Europe’s top doctor in Healthy Ageing is at SHA, according to the European Awards in Medicine
The 2nd European Awards in Medicine gala was held at the Ritz Hotel in Paris on Tuesday, 30 November. These awards, granted by the Professional and Business Excellence Institute, recognise the track record, effort, commitment, and innovation of professionals that specialise in different areas of health care and promote excellence and knowledge through teaching, research, and proactive networking.
Our Head of the Genomic Medicine and Healthy Ageing Unit at SHA Wellness Clinic, Doctor Vicente Mera, was awarded Best European Doctor in the Field of Anti-Aging Medicine. “I am particularly excited about this award for two reasons”, he said. “First, because it is a major professional recognition. And second, because it rewards not only clinical work, but also informative work. Thus, I’m very grateful, and I receive it as motivation to continue working and improving”.
In 2018, Dr. Mera supervised the development of a multidisciplinary Healthy Ageing programme at SHA that focused on slowing down and minimising the effects of ageing so that patients could enjoy a fuller, longer life and be the best version of themselves at any age. To that end, a fully customisable methodology was used based on healthy nutrition, moderate and supervised physical exercise, stress management, optimisation of rest and sleep, hormonal balance, depurative and metabolic capacity, analysis of the non-specific and adaptive immune system and the study of genetic predispositions. Preventive medicine and the coordinated fusion of new areas of knowledge, such as bioidentical hormone therapy, genomic and epigenetic counselling, telomeric and immunosenescence assessment and the application of stem cells and enriched plasma, significantly enhance the individual positive impact of all these treatments. This comprehensive approach helps to restore vitality, improve physical appearance, and optimise overall well-being.
“Healthy ageing doesn’t just mean the absence of disease, but enjoying an optimal state of physical, mental and emotional health and well-being at any age” says Dr. Mera. “We achieve this by systematically assessing and planning the ageing process which, in the long run, provides an improvement in both quality of life and life expectancy, sometimes with minimal effort. Moreover, the paradigm of ageing has shifted. The problem is that we tend to drive the car of ageing by looking in the rear-view mirrors rather than through the windscreen, which prevents us from seeing what lies ahead. By taking the present as our life’s reference point, we think that the best is behind us. This misguided mentality makes us feel old and worn out at 50, when in fact we still have loads to do. I always give the example of David Attenborough, the British scientist, educator, and environmentalist who, at the age of 95, is more active than ever”.
There have been major advances in several medical fields in recent years that have led to an increase in life expectancy. Among these, Dr. Mera highlights “genetic research with new biomarkers, such as telomere length, bioidentical hormone treatments, detox, vitamin supplements and the influence of emotions and the microbiome on the ageing process”.