Unproven Medical Treatments Lure Elderly

Napier, Kristine

doi:10.1037/e548922006-005

Cited by 3 publications

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“…As the population ages, more Americans will have illnesses and chronic conditions. In 1994, approximately 80% of the elderly had one or more chronic conditions, and nearly 40% of the noninstitutionalized elderly were limited by these conditions (Napier, 1994). According to Chronic Care in America: A 21st Century Challenge, a report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, "there is no effective system to care for those with chronic conditions in the United States" (The Institute for Health and Aging, University of San Francisco, 1996, p. 11).…”

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confidence: 99%

Alternative Therapy Use Among the Young-Old (Ages 65 to 74): An Evaluation of the MIDUS Database

McMahan

Lutz

2004

J Appl Gerontol

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By the year 2020, 20% of the U.S. population will be age 65 years or older. From a health care perspective, there is growing concern about the aging population. Little is known about the elderly and their use of alternative therapies. This study included data from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS). Three-hundred and thirty-five participants between the ages of 65 and 74 completed the interview and mailback questionnaire. Onehundred and forty-five individuals (43.3%) reported using alternative medicine therapies during the past year. The most common types of alternative medicine utilized were as follows: spiritual practices, exercise/movement therapies, special diets, chiropractic, and meditation. Income, education, and sex of respondent were found to be predictors of alternative therapy use among this age group. Results from this study could provide conventional practitioners greater awareness of the health beliefs and practices of their young-old patients.

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confidence: 99%

Alternative Therapy Use Among the Young-Old (Ages 65 to 74): An Evaluation of the MIDUS Database

McMahan

Lutz

2004

J Appl Gerontol

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“…While momentum began to build, the field remained relatively marginal; AA optimism was not widespread. In an effort to protect consumers from seemingly dodgy claims, the US government issued a warning against ‘anti‐aging remedies’ that consumers had spent over two billion dollars annually to acquire (Napier 1994, see also NIA 1994, King 1996). These worries would become even more contentious in the years to come as the biogerontological establishment launched a ‘war’ on AA ‘entrepreneurs’ (Binstock 2003).…”

Section: –1995: Hopes and Anti‐ageing Beginningsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A history of the future: the emergence of contemporary anti‐ageing medicine

Mykytyn¹

2010

Sociology Health & Illness

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The emergence of anti-ageing medicine over the past 20 years has posed tremendous challenges for the understanding of ageing and the concomitant responsibilities of biomedicine. Though highly contentious and loosely organised at best, anti-ageing targets ageing for biomedical intervention. This article examines a history of anti-ageing in the United States from 1993 to 2008, outlining its evolution from a scientific 'backwater' to a field with such promise that many within and outside the field believe efficacious therapies are an inevitability. In large part, the language of anti-ageing has shifted from predictions to expectations; it has become less a question of 'if' and more a question of 'when' and 'how' this rhetorical shift is directly linked with increasing legitimacy constructed upon a complex web of factors including mounting practitioner involvement, research interest, media attention, and popular desire. In this article I briefly review this history alongside the strategic histories marshalled by the various proponents and opponents to support their claims of legitimacy. The history of anti-ageing medicine is one of an emerging scientific and clinical practice as well as a history of an idea that has very recently made its way out of science fiction and into science future.

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“…The "back to nature" movement in medicine currently being exploited commercially in the industrialized countries also has its own risks [8,10]. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has on several occasions warned against the use of certain unregulated phytopharmaceuticals, plant-based dietary supplements or teas [1,23,26,36]. Remedies and their application (dosage) are no longer used in accordance with traditional custom.…”

Section: The Misunderstandings About Natural Medicinementioning

confidence: 99%

Toward a New Natural Medicine

Buckel

1998

Naturwissenschaften

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Treatments summarized under the term "natural medicine," i.e., those offered as an alternative or in addition to conventional medicine, have enjoyed a surge in popularity in recent years. The "natural" descriptor employed in connection with these healing methods is frequently misunderstood, leading to underestimation of the risks arising from incorrect use. However, the essential principle underlying traditional natural medicine, mobilization of the body's own forces against disease, is increasingly being employed in a new, rational form of medicine: molecular medicine. A range of natural endogenous substances for medical use are already available. Human proteins such as erythropoietin can now be produced as medicines in highly pure form with the aid of genetic engineering techniques. Our increasing understanding of the function of our genes and the resulting descriptions of molecular mechanisms underlying disease are also helping us to utilize the body's own construction set. New techniques such as gene therapy will in future enable us to reproduce the natural conditions in the healthy body with increasing specificity in our attempts to cure illnesses. One such application will be the activation of the immune system to combat cancer. The complete decoding of the human genome will not only allow illnesses to be described, and possibly prevented, at an earlier stage. Illnesses will also be able to described more precisely and individually at the molecular level, opening up the possibility of targeted, patient-specific cures.

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Unproven Medical Treatments Lure Elderly

Cited by 3 publications

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Alternative Therapy Use Among the Young-Old (Ages 65 to 74): An Evaluation of the MIDUS Database

Alternative Therapy Use Among the Young-Old (Ages 65 to 74): An Evaluation of the MIDUS Database

A history of the future: the emergence of contemporary anti‐ageing medicine

Toward a New Natural Medicine

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