Age-defying potions

Science has given us the means to find out the age of almost everything. Astronomy tells us that the universe, so far, seems to be around 14 billion years old. The solar system is 10 billion the universe’s junior. Astronomy can tell us the ages of stars. Archaeology, anthropology and paleontology have also unearthed our planet’s and our species’ history for us and dated them. I also have always like the fact that we can tell the age of a tree by its annual growth rings. When I was in second grade, I learned a very long poem called "Liberty" by Lamberto Javellana. It had these lines: "One hundred and fifty years is not a long time in the reckoning of a hill, but to a man it is long enough. One hundred and fifty years is a weekend to an oak tree, but to a man it is two full lifetimes. One hundred and fifty years is a twinkle to a star but to a man, it is time enough to teach two generations the meaning of liberty…" Since then, I have always known that no matter how old I become, I could never approximate the endurance of a star, a hill or the likes of an oak tree.

But I find it very interesting now that given our serious preoccupation with finding out how old things are, we humans also seem to be the only species taking great pains not to wear or act our years. "Age-defying," " anti-aging" and "wrinkle-free" in cosmetics are purr words that issue from the shelves of many beauty stores and from the claims of many cosmetic doctors and other beauty experts. All kinds of performance boosters in the form of mega-vitamins for our daily needs and even for particular cases, including Viagra and similar drugs, have rescued the falling bridges of many (but not limited to) aging gentlemen and recaptured the imagination of waning sex lives. We know how old we are but it has somehow become a virtue not to look it, in terms of appearance, or show it, in terms of our performance. What is the science behind our quest to defy the ravages of time on our bodies?

It seems that chemistry and medicine have, indeed, taken this quest seriously and quite profitably. The cosmetic industry in the US alone yields $3 billion in annual revenues from their products and I could only wonder how much the beauty and fashion magazines reap from this consumer frenzy. This is what John Emsley, a chemist who wrote a new book called "Vanity, Vitality and Virility (Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press 2004), has explained and revealed to us. The industry is rewarded for what in reality amounts to chemistry that "reduces the appearance of aging" by what they know about what the skin needs to stay replenished which is moisture, and what removes the outer layer of dead skin which are acids (Alpha Hydroxy acids or AHAs such as glycolic acid found in apples, soy sauce, sugar cane, onions and Chardonnay grapes, and lactic acid which is produced from any fermentable carbohydrate and also in milk). Moisture is what your skin always needs so it does not dry up and thus, wrinkle. While your tendency to hold moisture wanes as you age, experts say you can help your skin retain moisture by adding to it. A good moisturizer, the chemist says, should basically include water (and in keeping with the taxonomic tradition is often listed as "aqua" among the product ingredients), "humectants" and "occlussives" whose differing functions I could not tell since they both prevent water loss. These simple basic facts seem to rescue us from the myth that high-priced moisturizers will give you better results. A limited survey in 2001 contained in the book showed that there was no correlation between performance and price of product. While I trust these declarations of chemistry facts in the book, I don’t think it is wise for any of you readers to go ahead and manufacture your own AHA from the fruit basket on your dining tables and rub it on your faces. I however, think it is safe to put on some moisturizer as often as your skin seems to need it.

In terms of virility, Emsley wittingly noted the similarity between the need of a man to "flash" his partner and the firefly’s twinkling its tail to attract a mate. It seems that nitric oxide or "NO" has to do with both and nitric oxide is what the drug Viagra has tinkered with in order to produce a gentleman’s flash. Nitric oxide is what is produced at the nerve endings of the penis when aroused which, in turn, kicks off an enzyme that relaxes the Apollo muscles, letting blood rush to it. It seems that there is another enzyme to balance this rush but as men get older, there is not enough of the former chemicals resulting from the rush of NO and the counterbalancing, "killjoy" enzyme wins, which in effect fails to launch Apollo. Viagra acts by stopping this "killjoy" enzyme at its tracks and letting the NO and its enzymes win by default and take control of Apollo, enabling it to gloriously launch according to its desires. These desires amounted to shares of Pfizer increasing from $45 to $115 within two weeks of its launch in 1998.

I find it extremely curious that according to Emsley, the Flemish chemist named Johannes Baptista van Helmont in the 16th century probably first discovered NO and called it "chaos" which really means "a primordial formless matter" or "an amorphous lump." Hey, blame the Oxford Dictionary. I guess these "dispirited" definitions were what motivated a speaker named Dr. Giles Brindley to do what he did in a 1983 medical conference Emsley cited. The Las Vegas conference showcased medical experiments to instigate these little, private "resurrections." Brindley, a British neurophysiologist, presented a paper on how injecting the penis with phenoxybenzamine causes it to have, in his words no less, a "remarkable erection." But not contented with the scientific merits of his research, he stepped aside the lectern and put his pants down to reveal in practice what he had just presented in theory. He even reportedly walked around daring other delegates to physically check out the "rigidity" of his research finding. I don’t know about you but that gives new meaning to the phrase "external validity" in research jargon. But I have to say that it may not hurt for Dr. Brindley to have his Houston (brain) checked as well for carrying it that far.

Age has a funny effect on humans: the more of it we gain, the more we want to hide it or defy it. We want to rage in beauty and love like the Sun even if we reach that inevitable point where, as one female humorist put it, we only have "half the candle-power of an elderly firefly" and eventually lose light. Potency drugs may launch Apollo but it is still desire that inspires and motivates it. Cosmetic science, I think, should be seen for what it is – "cosmetic," meaning "on the surface." You cannot fool your cells of their age. They know their birthdays and the countdown starts as soon as you blow the light off the candles on your cake.

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