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Demand for anti-aging treatments grows as more younger people seek them.

Tinkering with the body - breast implants as a high school graduation gift - is harmful, he says, because it diminishes normal development and the aging process ...

At 23, Johnette Marmo looks like she's taken a dip in the fountain of youth:

Wrinkle-free skin. Ageless appearance. Glowing good health.

Ah, but how will she look at 25?

The Aliso Viejo resident says she doesn't worry about lines and wrinkles. Still, she covers her face with a towel when she sits in the sun. And she heeds her older girlfriends when they tell her not to frown.

"They tell me frowning will form lines on my forehead," she says.

Americans, many as young as Marmo, spent $44.6 billion on anti-aging creams, supplements, vitamins and face-lifts in 2004, according to the Business Communications Co. An aging baby boomer population will push that market to $72 billion by 2009, the firm predicts.

Orange County, with its vigorous biotech industry, is home to several such products that are marketed to more than 980,000 local women over 25.

"Yes, there are more products available, and I see more younger women coming in for consultations," says Dr. Wieke Liem, a dermatologist with offices in Orange and Newport Beach.

The tangled web of beauty and health almost always finds medical professionals and product manufacturers at odds.

Liem endorses none of the products or treatments designed to deny aging.

Neither does Dr. Mahtab Jafari, associate director of the pharmaceutical sciences program at UC Irvine.

"We need clinical studies on these products," she says.

>>The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not regulate these products, although the U.S. Government Accountability Office issued a warning recently about serious physical harm that can come from ingesting certain anti-aging products. The problem: The GAO was not specific about which supplements are harmful.

Newport Beach-based plastic surgeon Dr. Malcolm Paul questions the benefits of creams and supplements while supporting laser treatments, Botox injections and face-lifts.

Abigail Trafford, a Washington Post health columnist who focuses on the 50-plus population, questions all of it. "When will we get over this ageism?" she asks. "When will women just let themselves age naturally?"

Dr. Andrew Weil, an Arizona professor and author of a new book, "Healthy Aging" (Knopf 2005), says all this concern about what works, what doesn't and what might actually do harm is misplaced "because there are no anti-aging medicines or techniques that work. But it's never too early to think about how to eat, how to reduce stress, how to maintain health and make good lifestyle choices, how to exercise," he says.

"I get alarmed when I see very young people getting Botox face-lifts. We are too youth-obsessed."

Weil advocates aging naturally. Tinkering with the body - breast implants as a high school graduation gift - is harmful, he says, because it diminishes normal development and the aging process.

Weil, however, has developed his own line of skin care products for Origins, producer of a variety of such things. The Weil products "are very philosophically aligned with me," he says. "I gave them ideas for products using Asian mushrooms (starting at $35) which have anti-inflammatory effects and are designed to improve the health of the skin."

Paul Holden, director of vitamins for Mother's Market in Costa Mesa, is skeptical. Cosmetics with dollops of this or that special ingredient don't work, he says. And even vitamins and supplements won't work if a person doesn't live a healthy lifestyle.

"It starts with good diet and exercise," he says. "That's the basis of staying young. Balance."

The U.S. market for cosmeceuticals - supplements that target skin health and beauty - is valued at $12.4 billion and will reach $16 billion by 2010, says the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, a Chicago-based nonprofit group that promotes various medical procedures said to retard aging. More than 11,000 physicians from 65 countries are members of the academy and call themselves "anti-aging physicians."

Among the newer products is Acai Power Caps, marketed by San Clemente-based Sambazon as nature's "antioxidant superfruit."

Orange County surfers Rick Black and Ed Nichols were enjoying the sights in Rio de Janeiro when they stumbled upon beach bars concocting energy drinks and dishes from the pulp of this rain forest berry.

Now Sambazon markets these acai (ah-SIGH-ee) smoothies through local natural food stores and some vitamin outlets.

The little berry will improve skin tone and texture, Black says.

But then, so will a trip to the produce counter at your local supermarket, says Jafari, who recommends a good salad as the best source of antioxidants, until scientific studies are completed.

Suffering from collagen depletion? Ahmad Alkayali, a consultant to Newport Beach-based NeoCell Corp., holds three Collagen Type II patents for dietary supplements. He introduced Collagen Types I, II and III food supplements to the market 17 years ago.

His theory is straightforward: When the body slows its natural production of collagen, skin ages. "By putting collagen back into the food system, we are providing the body with essential ingredients to make collagen," he says.

The optimal age to start these supplements? Thirty-five, he says.

Medical doctors argue that such supplements do nothing more than create "expensive urine."

"You can't take collagen and get the skin to thicken," says Dr. Malcolm Paul.

He dismisses supplements and creams, no matter what vitamins or potions are included.

"It's wrong to push products without proof of benefit," Paul says.

At the same time, Paul advocates plastic surgery. Americans spent more than $7 billion on Botox, Restylane, laser treatments and surgeries last year, according to the American Society for Aesthetic and Plastic Surgery.

Paul endorses Celibre Medical Corp., a Los Angeles-based laser firm that recently opened an office in Orange. The treatments are designed to encourage the skin to develop new collagen, he says.

Unlike all-purpose lasers used by many physicians, Celibre has lasers designed for conditions from acne to wrinkles, says Kevin DeCerbo, its marketing director.

The advantage to laser treatment: It lasts for a few years, while Botox and other fillers only last for a few months.

The downside: You have to start early - between ages 15 and 55, says DiCerbo. "After age 55, the skin is better served by surgery."

CONTACT US: (714) 796-7987 or jhaas@ocregister.com.

Dr. Paul, isn't telling his; patiences the risks and side effects of all breast implants to them or their un born children. The, FDA didn't stipulate this which we, should be screaming out lungs out about! The PS, are just in it for the bucks$$$ They've helped the nasty, corrupt, BI manufactures get these toxic bags of chemicals approved. And should have been sued by all of, us because, they were aware about the horrible side effects too..

The message they are sending young, women is totally disgusting, but profitable for themselves as usual!:::::::::::vomit!

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/healthscience/homepage/article_859078.php