Professor sued over anti-aging comments

[Chauga]

By Jeremy Manier
Chicago Tribune
June 19, 2005


Over the years that S. Jay Olshansky has blasted the Chicago-based American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine as a peddler of baseless ideas about how to reverse the aging process, he says he always saw their dust-up as a scientific dispute like many others.

But in an unusual $120 million lawsuit now winding through Cook County Circuit Court, leaders of the anti-aging group contend the University of Illinois at Chicago professor and a colleague were aiming at much more--a "ruthless campaign" and conspiracy to discredit their work and destroy their careers.

The defamation case is an almost unheard-of attempt to punish academics for comments made in their professional capacity, said experts on libel law and academic freedom. Although UIC is not a defendant in the suit, officials there said they are so concerned about protecting scholarly speech that the school is picking up Olshansky's legal bills.

"It's the job of a university professor to search for the truth and to speak it," said UIC spokesman Bill Burton. "In fact, that's the purpose of a research university. Professor Olshansky was doing his job, and the university is defending its purpose."


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0506190345jun19,1,4537823.story?coll=chi-news-hed

[bemildred]

1. Money used as a weapon to silence criticism. nt

[bluedonkey]

2. How dare he

tell the ruth!!
These people live in a total different reality.What happened?Parallel universe collapsed and all these idiots crossed over?

In this here universe people get born,age and die.

[tecelote]

3. Statement almost right...

"It's the job of a university professor to search for the truth and to speak it,"

"It used to be the job of a university professor to search for the truth and to speak it,"

Science used to prove fact. Policies were built around the facts. As we all know, now policies are built first and science is expected to build support. Certain facts are just not needed. Why should scientists be paid for discovering unneeded truths?

[Endangered Specie]

4. I would countersue....

$650,000,000,000 for harassment :sarcasm:

[Rich Hunt]

8. I know you're joking, but

....there really should be harsh penalties for those who attack academic freedom by harassing professors and institutions of learning. It's a violation of their academic freedom and un-American in spirit. Those who try to suppress free speech are treasonous IMO.

[Endangered Specie]

13. One wonders if free speech covers people who speak out against it?

:shrug: theres one to ponder.

Yes, I agree they should be punished with either libel/slander/harrassment, I was simply making fun of (I find a little humour makes bleak situations a little more bearable) the ridiculous amount they are suing for (wrongful death lawsuits are not even 1% that! :wtf:)

[amazona]

5. kudos to UIC for supporting the professor's free speech

And kudos to the Professor Olshansky for an open critique of these frauds who prey on people's fear of old age.

[DavidDvorkin]

6. Are they frauds?

I don't know anything about the organization, and I couldn't tell much from a quick look at their Web site.

[amazona]

7. yep -- bogus claims about human growth hormone

Older people have been playing with this stuff for 15 years now. If it reversed aging, no rich person would be old.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

9. While HGH can be dangerous... and while it may be involved

in other pathological processes.... some other interventions for the aged... have been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. These interventions primarily include the healthy fats, antioxidants, coenzymes, digestive enzymes and the like. It is sometimes a matter of maintaining a certain quality of life more than it is about "reversing the aging process".

http://www.lef.org/protocols/prtcl-003.shtml
>>Age-Associated Mental Impairment
Updated: 6/14/2004

* What Causes the Brain to Age Prematurely
* Take Steps to Preserve Your Mental Function
* Innovative Drug Strategies

An aging person often experiences a progressive decline in cognitive function. This typically begins with short-term memory loss and the inability to learn new information. Simple memory deficits, if not addressed, can worsen over time.

Numerous published studies indicate that brain aging can be controlled, at least in part. Some of these research findings demonstrate a preventive effect, whereas others show a benefit in reversing the neurological impairment caused by normal aging or by an age-related condition such as having had a stroke.

Conventional medicine has little to offer for people who notice a small decline in their memory or mental abilities. Often these changes are attributed to being a natural or inevitable part of growing old. Alternative physicians advocate that people should take responsibility for their own intellectual health as soon as possible, certainly before minor symptoms progress to a pathological illness.<<

[amazona]

10. fine I've thrown enough money down this rathole

Conventional medicine works better than the "alternatives" for preserving brain function. My friend who got properly diagnosed and maintained his B12 shots for perncicious anemia was able to stop his mental decline. The vegan who thinks he can handle this problem on his own will continue to lose neurological function.

Most of the loudest anti-aging and smart drugs proponents are hoaxers and I think they know they are. There is a far cry between telling people to eat right, exercise, and don't smoke to preserve brain function -- which by strange coincidence is EXACTLY what good science and conventional medicine says -- and the very profitable selling of fake cures for old age like HGH.

It is one thing to sell "hope in a jar" when it's a face cream. When you are bilking people out of their money who are losing brain function, you need to be called on it.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

11. Might I suggest that you consider a few papers that seem

to point to the benefit of pycnogenol in protecting the brain against alzheimer's, cognitive decline, and a whole host of other issues? It will be fun. If you have a mind for scientific papers that exist on medline, there are several that point to the benefit of pycnogenol in issues that include COPD, asthma, allergies, circulatory disorders, hypertension, etc.

There are over 130 medical abstracts noting the physiological benefits to be had by supplementing with pycnogenol at their website. The paper below comes from the NIH.

www.pycnogenol.com

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=12117551&query_hl=6

1: Brain Res Mol Brain Res. 2002 Jul 15;104(1):55-65. Related Articles, Links
Click here to read
Pycnogenol protects neurons from amyloid-beta peptide-induced apoptosis.

Peng QL, Buz'Zard AR, Lau BH.

Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA.

Neuronal apoptosis is one of the pathological features of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Morphological pathology reveals that neuronal apoptosis is associated with senile plaques containing amyloid-beta peptide (Abeta) in AD brains. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) has been proposed to be involved in the apoptotic mechanism of Abeta-mediated neurotoxicity. In the present study, using a rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cell line, we investigated the effect of Pycnogenol (PYC), a potent antioxidant and ROS scavenger, on Abeta(25-35)-induced apoptosis and ROS generation. We used vitamin E, a known antioxidant agent, to verify the effect of PYC. Abeta(25-35)-induced apoptosis in PC12 cells was demonstrated by: (1) a dose-dependent loss of cell viability; (2) a time- and dose-dependent increase in the apoptotic cells; (3) an induction of DNA fragmentation; and (4) an increase in caspase-3 activity and cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). Our data showed that a significant increase in ROS formation preceded apoptotic events after PC12 cells were exposed to Abeta(25-35). We further found that PYC not only suppressed the generation of ROS but also attenuated caspase-3 activation, DNA fragmentation, PARP cleavage, and eventually protected against Abeta-induced apoptosis. Vitamin E also suppressed cell death and caspase-3 activation induced by Abeta(25-35). Taken together, these results suggest that ROS may be involved in Abeta-induced apoptosis in PC12 cells. They further suggest that PYC can reduce apoptosis, possibly by decreasing free radical generation in PC12 cells.

PMID: 12117551

[atommom]

12. Regardless of whether the anti-aging claims have any merit or not,

I don't think we should allow lawsuits against professors (or others) who criticise businesses or products. If they are harrassing business owners, that's another matter .... but we'll all be sorry if we allow companies to silence legitimate criticism through lawsuits.