A century ago, fast-talking charlatans sold youth potions from rickety wagons. Today, America's burgeoning anti-aging industry rakes in $50 billion each year and employs scores of serious, forward-thinking doctors who promise to roll back the clock for as little as $250 a month. With a new anti-aging clinic opening every week, this medical movement is attracting controversy nearly as fast as it's attracting new customers.
The promised benefits are seductive: added stamina, youthful energy and diminishing ailments. The problem: There's little hard, scientific data to back up practitioners' claims that a regimen of non-FDA-approved supplements actually does anything to extend patients' lives. Of greater concern, the human growth hormones (HGH) recommended by many anti-aging doctors have been tied to accelerated tumor growth in some studies. As a result, the FDA has banned the use of HGH for anti-aging purposes, but some doctors may be ignoring the new rules.
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