May we introduce?
Prof. Dr. med. Markus Stoffel is a practicing specialist in internal medicine in Munich and Tegernsee. He specializes in preventive medicine and is also involved as a medical consultant for several companies, including MoleQlar.
So let's take a look behind the scenes here and now and find out what a doctor, armed with a stethoscope and white coat, thinks about current developments in medicine, what role he plays as a doctor and what this means for us as patients. So take a seat on the fictitious examination couch in Prof. Dr. Stoffel's medical practice and relax - the answers to the burning questions won't be long in coming!
MoleQlar:
Prof. Stoffel, you are a doctor with many years of professional experience in various areas of medicine. As a broadly trained and experienced internist and specialist in nephrology, you have specialized primarily in preventive medicine. Health and illness affect everyone. No one is exempt. Could you give us an insight into your thoughts on the importance of modern medicine? Have you noticed a change in this respect in your time as a working doctor?
Prof. Dr. Stoffel:
Some years have passed since my student days and the time of my first job ... (laughs) . I was fascinated by the biochemical processes of our body and the ever-increasing knowledge about them from an early age, as well as genetics and the epigenetics that has been increasingly researched for a good decade.
When I think of "modern medicine", however, I also think of the very pleasing developments in technology, such as high-resolution ultrasound images and metabolism-related examinations using functional magnetic resonance imaging or magnetic resonance imaging.
In addition, the integration of complementary diagnostics and therapy into conventional medicine plays a very important role. I am pleased to note that our patients are also increasingly proactively engaging with health issues and are interested in new approaches and examination options, as well as possible side effects.
And last but not least the much-discussed digitalization, which has not yet been put into practice, helps us to communicate with each other much more easily and quickly; for example, we offer online appointment bookings and video consultations even before corona, which are very popular.
MoleQlar:
You yourself describe how the high demands of everyday life, whether at a professional or personal level, place an immense burden on people. Nowadays, this social pressure is particularly noticeable and takes up a lot of energy. Added to this are family histories of illness or other pre-existing conditions. What role does preventive medicine play in these social and health challenges? What part can we humans play in ensuring that we don't become patients
Prof. Dr. Stoffel:
It is very important to personally address the topic of preventive healthcare:
What can I do today to avoid being ill tomorrow?
We all know that it is always better to avoid illness in the first place than to have to suffer and treat it later.
However, thinking and acting preventively requires personal responsibility and initiative.
This includes, above all, a balanced lifestyle: a healthy diet, plenty of exercise and sufficient sleep (!) play a very important role. And you first have to know what each individual topic means. There is so much - an unmanageable amount - of information on this and the biggest challenge is certainly to find out which is or further .
But early and thorough health checks should also be on the agenda. This is because relevant predisposing factors for diseases can be identified and treated in good time.
MoleQlar:
Prevention is known to be a strategic concept in medicine. While curative medicine focuses on curing - but often only alleviating or delaying - diseases, preventive medicine refers to the avoidance and detection of diseases. Do you think we should get to the bottom of health issues as early as possible, before physical ailments and mental suffering force us to act? As a doctor, how do you practice this type of preventive medicine?
Prof. Dr. Stoffel:
You suggest exactly the right thing!
The sooner we recognize deficits, the sooner we can compensate for them and thus actively counteract the development of diseases.
Who wouldn't want to be free from physical ailments and mental suffering? In our practices, we first take a very thorough medical history to determine the status quo of your health, i.e. an individually focused discussion, usually followed by an imaging examination and diagnostics. With a targeted blood test, we then look "one level deeper" than the " big blood count" that sounds so comprehensive - and also analyze minerals, vitamins and trace elements. If there are any imbalances here, they can be corrected in good time before diseases develop.
MoleQlar:
In modern medicine, the specialist distinguishes between life span and health span. While the lifespan self-explanatorily reflects the total number of years we live, the health span is understood as the number of years we spend healthy, free and free from illness. This philosophy is subsumed under the term " longevity " with the following goal: extending the time we live healthily.In your opinion, is there an important step in preventive medicine where the focus is not on treating the disease, but rather on maintaining and promoting health? What advice would you give your patients in this regard?
