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Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000010230606 | QP86 A34 2008 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
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Summary
Summary
This wide-ranging, multidisciplinary collection examines how advances in medicine and technology are affecting the aging process and the lives of elderly persons.
In analyzing the state of biotechnology, these essays applaud the positive--extended longevity and the potential for greater quality of life--while probing such ethical quandaries as presymptomatic genetic testing, therapeutic cloning, antiaging technologies, and the transhumanist movement. The volume includes discussions about the respective roles of health care professionals, government, and individuals in shaping a workable regulatory framework and unifying multiple perspectives to make the biotechnology revolution beneficial to all.
Featuring contributions from renowned scholars of religion, ethics, philosophy, psychology, law, medicine and nursing, and gerontology, Aging, Biotechnology, and the Future illuminates the promises and perils of growing old in the biomedical age.
Contributors: George J. Annas, Jessica Brommelhoff, Lisa Sowle Cahill, Margaret Gatz, Pamela J. Grace, Robert C. Green, Fernando A. Guerra, Rose M. Harvey, Kathy J. Horvath, Ann C. Hurley, Robert Lanza, Karen Lebacqz, Erin Linnenbringer, Maxwell J. Mehlman, Toni P. Miles, Sarah Moses, Thomas T. Perls, Leonard W. Poon, Catherine Y. Read, J. Scott Roberts, Diane Scott-Jones, Thomas A. Shannon, Richard L. Sprott, Rosemarie Tong, Laurie Zoloth
Author Notes
Catherine Y. Read, Ph.D., R.N., is an associate professor of adult health and associate dean of the Undergraduate Program at the Boston College School of Nursing. Robert C. Green, M.D., M.P.H., is a professor of neurology, medicine, and epidemiology at the Boston University School of Medicine. Michael A. Smyer, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology and director of the Center on Aging and Work at Boston College. He is the coeditor of Challenges of an Aging Society , also published by Johns Hopkins.
Reviews 1
Choice Review
In previous generations, aging was perceived as a sign of earned reverence. Today, aging is commonly viewed as an undesirable expression of becoming antiquated and decrepit. This loathing of aging has produced a growing industry of products and treatments that purportedly reduce the signs and symptoms of aging. The scientific community has joined the "anti-aging bandwagon" by developing biotechnology applications designed to detect the causes of aging and to possibly reduce the negative consequences of maturation. Editors Read (Boston College School of Nursing), Green (Boston Univ. School of Medicine), and Smyer (psychology, Boston College) provide a comprehensive yet concise, simple-to-read synopsis of the issues involving modern biotechnology/aging research. It is not written as a book on the biology of aging. However, the work does provide a contemporary overview of the factors that contribute to human aging and includes discussions of scientific topics related to aging, such as genetic testing and stem cell research. Most importantly, the volume presents the ethical issues associated with predicting a person's longevity and with developing techniques for achieving near immortality. Social justice issues related to the inequitable distribution of medical treatments for reducing aging are also analyzed. Each chapter provides ample contemporary references. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Academic, professional, and public libraries, all levels. B. R. Shmaefsky Lone Star College - Kingwood
Table of Contents
| Preface | p. xi |
| List of Contributors | p. xxiii |
| Part I Introduction | |
| 1 Reality Check: What Is Genetic Research on Aging Likely to Produce, and What Are the Ethical and Clinical Implications of Those Advances? | p. 3 |
| 2 Meeting the Challenges of a Diverse Aging Society | p. 10 |
| Part II Immortality | |
| 3 Immortality through Cloning? Reproduction, Regeneration, and the Posthuman | p. 17 |
| 4 The Transhumanist Movement: A Flawed Response to Aging and Its Natural Consequence | p. 39 |
| 5 Stem Cell Research and Intervention | p. 58 |
| 6 The Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications of Antiaging Technologies | p. 69 |
| 7 Stem Cells and Aging: Quality and Quantity of Life in an Unjust World | p. 79 |
| Part III Centenarians | |
| 8 Centenarians and Genetics | p. 89 |
| 9 What Can We Learn from Centenarians? | p. 100 |
| 10 A Developmental Perspective on Aging and Genetic Technology: A Response to Studies of Centenarians | p. 111 |
| Part IV Genetic Testing | |
| 11 Genetic Testing for Alzheimer Disease: The REVEAL Study | p. 127 |
| 12 The Implications of Genetic Testing for Alzheimer Disease | p. 145 |
| 13 Genetic Susceptibility to Alzheimer Disease | p. 157 |
| 14 Psychological Issues in Genetic Testing | p. 173 |
| 15 Genotype, Phenotype, and Primary Care: Why the New Genetics Technology Is Not Ready for Primary Care | p. 188 |
| Part V Ethical and Social Perspectives | |
| 16 Genetics, Aging, and Primary Care: Ethical Implications for Clinicians | p. 199 |
| 17 Aging, Genetics, and Social Justice | p. 216 |
| 18 The Ethics of Aging: Question of Ends at the End of Life | p. 232 |
| 19 A Lonely New World-or Me, Myself, and I | p. 245 |
| Index | p. 259 |
