Immortality, who needs it?

   Living longer - and longer, seems to be the objective of an increasing segment of  humanity.  Everyone wants to be rich and everyone wants to be happy, but quality apart, longevity seems to be a major objective almost regardless of the quality of life.  In response, you may quote the growing number of 'euthanasia enthusiasts' and certainly such a group exists, but they are far from being the majority and most folks want to live to a ripe old age and some would like to live forever. Despite the assertions of groups of fringe loonies, as medicine progresses, longevity certainly increases,   People live longer healthier lives and life expectancy has increased beyond our wildest expectations.  A lifespan of 104 or so seems to be tossed around  and regarded as a normal achievable goal by both physicians and patients.  All that sounds sweet, but.............
   We seem to be having increasing problems with people living as long as they do now, often into their eighties.  The health care system is  having great difficulties with  providing for  many of our  elderly people now.  Lengthy waiting lists  for patients requiring urgent care is the norm, and anything less than urgent is treated with a level of  indifference (unless just before an election!) that is downright callous.  Yet, our politicians are quite indifferent as long as the whole situation can be kept low key, until  before the election.  Then, an unlikely and never to be put into effect solution is paraded out in the hope of garnering votes.  Even at our present population levels, many old folks, and I am talking about people in their seventies and eighties, go without adequate attention and care.  Those who do  not have family members to care about them and act as advocates, suffer most.  Many live in conditions that we would not tolerate for jail inmates.  Indeed, having provided both geriatric care and correctional institutional care, I think I can say with all honesty that the latter get better care and attention.  
   Even those with families often become a burden in a two earner family, and that results in them having to live in an assisted living environment situation.  Despite our avowed dislike of 'two-tiered' systems they avail of the level of care depending on  what they and their families can afford or are prepared to  spend., because this can  be a multi- tiered system, the lowest of which is dreadful.
   Prolongation of life, which  to a variable degree in available today, can be greatly enhanced, but it will be expensive.  Very expensive.  The quality of the expanded life, is and will be variable.  Very variable.  As the population gets older - and older, who is going to pay for the incredible increase in expense that will  keep these people alive.  Living expenses, medical expenses, special care expenses.  We can barely keep our present second-rate health care system running.   The pyramid has become inverted and the younger population resents and will  increasingly resent supporting more and more elderly people.  Because, although we can prolong life and will become increasingly skilled in doing that, we still won't be able to turn old  people into young people and old brains into young brains.  Body parts wear out and though we may be able to repair them or replace them. they will be old replaced or repaired organs.   Pension plans and benefits are bankrupting countries already, think about who is going to provide for a bunch of centenarians! 
   Maybe I'll have to review my views on euthanasia!

Please don't make any comments unless you wish to live into your eighties!
  

The Secret of Immortality. Pt. 2.

  I have already, albeit somewhat facetiously, shared with you the secret of immortality, at least until the age of 80.  It will require several more blogs to get to what seems to be, by popular consensus, the next step, one hundred and twenty years old.  At least, that is what my local newspaper told me with a headline that read "Anti-aging drug could help you to live to one hundred and twenty.  As I scanned through the article I discovered the miraculous drug that the article informed me would be the world's first anti-aging drug to be tested on humans. It was also hoped it would help to dramatically reduce the incidence of such diseases as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. 
   This is a drug that physicians have been using for many years for the treatment of  type 2 diabetes.  The researchers at the University of Cardiff, in Wales, wanted to know if the drug METFORMIN helps to lower the risk of early death in diabetes.  The study involved 180,000 people.  Previous studies in mice showed that the drug increased their lifespan.  In this study lifespan was compared in metformin treated patients to patients on another anti-diabetic drug. Patients treated with metformin had a small statistically significant improvement in survival compared with a cohort of age and gender matched non diabetics.  Those treated with another anti diabetic drug, sulphonylurea, had a significantly reduced survival compared with non diabetics.
   The researchers said that metformin not only reduces cancer and heart problem risk but also reduces pre-diabetic risk  of developing diabetes.  Obviously, this is going to require much further investigation.

   Meanwhile Nir Barzilai, of the Albert Einstein School of Medicine in New York and other researchers, plan to test that notion in a clinical trial called Targeting Aging with Metformin, or TAME. They will give the drug metformin to thousands of people who already have one or two of three conditions — cancer, heart disease or cognitive impairment — or are at risk of them. People with type 2 diabetes cannot be enrolled because metformin is already used to treat that disease. The participants will then be monitored to see whether the medication forestalls the illnesses they do not already have, as well as diabetes and death.
On 24 June, researchers will try to convince FDA officials that if the trial succeeds, they will have proved that a drug can delay ageing. That would set a precedent that ageing is a disorder that can be treated with medicines, and perhaps spur progress and funding for ageing research.
Let me know if yua're interested in living forever!

