Aging is defined as the post-maturational decline in physiologic functioning. The primary consequences of aging that we can all expect is a decrease in our heart rate, greying and/or thinning of hair, wrinkles, presbyopia and loss of bone and muscle mass. In women, menopause can be added to that list. All of these changes are not considered pathology but they can develop to diseases and they certainly can affect our quality of life.

Distinction between primary and secondary aging

When we are talking about anti-aging medicine and preventive medicine,  there are some contradictions about the things that we can and cannot prevent. As aging is classified in primary aging and secondary aging let’s see both definitions:

* Primary aging is the inevitable loss of function that occurs no matter what we do.

* Secondary aging is the loss of function accelerated by lifestyle and other factors.

Unfortunately nothing has been demonstrated to slow down or reverse the primary aging process in humans; instead, the factors that are known to affect longevity do so by their influence on disease development, which is part of secondary aging.

Secondary aging processes result from disease and poor health practices (e.g. sedentarism, overweight, smoking and other forms of self-damage) and are often preventable, whether through lifestyle choice or preventive medicine. It is this type of aging that we can influence the most.

So when we are talking about secondary aging prevention we are talking about preventive medicine. These are medical techniques and treatments intended to prevent diseases before they started, rather than curing them.

How to prevent secondary aging?

Simple practices can make a big difference, such as exercise, sun protection or calorie restriction. The sooner these practices are implemented, the more efficient they will become.

Nowadays the trend has become  “maintenance as a rule” instead of dramatic changes or using aggressive techniques.

Mesotheraphy is a good therapy to prevent and restore aging of the skin and sun damage but also against greying or loss of the hair. Hyaluronic acid fillers are the perfect allies against wrinkles, bone resorption or volume loss.