Dr Imre Nagy
Retired Head of Department of Gerontology, Medical and Health
Science Center, University of  Debrecen  (izsnagy@jaguar.dote.hu),
Scientific Coordinator of Verzár International Laboratory for
Experimental Gerontology (VILEG), Editor-in-Chief of the journal
"Archives of Gerontology  and Geriatrics".

University Studies:
University Medical School, Debrecen (DOTE), Hungary, MD, degree taken; 1961, with a special award called "Sub Auspiciis Rei Publicae Popularis" (for the best students).
Working Places:
1960-63: DOTE, Institute of Anatomy, Debrecen; assistant professor: 1963-73: Institute of Biology of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Tihany; scientific coworker, 1968-73,vice-director: 1973-76: Dipartimento di Ricerche Gerontologiche, Istituto Nazionale di Riposo e Cura per Anziani (INRCA) Ancona, Italy; director of the Center of Cytology; 1975-76; Scientific Coordinator of the Dipartimento di Ricerche Gerontologiche in Ancona: 1976-79: DOTE, Institute of Biology, Debrecen; scientific adviser, always in collaboration with the Dipartimento di Ricerche in Ancona: 1979-1996: DOTE, Hungarian Section of the "Verzar International Laboratory for Experimental Gerontology" (VILEG), Debrecen; Director of the Hungarian Section of VILEG and coordinating Secretary of VILEG in international scientific co-operations. In 1985 obtained the title of "University Professor”: 1997-Present: Head of the Department of Gerontology, established by the University Medical School of Debrecen, by transforming the VILEG Hungarian Section.
Knowledge of Foreign Languages:
English, Italian, German, Russian.
Scientific Publications:
258 papers, book chapters or books published or in press. Number of scientific lectures; about 300

Theoretical Relationships Between the Human Growth Hormone (hGH) Replacement Therapy and the Membrane Hypothesis of Aging (MHA)

Imre Zs.-Nagy Department of Gerontology, Medical and Health Science Center, University of Debrecen, POB 50, H-4012 Debrecen, Hungary (izsnagy@jaguar.dote.hu)

One of the biggest scandals of the recent history of medicine is the conflict of views between the American Medical Association (JAMA Commentary, October 26, 2005) and The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) (Official A4M Response, November 14, 2005). The style used in those two documents was really rough and unusual. On the one hand, according to the JAMA Commentary, this method of anti-aging interventions is "illegal, criminal, and requires legal persecution". On the other hand, A4M is of the opinion that all this is “…filled with incorrect, misplaced references and studies, and multiple basic scientific errors, in an apparent attempt to damage the anti-aging medical profession…”. Evidently in the frame of a short lecture is impossible to treat all the relevant aspects of this complicated story. Nevertheless, this author will attempt to point out the main issues of theoretically acceptable and estab-lished effects of the hGH replacement therapy. The explanation of the aging process called “membrane hypothesis of aging” (MHA) offers a safe interpretation of the empirically observed beneficial effects of the hGH, exerted through its practically ubiquitous membrane receptors. The activation of the latter stimulates the cellular metabolic processes, the membrane transport functions, rehydrates the intracellular colloids, speeds up protein synthesis and turnover, and activates a great number of all cellular functions, observed so far. All this requires an independent, open-minded approach to the problem, and pushes us to a better understanding of the results of aging research, which proved to be so far a dead-lock.