The Secret of Immortality!

     My kids have taught my wife and me, both recent octogenarians that it's never too late to have a helluva bash!  We were both a little reluctant and despite being in good shape were opting for a quiet family dinner in a good local restaurant for our joint 80th birthdays.  After all, getting old is easy.  All you have to do  is stick around for long enough.  
    
      In any event, it  is no use trying to resist the bullying of ones children, so  we reluctantly agreed to let the kids have their fun and go  along with  their desires as we have done for most of their lives.   My wife and I  have known each  other for most of our lives and started 'courting' (as we used to say in the old days regarding serious relationships) at about the age of eighteen..  Despite our lousy genes on both  sides of  the family, we have remained alive, remarkably active and  (I think) compos mentis.  
       Outside the 'Home Smith Jazz Bar' (yes, that really was the  name of the bar in The Old Mill!) where we all initially got together, was a sign that read:
                                  " Irene and Stan's 80th birthday,"
                  A young woman walking by said, "Hey! They must be twins!"   

      Aubie Blake, the great Jazz musician said on  reaching the age of 90, " If I knew I was going to live this long, I'd  have looked after myself  better."    We have done pretty well, my wife is starting to  look young enough to be be my daughter, and I don't look too bad myself.  Reflecting on Aubie's comments re looking after one's self better, one wonders whether that would have resulted in a significantly different outcome, or whether, short of frankly abusive habits it would make much difference at all.    Sometimes we don't know what habits are abusive until many years later.  (My parents gave me a silver cigarette case for my twenty-first birthday.  I could probably sell it as a marijuana case now.)  Dietary recommendations change frequently and drug  use is increasingly accepted despite the accepted risks.  The older I get the more I believe my parents advice of 'all things in moderation' is as close to a solution as we are likely to get.      Not that it will confer immunity against anything, but when one looks at the conflicting results of evidence based medicine research, until hard irrefutable evidence emerges it seems to be as good or better advice for good health and longevity as the recommendation of the month.
       So, at the advanced age of eighty and without any scientific basis whatsoever, here is my subjective advice  for immortality - and you can't prove it wrong - just yet!
        Passion.  Live with a passion.  Far from living each day as though it's your last,  live each day as though you are immortal. If you are going to be here forever, things matter!
        Persistence.   Churchill has said everything, but when he said, 'never, never, never give up'  he was giving advice that few today remember, care about or follow.    Very important advice if one intends to live forever.
         Partners.  Persisting in perpetuity requires the right partners.  The right spouse is absolutely necessary to keep one mentally and physically intact.  Day to day survival requires constant mental agility, liberal doses of humour and  the ability to laugh at oneself and each other, as well as physical agility in getting out of the way in a hurry, on occasion.   Remember, your children are not partners, they are your children, even though you have to be a little more subtle in disciplining them when  they are over fifty. 
         Perpetual motion.  You have to keep  moving, preferable with some sense of purpose.  Inactivity, even for short periods can be dangerous or possibly lethal.
          Personal contacts.  Love and frequent contact with loved one's is an essential ingredient.  While social networking is better than nothing, it is no substitute for direct contact.  Eye contact, a hug and a kiss cannot be transmitted over the internet.  Unfortunately, fewer and fewer people  realize this.  Nothing is more rewarding than time spent with the 'kids', relatives and friends.
          Pens.  Collecting fountain pens and other writing implements maintain awareness of the great heights that humans achieved when they could connect the brain with the fingers and have ideas flow freely onto paper, where they were captured in a pleasing and artistic form.   This helped to develop the brain - fingers interface rather than the dumbing down  effect of the keyboard,which leads to neuronal atrophy.
           Phamily. and phriends.  Nothing is more important   Without them one wouldn't need immortality!   From our kids to our brothers and sisters (we don't recognize "in-laws" in our family, we are all truly brothers and sisters, but that's a whole story in itself ), nephews and nieces, grandnieces and grand nephews they are all a fantastic crew.
           I have also found (and this is personal and may not apply to everyone, in much the same way as any  other medication may not be suitable for all), that fairly liberal but not excessive, doses of a fine Scotch (not generic) on a regular basis, works wonders and may indeed actually be the elixir of life!  I'm still working on  it.
            Our recent fabulous party thrown by our kids, ensconced us in Toronto's finest hotel in almost obscene luxury, surrounded us with relatives and friends old and young, from far and near for a weekend of re-union, fun and love.  It was all so wonderful that Irene and I have decided to stick  around for ever!   I don't know how our kids are going to top this for our 90th, which is only 9 years and 11 months away!
             We are eternally grateful to our fantastic kids for the extraordinary lengths they went to for us and thank them for rejuvenating us.