Las Vegas, Nevada – December 10-14, 2008

The annual conference organized by the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) opened a large window into medicine's future, beyond the current drug-treatment era and our fears of frailty into vital longevity now within human reach. It was a blend of thought-provoking CME-credited lectures, hands-on workshops, and exposition of experiences on the edge of medicine's frontier.

Townsend Letter readers would recognize many of the lecturers. Of their talks, one of my favorites was the new paradigm presented by Stanislaw Burzynski, MD. Cancer treatment today is where antibiotics were 60 years ago, he explained. We shouldn't focus on genetics but on genetic expression. If genetics is the tip of the iceberg, the submerged nine-tenths is epigenetics. Ultimately, we want to suppress oncogenes and increase tumor-suppressor genes. Many nutrients perform these functions second by second, without our realizing it. Several decades ago Dr. Burzynski named cancer-suppressing agents, antineoplastons, and used the example of phenylbutyrate's ability to suppress liver cancer.

John Ionescu, PhD, presented his data that explains a mechanism by which vitamin C kills cancer cells and spares healthy cells. In short, the transition metals, be they nutrients like iron and zinc or toxicants like mercury and cadmium, concentrate in cancer cells. The greater concentration of metals in cancer cells makes them more vulnerable to the hydroxyl radical production induced by vitamin C. It felt as if Linus Pauling were sitting in the front row.

My lecture, "Safeguarding Muscle during Weight Reduction," engendered a dynamic hallway discussion, as attendees shared their clinical methods for monitoring body composition and metabolic health. We discussed mechanisms by which nutrients such as ribose, amino acids, and l-carnitine help dieters maintain hard-earned muscle.

Several technologies enlisted my scientific questioning. Diagnostic ultrasound has broader clinical applications than I had realized. Our electromagnetic fields, altered by the technology that surrounds us, can be readjusted as we sleep. Several tests of epigenetic expression and of genes themselves may be ready for prime time.

The expo combined the inside-out approaches to healthful aging and outside-in healing approaches of spa medicine. Not only were the majority of the technologies intended for patients, they could also be experienced by conference participants. So, take part I did. My face was lathered in an assortment of nutrient-laden serums, photographed with a black light or Wood's lamp for sun-damage, masked with ionized collagen, vacuumed using microdermabrasion, microneedled with a Bio-Roller, lasered, and massaged. What's left of my face looks great.

In sum, A4M put on a conference worthy of a toast, "Here's a toast to your coffin. May it be made from a 100-year-old oak, and may we plant the tree tomorrow."

	The team from Douglas Laboratories was there to represent their supplement company, one of the many manufacturers at the conference.
Ribose affects healing from the inside out.
	Dr. John Ionescu discovered the mechanism by which vitamin C targets cancer cells.
Participants get facial healing from the outside in with ionized collagen masks.
	Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski explains the scientific pillars of his 30 years of successful cancer care.
A chance to take charge of your electromagnetic fields with grounding technology.
	Attention multitaskers: Now you can bicycle and sauna simultaneously.

Ingrid Kohlstadt MD, MPH, is an FDA Commissioner's Fellow, using diet to improve drug safety. She has been elected a Fellow of the American College of Nutrition and is an associate at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. She is the founder and chief medical officer of INGRIDients Inc., editing Food and Nutrients in Disease Management (CRC Press, Jan 2009) and Scientific Evidence for Musculoskeletal, Bariatric and Sports Nutrition (CRC Press, 2006).

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are her own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the FDA.