Prof. Dr. Stoffel:
In order to maintain a healthy lifespan for as long as possible, it is important to be aware of the risks that lead to the most common diseases in our society - namely diseases of the cardiovascular system, the brain (dementia and Alzheimer's) and the development of cancer - and to eliminate them as far as possible.
A conscious, healthy lifestyle and regular " check-ups " can help to achieve this goal.
Of course, every disease is determined by individual factors. Our main focus in our practice is therefore on measurable risks that can ideally also be treated. Let me give you the almost omnipresent stress as an example - your stress hormones are measurable and it can be analyzed at which times of the day this is particularly pronounced. Through essential substances such as amino acids andz.B. conscious breathing you can successfully counteract your stress.
MoleQlar:
An epigenetic test such as the Molecular Profile Test from MoleQlar analyzes the biological age of a person based on a saliva sample. This epigenetic age can vary in comparison to chronological age and thus allows conclusions to be drawn about a person's lifestyle. Can you imagine such an epigenetic test finding a place in future preventive medicine? Have you already carried out such a test yourself or recommended it to your patients?
Prof. Dr. Stoffel:
Yes, I have already carried out this test myself and I can still remember the excitement with which I awaited the result! I can reveal that I was very pleased to see that the methods I practiced were apparently also effective for me ...
I have already recommended the epigenetic age test to many of my patients, who really appreciate how easy it is to carry out and who have also been eagerly awaiting their results.
Some have then contacted us again based on the results to plan possible measures for improvement.
On the one hand, we have genetics, which we inherit and which is basically considered unchangeable (comparable to the entire hard disk of a computer). On the other side is epigenetics with the realization (analogous to the hard drive sector that is read) that we can positively influence our genes through our lifestyle.
The exciting thing about the epigenetic concept is that it involves biochemical changes (often in the form of so-called methyl groups) that allow the "hard disk" (=genetics) to be read in different areas. This means that the activation or deactivation of genes is the relevant, epigenetically measurable factor.
Ideally, the targeted improvement of risks over a period of 1-2 years and thus a positive influence on biological age is possible.
MoleQlar:
As already mentioned, the biological age can be lower or possibly even higher than the normal age. Various lifestyle factors such as unhealthy eating, no or too little exercise or the wrong kind of exercise, smoking, alcohol and negative stress can contribute to this. In addition to these controllable risk factors, there are dozens of circumstances that are difficult to change and modify. What would you recommend to your patients if an epigenetic age test is much higher than the chronological age? Are there also protective factors in return for the risk factors?
Prof. Dr. Stoffel:
This is detective work that needs to be worked out. Of course, we are still far from being able to influence all risks that could potentially be improved.
But - and this is the good news - we certainly have many opportunities to live more consciously and healthily and, as part of proactive preventive healthcare, we ourselves can help to increase our healthspan.
Protective factors are therefore definitely a "healthy diet", the right amount of exercise, restful, regenerative sleep, pulse-regulating breathing and the balancing of micronutrient deficiencies in the blood. I say this quite boldly here, but I can give you a scientifically valid definition or recommendation for action in each of these fields of action.
MoleQlar:
Dr. Stoffel, thank you very much for the informative discussion and the exciting interview. We can all take a lot from this for our health and our lives! One very last question to conclude: Which MoleQlar product would you most like to have for personal use?
Prof. Dr. Stoffel:
Preferably a substance that influences the mitochondrial energy production of the cell and enables us to make clinically and laboratory-chemically verifiable improvements to the "cellular power plants". Disorders in this central element of metabolism are not only frequent, but also have a strong influence on our longevity. They are currently taking center stage due to topics such as " Long-COVID ". However, we have known about these " fatigue symptoms" for much longer.
Maybe you too, dear reader, will write a little Longevity wish list so that you can do something good for your health too!
