Interview with Prof. Henzler and why he is passionate about longevity.

Please introduce yourself briefly and tell us what you do.

“My name is Professor Thomas Henzler and I am the managing director of a large radiology department in Stuttgart. I am also Deputy Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board of Radiologie Holding Diagnostik und Therapie.

My medical focus is on cardiothoracic and oncological imaging. The exciting thing about these two fields of radiology is the possibility of detecting diseases and specific risk factors for diseases at an early stage when patients are still asymptomatic. This means that preventive measures can be taken in good time to treat diseases before symptoms develop or, in the best case, to prevent them completely. Perhaps this approach can be summarized quite well with the generic term “preventive radiology”.”

What does healthy ageing mean to you?

“In my everyday life, I see a large number of patients who suffer from preventable diseases of affluence from their mid-40s onwards, which could actually be prevented through education, training and, in some cases, only minor changes to everyday life. In most patients, this concerns the musculoskeletal system at an early stage, early restrictions in sexuality and changes in laboratory values, which have been ignored for too long in our healthcare system. This chain is then spun further in patients in their 50s, with organ function impairments then occurring, followed by manifest cardiovascular, oncological and mental illnesses. On the other hand, if we look at our increased life expectancy due to medical progress, we quickly realize that many of us spend a large part of our lives as “patients”. For me, our neotes mission therefore means helping people to live the majority of their lives not as patients, but as healthy people who are responsible for their health.”

Which findings from longevity research do you find particularly interesting and why?

“In recent years, I have been particularly fascinated by the connection between controlled calorie restriction through fasting, the autophagy triggered by this and the resulting positive properties for our health. When I think back to my school days and the posters with the food pyramid hanging in every classroom, I find the huge paradigm shift fascinating. But you also have to realize how much educational work lies ahead of us due to these years of misinformation. In addition to fasting and autophagy, I am particularly interested in the topic of sport and the most interesting substances in the field of longevity research.”

One of the new developments that is generating a lot of interest is epigenetics. Where do you see the potential of epigenetic tests in the short, medium and long term as a radiologist and for yourself as a private individual?

“In my view, epigenetic tests are the future tool of choice for health-conscious people to determine their current health status and identify their individual risks at an early stage. I am also fascinated by the fact that the tests also reveal unvarnished phases of life with a poorer lifestyle. Quantitative individual parameters from epigenetic tests are in turn an excellent tool for demonstrating individual progress and the effects of a lifestyle change initiated by us at neotes over time – i.e. longitudinally. This has an incredibly motivating effect for many of our customers.”