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August, 2009 - VOL. 8, NO. 4 | |
August, 2009 |
| Organ Reserve and Healthy Aging, Part II: Improving Organ Function |
| John Neustadt, ND; Steve Pieczenik, MD, PhD |
| Organs are thought to have a certain capacity to withstand perturbations and return to homeostasis, a concept that has been termed “organ reserve.” In a Part I of this article (IMCJ 2008;7.3:50-52), we discussed the idea of organ reserve and evaluated evidence for its existence. Having established a basis for the concept, in this article we evaluate strategies for increasing organ function to promote health and decrease age-related disease. The discussion was narrowed to the 2 most prevalent conditions: cardiac failure and sarcopenia (age-related reduction in skeletal muscle mass in the elderly). Clinical trials on botanical medicines, nutritional strategies, and hormone-replacement therapy provide data that diseases typically considered irreversible can be treated and organ function restored. Clinical trials show that Hawthorne (Crataegus spp.) effectively restores cardiac function in stages I and II heart failure and that amino acid therapy and testosterone (for men only) can increase muscle mass in sarcopenia. More clinically useful than the strict definition of organ reserve is the development of a clinical sense that organ function can be promoted and that the diseases and morbidities associated with aging are not necessarily inevitable. |
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