The prevalence of sexual dysfunction in women approaches 43%, and age is an important correlate. The underlying etiology of sexual dysfunction in women is complex. Nevertheless, hormonal changes such as loss of estrogens and androgens contribute significantly to some of the sexual difficulties experienced by aging women. (more…)

Altered cellular metabolism and intracellular and intercellular signaling with advancing age result in widespread changes in endocrine function. Several mechanisms interact in most systems to bring about the observed changes. Aging is associated with anatomic changes of the endocrine glands. In addition, with age, changes in hormone replacement secretion occur, including alterations in circadian or seasonal biorhythms, changes in pulsatile frequency or amplitude of growth hormone secretion, as well as absolute changes in mean serum hormonal levels. The three main hormone systems that show decline with age are the gonadal hormones (menopause and andropause), the adrenal steroids DHEA and DHEA-S (adrenopause), and the GH/IGF-1 axis (somatopause). (more…)

For trained physicians, aging is often defined by the age-related diseases and disorders people experience as they grow older. In fact, aging is often portrayed as a disease that is amenable to treatment, just like any other elderly chronic diseases that physicians are trained to diagnose and treat. This is not an unexpected view of aging given the Western disease-oriented model of medical education. Examples of the conditions that anti-aging practitioners endeavor to treat or postpone include cardiovascular disease, cancer, sensory impairments, muscle and bone loss, loss of skin elasticity, and decline in sexual activity in elderly function. (more…)

Involuntary weight loss is the result of many chronic progressive diseases, often leading to diminished lean body mass, frailty, susceptibility to illness, and increased mortality. Various anabolic agents have been used to combat weight loss with mixed results. Similar to the frustration experienced by advocates of weight loss in the obese, none of the pharmacological appetite stimulants available at the current time have been uniformly successful in combating involuntary weight loss in the elderly population. (more…)