The Old and the Beautiful

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While it may not have been good science, it was good business. A4M was hardly the first association to market the fountain of youth, but by making the unattainable seem accessible, it paved the way for successive companies&mdashand entire industries—to offer their own dose of the same promise. Supermarket aisles now teem with bottles adorned with the words "anti-aging;" second-tier produce like pomegranate and acai have become "superfruits" and the foundation of their own billion-dollar businesses. For men fearing the onset of "male menopause," anti-aging hormones and over-the-counter antidotes like Viagra and Cialis have helped assuage millions of midlife crises. Even botox (one of the movement's own creations) descended the age curve from being a subplot on Sex & The City to one on The Hills. And this is to say nothing of the spate of advice books.

The anti-agers have all the answers for their critics. The pharmaceutical companies that fought to shut them down? They'd be doing the same thing if they could get the patents! Scientists cautioning against the serious dangers of this "medical specialty"? They're being paid off by Big Pharma! When a patient of T.S. Wiley, Suzanne Somers' favorite doctor, complained of extreme bleeding, hair loss, and insomnia as a result of following the doctor's orders, she was told she was "being ungrateful." When local pharmacists latched on, having realized the business could free them from the shackles of dealing with insurance companies and line their pockets big-time, they shot back that those questioning their lack of oversight wanted to take away the consumers' right to choose. No one was too small to be threatened with a slander suit, including Weintraub.

On the other hand, maybe Wall Street and Detroit have something to learn. Botox sales topped $1 billion by the end of last year, and anti-aging "institutes" like Cenegenics and BodyLogicMD continue to expand their client bases by offering what BodyLogicMD's president, Patrick Savage, calls "the perfect example of a service you're not going to give up in a bad economy." With the unemployment rate hovering at nearly 10 percent in the U.S., it would be tremendous consolation if older Americans could reenter the workforce looking younger than ever. The laws of nature, however, still haven't been repealed.

PONCE DE LEONS OF THE 21ST CENTURY

The anti-aging business has grown into an $88 billion annual industry with a multitude of beneficiaries

BodyLogicMD: The network for "bioidentical hormone replacement doctors" was founded in 2003 by twins Paul and Patrick Savage after Paul lost nearly 90 pounds via hormone injections. It now oversees more than 40 practices.

Resveratrol: Hollywood (Fla.)-based FWM Laboratories began offering free trials of the drug but insidiously signed people up to receive automatic shipments for around $80 a month and made it virtually impossible to cancel.

Suzanne Somers: The former sitcom actress and home fitness guru capitalized on the anti-aging revolution with her books The Sexy Years, Ageless: The Naked Truth About Bioidentical Hormones, and Breakthrough.

MonaVie: Founded in 2005, the company sells a dark purple drink made with the acai berry for more than $40 that, it says, promotes overall health and longevity. In 2009 founder Dallin Larsen claimed $1 billion in sales.

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