Geriatrics: The effect of time in medicine

In the October 1997 issue, THE WESTERN JOURNAL OF MEDICINE, along with 82 journals from 30 countries, will focus on aging. Our emphasis will be on successful aging. Eric B. Larson, MD, Medical Director, University of Washington Medical Center, and Edward H. Wagner, MD, MPH, Director of the Center for Health Studies and of the W.A. (Sandy) MacColl Institute for Health Care Innovation, Seattle, are leading this effort as special editors. The following article is an adaptation of a grand rounds in medicine that Waiter Bortz, MD, gave at the Stanford University School of Medicine last year. Dr Bortz is an internist, teacher, lecturer, community activist, marathon runner, and prolific author whose most recent book is Dare to Be 100. Dr Bortz explores aging, time, and science in this article that is a prelude to October's landmark issue.