Cenegenics Atlanta

What is the Cenegenics® Medical Institute all about?

Your Physician has been trained by Cenegenics® Medical Institute. Cenegenics has been in the forefront of helping men and women regain the vitality and vigor of their younger years and maintain their healthier lives longer. Cenegenics® has trained physicians to focus on preventing premature disability and death by taking steps to insure optimal health, not "minimum wage" health. Through the synergy of hormone management, optimal nutrition, and exercise,  patients are seeing remarkable improvements in skin tone, increased mental acuity and brain function, strengthened immune systems, increased lean muscle, decreased fat, and revitalized sex drive and performance.

 What exactly is hormone modulation & how does it work? 

Hormone modulation is the science of optimizing hormones that are no longer being adequately produced by the body. While genetic programming does many wonderful things, nature's plan brings us to the age of reproduction and nurturing, and then seems to have little use for us. At that point, we begin to fail. In fact, much of aging can be seen as deficiencies in many of the substances that our body once produced in abundance. Regaining and maintaining metabolic and endocrine functions at the upper end of the normal range for your age gives you the best opportunity for a healthy and vigorous life.  This optimal range is in the upper third of the normal range for age.

 How long before you can actually see results?

While this varies with each person, some people feel results within days. Just like beginning an exercise program, you can expect results within three to six months after beginning hormone management. Often the results of proper modulation are manifested by what you don't feel, i.e., sick, tired, moody, etc.

 How long do I have to be on these therapies?

You should give your program at least six months to see significant benefits. Most patients will experience benefits before three months and continue to see improvement beyond that point.  Your body needs that much time to heal and rebuild. You should remain on the program for as long as you want to optimize your health. 

What happens if I stop the program?

You will have gained time while you were on the program, but if you should elect to stop, you will experience no accelerated aging. Should you stop the program, your body will simply begin to age again at the normal rate.  The benefits will fade over time, however you still have benefited.

 At what age should a person start such a program?

Thirty-five is a good age for the initial baseline evaluation, because that is when deficiencies begin to appear.   Around thirty years of age, we lose hormones from 1%-3%.  It's never too early for any adult to begin the nutraceutical program. A person does not need to begin hormone modulation therapy, however, until such time as the body begins to lower its hormone production. Our thorough blood tests and assessments help us determine exactly where you may be most deficient and how we can best help you. Every person is different and will have different needs as far as hormone modulation goes. 

Will the treatment interfere with my currently prescribed medications?

Generally not. In some instances, medications may actually be reduced or no longer needed. Your Cenegenics® certified physician will be able to advise you best on this and will be happy to work with your own doctor should you so desire. 

Will your Cenegenics® trained Physician be taking over as my doctor?

Absolutely not. As a wellness program, your Physician is happy to communicate with your current health care team, and/or any specialists you may be seeing.  You are encouraged to continue your usual visits with your regular doctor. 

How many pills does one have to take on a daily basis?

The number of pills you take daily depends on your medical, hormonal, and nutritional needs. Of course your  physician will also consider your individual tolerance for taking pills. Hormones and nutritional supplements are conveniently supplied and mailed to you directly on a predetermined schedule. 

Why does hGH have to be injected?

Human Growth Hormone breaks down if taken orally, so the only truly effective way to obtain its benefits, at this time, is by injection.  The nature of the hGH molecule is similar to insulin but the complexity of the hGH molecule is far greater than insulin. 

There are no oral, nasal, sublingual, or transdermal growth hormone products including secretagogues and precursors that have any merit whatsoever. 

Many companies that are promoting "Oral hGH" or "Nasal Spray hGH" that can be purchased from a website or a store without a prescription are under federal investigation.   
Pharmaceutical manufacturers Merck and Pfizer were featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal in May of 2002 reporting that they have spent approximately $100 million to develop non-injectable hGH products and have failed.  The state of evidence-based medical research is overwhelming and compelling that the only way to introduce human growth hormone into the body is by injection.  Once pharmaceutical manufacturers are able to deliver insulin orally, hGH will soon follow. 

Is this type of program FDA approved?

HGH was approved by the FDA for treatment of hormone deficient adults in the summer of 1996. You need to be evaluated to determine if you are deficient. 

Isn't it unnatural to inject or ingest hormones?

The hGH we use is identical to the human Growth Hormone naturally produced by the body. It is spread to its target organs just as it would be if secreted by the pituitary gland. Supplementing hGH is as natural as supplementing thyroid hormone. It simply returns your body to a state in which it is functioning more optimally. 

How do the Andropause and Menopause programs stack up against the "full" program?

The Andropause and Menopause programs are, respectively, important components of the full hormone modulation program. Many people will want to begin immediately with one of these two focused programs. At any time, you can "upgrade" to the full hormonal modulation and nutraceutical program. 

Is Growth Hormone safe? Will it make things "grow"?

