A4M’s largest event, the 21st Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging, Regenerative and Aesthetic Medicine wrapped up on Sunday, December 15th with a record number of attendees and exhibitors present. Over 5,000 attendees, over 300 exhibiting companies and over 50 speakers gathered at the Venetian/Palazzo Resort in Las Vegas, NV December 13th – 15th for a conference on continuing medical education in preventive and integrative medicine.
Among the speakers were special guests Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Suzanne Somers, Travis Stork, MD and Judith Reichman, MD. Gov. Schwarzenegger accepted the 2013 A4M Infinity Award at Saturday afternoon’s general session for his leadership role in early funding and support of stem cell research and healthcare reform, among other endeavors. Suzanne Somers’ presentation entitled “Our Time Has Come,” took place during Friday morning’s general session. Dr. Stork, an emergency room physician and host of Emmy nominated show “The Doctors” spoke about “Your Best Life.” Dr. Reichman presented “Slow Your Clock Down: On- Label, Off- Label, Gray- Label.”
Check out the video of Governor Schwarzenegger’s presentation here.
Some of the featured presenters included Abraham Morgentaler, MD, FACS, who is the Director of Men’s Health Boston, Associate Clinical Professor of Urology at Harvard Medical School, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, spoke on Testosterone Therapy; Christoph Westphal, MD, PhD who earned his MD from Harvard Medical School and PhD in Genetics from Harvard University presented on Pharmaceutical Approaches to Treating Aging; Erika Schwartz, MD, a leading expert in the field of bio-identical hormone therapies, wellness and disease prevention reviewed the scientific literature on the topic of doctor-patient relationship and attempts to achieve high-quality of care in a clinical setting; some noted International faculty included Massimo Dominici, MD, an assistant professor in Oncology and Hematology at the University of Modena, presenting on Stem Cell Therapy; and Eduardo Mansilla, MD who specializes in Internal Medicine in Argentina and has spent more than 15 years working in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
Prior to Friday morning’s kick-off of the conference, hundreds of medical practitioners from all over the world attended pre- conference, specialty workshops on Thursday, December 12th. Workshop topics included “Testosterone Deficiency and Therapy in Men,” presented by Abraham Morgantaler, MD, FACS; “Personalized Lifestyle Medicine,” with Pamela W. Smith, MD, MPH, MS; Mark Houston, MD, MS, ABAARM, FACP, FAHA, FASH; Mark Rosenberg, MD; and Tana Amen, BSN, RN; “Pellet Therapy,” by James Mahoney, MD; and “Advances in Body Contouring,” with Sharon McQuillan, MD. One additional workshop was offered, as part of the Practice Management Certification. It is a two-part certification course, the first part offered in Las Vegas, the second part will be offered in Orlando in May. To achieve certification in Practice Management, the participant must take the two courses as well as successfully complete an exam after each. On Sunday, December 15th, a post conference, specialty workshop entitled “Menopause/Andropause: Improving the Health and Happiness of your Patients with Bio-Identical Hormones,” was led by Jonathan Wright, MD and Daved Rosensweet, MD.
Other conference highlights included sponsored evening workshops on Thursday and Friday. Thursday’s workshops included “Advanced Biomarker Testing: Case Based Application,” sponsored by Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc; “The Most Potent Natural Solution for Pain & Inflammation,” sponsored by Omaprem; and “Reverse Skin Aging with Cosmeceuticals and Hormones,” sponsored by University Compounding Pharmacy. Friday’s workshops included “Regenerate Your Practice: Validated In- Office Stem Cell Therapy,” sponsored by Ageless Regenerative Institute; “Exclusive Physicians Workshops,” sponsored by BodyLogicMD; “Cellular Detoxification,” sponsored by Ondamed; “Breaking the Aging Code of the Brain and Body,” sponsored by PATH Medical; and “Solving Adrenal Fatigue,” sponsored by Sangeeta Pati, MD.
In addition to the general conference, over 500 healthcare practitioners attended advanced education Fellowship modules over the course of the weekend. Modules offered in Las Vegas included Modules I, V, XVI, XXII, XXIII, Integrative Cancer Therapy Module VIII and Sexual Health Certification Module D.
Fellowship Graduation was held on Saturday, December 14th. Over 160 healthcare practitioners graduated from the different Fellowships offered by A4M; The Fellowship in Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine (FAARM), The Fellowship in Anti-Aging, Regenerative, and Functional Medicine (FAARFM), The Aesthetic Anti-Aging Fellowship, The Stem Cell Fellowship, and The Integrative Cancer Therapy Fellowship (ICT). The graduates completed a series of advanced course work both live and online, as well as written and oral exams to meet graduation criteria. Congratulations Class of 2013!
The exhibit hall was home to many conference activities including the New Product Theater which featured a dozen exhibiting companies presenting their latest products via a live demonstration or presentation. Additionally, attendees were encouraged to play “the exhibit hall game”, where they visited twenty-five (25) specific exhibitors and received a special stamp on their game card. Participants who got all 25 special stamps were eligible to enter to win a 2013 Chevy Camaro. The drawing took place on Sunday afternoon and the 2013 winner was A4M Member and Physician’s Assistant, Ann Chudy from North Little Rock, AR. An extra special bonus – it was Ms. Chudy’s birthday!
”Many of the top-in-their field medical presenters who lectured on topics including stem cell therapy, telomeres, mitochondria, brain health, hormone replacement, metabolic syndrome, obesity and more often concluded that the first steps to prepare your patient’s personal health and longevity is to start living an anti-aging lifestyle; a strategic multi-faceted lifestyle program involving diet, exercise, nutritional therapies and other natural therapies to beneficially prevent and alter the possible series of biological changes that take place in the body as your patient age” stated Amy Paoletti, Marketing Director. “This was a prevalent message throughout the three days of lectures”.
The A4M looks forward to the many events offered in 2014, specifically the 22nd Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging, Regenerative and Aesthetic Medicine, held at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Orlando, Florida on May 15 – 17, 2014.
