Lots of Hype and profits at the A4M meeting:
“The boom in consumer demand has inspired as many as 800 longevity clinics to spring up around the country,… These clinics often charge as much as tens of thousands of dollars for a single visit.”
The big money, big promises and uncertain evidence behind the booming longevity business.
LAS VEGAS — Just beyond the flashing slot machines and cigarette-saturated casino air, thousands of the health obsessed gathered in a convention hall here to demonstrate their hacks for living longer lives. They infused ozone into their blood streams, stood on vibrating mats, swallowed samples of supplements and took scans of their livers.
The gathering of wellness clinic operators, doctors and antiaging enthusiasts last month offered a vivid snapshot of a booming industry built upon the promise of longer, healthier and more vibrant lives. At the center are customers, fed up with or skeptical of the current health care system, who are willing to take risks with unproven treatments and spend extraordinary sums of money to extend their lives.
“There’s always something new in the longevity business,” Veronica Zarco, a partner at a clinic in Miami Beach, said after testing out a $60,000 light bed. “So we want to be on top of our game.”
Longevity medicine has exploded into the mainstream in recent years, fueled by billions of dollars in private investment, influential allies in the federal government and lobbyists promoting it at both the state and national levels. But the fervor around the industry has also outpaced rigorous scientific evidence and federal regulations that would ensure basic standards throughout the sector.
At its core, antiaging medicine revolves around the reality that the older we are — the weaker our hearts, the more brittle our bones — the more susceptible we become to afflictions like cancer, heart disease and dementia. The average American dies at about 76, with the last decade of life often spent in poor health, according to the World Health Organization. Longevity experts theorize that if humans can slow the natural aging process, then we can avoid debilitating ailments and live longer and healthier.
Human aging is increasingly recognized as a key area of research, with major institutions such as Brown and Harvard universities studying ways to slow or reverse natural declines. Numerous clinical studies are also exploring strategies to extend overall health. At the same time, critics warn that longevity medicine exists in a regulatory gray area where influencers can promote unsafe protocols and clinics exaggerate the benefits of their treatments.
Read the Full article: Ozone infusions, lasers, plasma: How clinics want to sell you a longer life (WaPo)
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