The one thing that's true about getting old is that no one wants to. So, many people are desperate to believe in technologies, treatments and supplements that claim to halt, delay, reverse or otherwise combat the effects of ageing.
That's why there are countless anti-ageing solutions out there - and why the market for them is projected to reach US$291.9 billion by 2015, according to a 2009 report by Global Industry Analysts. In Hong Kong, figures from Datamonitor show that the market value for cosmetics and skincare in 2009 was US$408 million, with anti-ageing products among the largest product categories.
But it's difficult to know whether any of these products actually work; there are so many claims and counter-claims, and little conclusive scientific proof.
An important distinction must be made between arresting the appearance of ageing and actually stopping the ageing process. Most of us are more focused on appearances because the evidence is out there to see. There's also a big difference between reversing the effects of ageing and simply extending lifespan. Western medicine has become particularly good at the latter over the past century or so but has never properly tackled the former.
The scientific name for the process of ageing is senescence: cellular senescence is when a cell loses its ability to divide, and organismal senescence is when an organism starts to respond less well to antagonists in its environment, for example becoming more prone to disease. In humans, the latter usually starts at about the age of 35. This happens in almost all living things, although there are exceptions - turtles, for example - leading to the idea that it might be preventable.
There are many theories about why ageing happens - evolutionary explanations, others based on viruses, accumulation of wear and tear at a cellular level, and even the body's immune system ganging up on it.
