Clinical Applications for Age Management Medicine
Ruth Riley
Today, the number of Americans around the age of 65 years old has reached unprecedented numbers. Consequently, age management medicine focuses on health and prevention rather than disease.
Meanwhile, anti-aging treatments focus on issues like the appearance of wrinkles and sagging skin. Individuals generally have these issues on the face, neck, and hands.
Aging can involve several life stages, including pregnancy. Some studies show that pregnancy and childbirth accelerate aging in women on the cellular level. However, other research suggests that motherhood and pregnancy may slow the aging process. Know more about it here.
Keep reading to learn about potential clinical applications for age management medicine and how they may also function as anti-aging treatments.
What Exactly Is Age Management Medicine?
Age management medicine is an innovative approach to 21st-century healthcare. This progressive and proactive approach focuses on an individual’s health rather than their disease. The goal is to provide life-changing and measurable patient outcomes.
In addition, AMM uses precision medicine to either delay or remove degenerative aging, using elements like innovative technologies and solid science.
Meanwhile, anti-aging products often claim that they can cause the skin to appear more youthful. Products that improve the appearance of the skin are generally cosmetics. For example, if a product makes wrinkles less visible through moisturizing, it’s a cosmetic.
Clinical Applications of AMM
Here are some typical clinical applications of age management medicine.
Clinical Peels
Chemical peels irritate an individual’s skin and cause skin cells to die. The process is controlled yet only impacts the surface layer.
Chemical peels eliminate the top layer of skin. Afterward, healthy skin cells can grow to replace damaged regions. This process can function as a healthful AMM procedure.
Individuals can use chemical peels to treat various skin issues, including:
- Facial blemishes
- Acne
- Skin pigmentation
- Sun-damaged skin
- Liver spots or age spots
Chemical peels have increased in popularity partly due to many individuals seeking healthy skin. The global skincare industry is estimated to have a massive $100 billion value.
Individuals can also classify chemical peels as an anti-aging technique. The procedure can help remove skin blemishes like liver spots, scars, and wrinkles.
Botox
Botox is another clinical application of AMM. It may function as preventive medicine by preventing fine lines from becoming wrinkles.
Individuals use Botox through short-term paralyzed muscles to remove wrinkles. Manufacturers produce Botox from a neurotoxin known as “botulinum toxin.”
A neurotoxin is a poisonous substance that works on a person’s nervous system, disrupting the nerve cells’ normal function.
Professionals can inject small concentrations of Botox into areas where the patient wishes to improve skin health.
Botox injections prevent nerve cells from transmitting signals to muscles, relaxing them for a period.
Research shows that Botox may produce long-term anti-aging benefits for the skin. The injections may help make the skin more elastic and wrinkle-resistant. However, more research is needed.
Dermaplaning
Dermaplaning is a minimally invasive procedure functioning as AMM. Exfoliation can help promote skin cell turnover, helping promote healthier skin.
This procedure shaves off the skin’s top layer. The process may help make acne scars or pitted skin less visible. Some people also get dermaplaning to extract unwanted hair.
Dermaplaning reveals skin cells that are newer and undamaged. The process does not cause aging to stop. Still, it can help the skin look younger.
As an anti-aging procedure, dermaplaning can provide aesthetic benefits like producing more youthful skin and reducing the appearance of wrinkles.
The healthcare provider uses an instrument known as a dermatome to remove skin cells and hair. The tool looks somewhat like an electric razor. The dermatome contains a small blade that gently shaves the top layer of skin.
Laser Treatment
Healthcare professionals use laser treatments to remove skin conditions like acne spots, wrinkles, and scars.
Lasers direct short and pulsating light beams at a patient’s irregular skin. The process removes damaged layers of skin.
The process of laser rejuvenation can cause side effects, including swelling. After laser treatments, individuals need to apply an ointment to the skin to promote healing.
Hormone Replacement
In the past, people often used hormone therapy to protect long-term health. However, some clinical trials showed that the procedures may cause health risks.
Hormone replacement therapy involves a medication containing female hormones. Studies show that hormone therapy may help provide health benefits to postmenopausal women.
The potential long-term benefits of hormone replacement therapy can function as AAM. The procedure may also provide anti-aging benefits through rebalancing hormone levels.
Cannabidiol
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a compound found naturally in cannabis plants. Humans have used cannabis-derived products as a source of medicine for thousands of years.
CBD is one of over a hundred “phytocannabinoids” (plant-based cannabinoids) in the cannabis plant. Cannabis plants alone contain these compounds.
Today, scientists around the world are conducting studies on CBD’s possible therapeutic benefits for humans. Some studies suggest that CBD may help lower the risk of health conditions like diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
However, more longitudinal research is warranted.
In terms of potential anti-aging benefits, research shows that CBD may help provide therapeutic benefits related to aging:
- CBD may help relieve stress and anxiety: Research shows that CBD may help regulate a person’s mood and reduce stress and anxiety.
- CBD may improve the skin’s elasticity: Reduced skin elasticity can cause the skin to look saggy and wrinkled. A 2019 study suggested that CBD may help improve skin elasticity.
- CBD may fight free radicals: This property may help combat “free radicals,” unstable atoms. Free radicals can cause cellular damage that can affect illness and aging. Research shows that CBD may help fight free radical damage.
- CBD may help with some skin conditions: Research shows that CBD may relieve the symptoms of various skin conditions, including acne and eczema. Its anti-inflammatory properties may also relieve symptoms like itchy skin.
Still, researchers must conduct more studies on CBD’s possible anti-aging benefits mentioned above.
References
1. The U.S. Population Is Growing Older, and the Gender Gap in Life Expectancy Is Narrowing
https://www.prb.org/resources/u-s-population-is-growing-older/
2. Degenerative disease
https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/degenerative-disease
3. Dermaplaning
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/22680-dermaplaning
4. Hormone therapy: is it right for you?
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/menopause/in-depth/hormone-therapy/art-20046372
5. What is CBD?
https://www.projectcbd.org/about/what-cbd
6. Wrinkle Treatments and Other Anti-aging Products
https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetic-products/wrinkle-treatments-and-other-anti-aging-products
Ruth Riley is an educator, writer, and literary enthusiast. She teaches linguistics to college students and also conducts studies about CBD. She believes CBD to be one of the best natural alternatives to pharmaceutical drugs and that it is worth a more in-depth research and understanding. She contributes to health and wellness sites like Motherhood Community and CBD Clinicals.