffering from liver and colon cancer.
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WASHINGTON (AFP) – The fountain of youth may exist after all, as a study showed that scientists have discovered means to extend the lifespan of mice and primates.
The key to eternal -- or at least prolonged -- youth lies in genetic manipulation that mimics the health benefits of reducing calorie intake, suggesting that aging and age-related diseases can be treated.
Scientists from the Institute of Healthy Ageing at University College London (UCL) extended the lifespan of mice by up to a fifth and reduced the number of age-related diseases affecting the animals after they genetically manipulated them to block production of the S6 Kinase 1 (S6K1) protein.
Scientists have shown since the 1930s that reducing the calorie intake by 30 percent for rats, mice and -- in a more recent finding -- primates can extend their lifespan by 40 percent and have health benefits.
By blocking S6K1, which is involved in the body's response to changes in food intake, similar benefits were obtained without reducing food intake, according to the study published in the US journal Science.
The results corroborated those of other recent studies.
"Blocking the action of the S6K1 protein helps prevent a number of age-related conditions in female mice," explained UCL professor Dominic Withers, the study's lead author.
"The mice lived longer and were leaner, more active and generally healthier than the control group. We added 'life to their years' as well as 'years to their lives.'"
The genetically altered female mice lived 20 percent longer -- living a total of 950 days -- or over 160 days more than their normal counterparts.
At age 600 days, the equivalent of middle age in humans, the altered female mice were leaner, had stronger bones, were protected from type 2 diabetes, performed better at motor tasks and demonstrated better senses and cognition, according to the study.
Their T-cells, a key component of the immune system also seemed more "youthful," the researchers said, which points to a slowing of the declining immunity that usually accompanies aging.
Male mice showed little difference in lifespan although they also demonstrated some of the health benefits, including less resistance to insulin and healthier T-cells. Researchers said reasons for the differences between the two sexes were unclear.
"We are suddenly much closer to treatments for aging than we thought," said David Gems of UCL's Institute of Healthy Aging, one of the authors of the study, which was primarily funded by the Wellcome Trust.
"We have moved from initial findings in worm models to having 'druggable' targets in mice. The next logical step is to see if drugs like metformin can slow the aging process in humans."
Other studies have also found that blocking S6K1 were channeled through increased activity of a second molecule, AMPK, which regulates energy levels within cells.
AMPK, also known as a master "fuel gauge," is activated when cellular energy levels fall, as takes place when calorie intake is reduced.
Drugs, such as the widely-used metformin, that activate AMPK are already being used in human patients to treat type 2 diabetes.
Recent studies by Russian scientists suggested that metformin can extend mice's lifespan.
Another drug, rapamycin, was found to extend the lifespan of mice, according to a study published in the British journal Nature.
As rapamycin is already used in humans as an immunosuppresant -- to prevent a patient from rejecting an organ after transplant -- it could not be administered as an anti-ageing drug in its current form.
But rapamycin blocks S6K1 activity and could thus extend lifespan through its impact on S6K1.
Seizing on the potential, US firm Sirtris Pharmaceuticals uses resveratrol, a powerful anti-oxidant found in red wine, as well as other fruits than raisin.
Sirtris scientists -- including co-founder David Sinclair, also a researcher at Harvard Medical School -- have found that resveratrol activates the production of sirtuin proteins, which also unleash the same physiological effects as reducing calorie intake.
Sirtris has produced highly concentrated doses of resveratrol and is currently leading clinical trials with diabetes patients and others suffering from liver and colon cancer.
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