Human Growth Hormone is safe in physiologic doses. Among its many functions is that of repairing and regrowing tissue. When a person reaches maturity, Growth Hormone is important for cell revitalization and repair. Cells cannot repair, maintain, and heal properly in its absence. While hGH is sometimes used to help stimulate height in children who are pituitary dwarfs, it does not make an adult grow taller. There has been absolutely no correlation between physiologic dosages of hGH, such as those given in our programs, and cancer of any kind. Quite the contrary. HGH has proven to be extremely helpful in strengthening the immune system, increasing mental acuity and focus, and preventing the onset of diseases usually associated with aging. Growth Hormone is only prescribed for adult growth hormone deficiency.

There's been a lot of negative press recently about HRT for women. What do you think about that?

Most women over thirty-five years of age need some form of hormone supplementation, which can include testosterone, human growth hormone, thyroid, and possibly others.  This applies to women that have reached menopause as well as premenopausal women.  Menopause is clearly a hormone deficiency condition. We believe it is absolutely crucial to the health and well being of every woman to replace these lost hormones with natural bioidentical hormones in order to maintain quality of life and prevent unnecessary suffering.  Synthetic means the molecule is not natural to the human body.  Bioidentical hormones are natural hormones whose molecules are identical to those made by humans.   

What about the scandal involving athletes using growth hormone and steroids? Why is the use of growth hormone being questioned when there are so many benefits?

There exists a significant difference between physiologic optimization and abuse. Generally athletes are young and vigorous and already performing at a very high level.  These athletes do not have any partial hormonal deficiencies, so they take hormones to go way beyond the optimal physiologic range. Whether athletes take a testosterone derivative or growth hormone, there is a short-term benefit for performance, but the long-term detriment to their body exceeds the benefits. 

Are you ever too old to start?

Age is not a barrier.  Many of the older people, including those over 60 years, will ask this question thinking it is too late to begin a program. The answer is quite the opposite. Older people have greater deficiencies or partial deficiencies, therefore the response to hormone modulation and supplementation is excellent and almost immediate.  It is important to note that early intervention can reduce rapid advancement of diseases, such as osteoporosis and Alzheimer’s.  Less progress is to be expected when conditions such as these are advanced. 

Why Cenegenics trained Physicians rather than some other physician or practice?

The most important element necessary for the success of any medical therapy is the expertise and experience of the physicians in whom you place your trust for your health care.  Our physicians are certified in Age Management Medicine and have a wealth of experience in hormone modulation therapies, nutritional strategies and exercise science.  Our goal is to have you become comfortable with the science, the therapies, and the Cenegenics Medical Institute as a world leader in Age Management Medicine.   

You are working with a local physician trained by Cenegenics to manage your hormonal modulation program while other local physicians may purpose to offer Hormone Replacement Therapies it may be appropriate to ask  whether they practice Age Management Medicine full-time or part-time, how many patients they have, and whether they have documented or published their clinical outcomes.  Then compare their experience to the Cenegenics Medical Institute trained Physicians The more experience a physician has with specialized therapies the better the patient results.  It is important to understand the difference between a local physician’s excellent intentions and his or her limitations due to lack of certified training and full-time experience. 

Your Physician has been trained and certified by Cenegenics, the largest and most experienced Age Management Medicine Practice in the world with patients from every state and several countries.  Twenty-five percent of their patients are physicians and their families. The Cenegenics Medical Institute consistently receives regional, national, and international media exposure and has been the featured expert in the media, including USA Today, Wall Street Journal, ABC’s 20/20, National Public Radio, and CBS’s 48 Hours.  

At the University of Nevada – School of Medicine (UNSOM), Residents have several opportunities to learn from the expertise and experience of the Cenegenics® Medical Institute Physicians.  As part of their Practice Development rotation, Residents have a chance to spend half-days at Cenegenics® Medical Institute doing clinical training with our physicians and our patients to gain a deeper understanding for both the medicine and the business practices of Age Management Medicine.  Furthermore, Age Management Medicine is offered as an elective allowing the Residents to divide their time between the Cenegenics® Medical Institute and the UNSOM Family Practice Center.  Finally, Cenegenics Institute Physician, Alvin Lin, M.D. supervises Residents on a weekly basis doing chart review and patient evaluation in the UNSOM clinical setting. 
Cenegenics® Medical Institute is the only accredited teaching venue for Physician Training in Age Management Medicine with mainstream medical credentials.  Through the joint sponsorship of The Cenegenics Medical Institute and the Foundation for Care Management, Cenegenics provides AMA/PRA Level 4 Classification Physician Training in Age Management Medicine for a maximum of 50 Category 1 CME Credits. Cenegenics also sponsors an Institutional Review Board (IRB) Research Protocol for Age Management Medicine with University Affiliation.  This study is the basis of our university affiliated IRB research project.

In addition, Cenegenics has the highest rating for a privately held entity with Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. because of their business ethics. After seven years and five thousand inquiries, The Better Business Bureau reports that Cenegenics Medical Institute has never received a negative comment or complaint.

Why are these therapies so expensive?

The only really expensive component of the program is growth hormone.  It is our hope that within the next year a MAJOR manufacturer will develop a generic brand of growth hormone.   Some of the existing generics that are from “no name” companies located in foreign countries are illegal.  Even if they are distributed in the United States, it is against the law.