Blue Rodeo performing at Massey Hall, October 10, 2023. Photo courtesy of the author.
Blue Rodeo is an iconic Canadian band that performs “countrified rock” and has been around for four decades. It has received multiple awards and accolades, including being inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, and lead singers/songwriters Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor were named Officers of the Order of Canada. I’ve been a fan since the ‘90s and even shook hands with Cuddy at an awards dinner for Queen’s University alumni, where he received an honorary doctor of law degree.
I have seen them in concert many times, most recently this week at Massey Hall in Toronto. I listened to them sing “Til I Am Myself Again,” released in 1990, and thought about these lyrics and what they would mean to an aging band. Jim Cuddy is 67 and Greg Keelor is 69, and when they wrote this song they were 34 and 36 respectively. I have no doubt these words have taken on new relevance at this stage of their lives.
Well, I don’t need a doctorTo figure it outI know what’s passing me byWhen I look in the mirrorSometimes I seeTraces of some other guy
Where, I wanna goI know I can’t stayI don’t want to run feeling this way…‘Til I am myself‘Til I am myself‘Til I am myself again
A 2018 article in The Globe and Mail announced that the band was winding down tours because “Touring is pretty tortuous for me,” Keelor said. “My head has a hard time with the volume and the travel. My brain turns against me and it gets very neurotic. It’s not pleasant at all.” Keelor also suffers from inner-ear problems (reported in the same article).
If we have the privilege of growing into old age, what will that mean with regenerative medicine shaping the medical landscape? And how long could it prolong us doing the things we love most?
For readers unfamiliar with the term regenerative medicine, this is an exciting form of medicine that harnesses the power of (stem) cells, biomaterials, molecules and genetic modification to repair, regenerate or replace diseased cells, tissues and organs. It includes cell and gene therapies, treatments that promise revolutionary new cures for devastating conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
In Canada, the following products have been approved in these disease areas: mantle cell lymphoma (2021); multiple myeloma (2021); spinal muscular atrophy (2020); inherited vision loss (2020); blood cancers (2019, 2018); and graft-versus-host-disease (2012).
The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, an industry association, reports that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, or FDA (its regulatory body) “is set to potentially approve up to nine cell and gene therapies in 2023, which would be a record for the most approved in a year. This includes potential approvals of five gene therapies for rare genetic diseases – matching the number of such therapies approved by the FDA in the previous five years combined.” Across North America, Asia Pacific and Europe, there are 1,687 clinical trials underway.
(All these approvals are exciting, but they trigger concerns about the high price of these therapies and whether patients will be able to afford them. That’s a blog post for another day.)
Hopefully regenerative medicine will eventually cure neurodegenerative diseases, rare diseases and cancers caused by solid tumours, in addition to the conditions named previously. But what about improving what we see when we look in the mirror and restoring knees and hips that degenerate as we age? After all, everyone wants good quality of life as we get older, not simply a longer life.
On the issue of appearance, there is a booming and still growing “cosmeceutical” industry. But before you get too excited, read “Stem cells and the pursuit of youth, a tale of limitless possibilities and commercial fraud.” On a more positive note, thanks to biomaterials research and advances, we may be able to replace our skin in the future to make our appearance more youthful.
As for painful knees, hips and shoulders caused by arthritis, the Arthritis Foundation has an excellent article about regenerative therapies that show great promise for osteoarthritis. It covers platelet-rich plasma, stem cells, autologous microfragmented adipose tissue, tissue transplantation surgery and tissue implantation techniques. The information is fact-based and includes warnings, where necessary. Read this helpful article.
In 2021, Signals asked whether it’s possible to reverse aging. At the time, Michael May, PhD, President and CEO of CCRM, shared a look at the future of aging, with all of its “possibilities.” Here’s his final reflection on the topic: “I think that it is inevitable that we will be able to manipulate the aging process, adding decades onto our current lifespans. The extent and pace of scientific advancement in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, cell and gene (and advanced) therapies, suggests that humans are on a trajectory to realize this level of control over our biology.” You can read the full post here.
Here is Blue Rodeo performing “Til I Am Myself Again.”
Stacey Johnson
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