Healthy Aging, Longevity and Life Extension

Dear Future Centenarian,

Almost twenty years ago, I bought some furniture from one of the nicest, most gentle men I ever knew. He owned a furniture store in my hometown, Johnstown, PA. That was the first time I met him, even though I went to high school with his son.

He came to my home to ensure delivery went well, and we got into a long conversation. I don’t remember much of the discussion, but a lot of it had to do with aging and how great his life was up to recently. One sentence stuck with me for twenty years and helped shape my future. That sentence was:

“I never thought it would be like this.”

Mr. Gearhart was probably in his 70’s at the time, and he was not aging well. He was afflicted with early-stage Parkinson’s which prompted him to explain to me how aging absolutely sucked. He went on to say he always knew he would grow old, and then he laid that haunting sentence on me. It was a distressing conversation for me and a sad time for his family. I’m sure he’s gone by now, and his death must have been agonizing. He wasn’t one of the “lucky” ones with a squared mortality curve.

A squared mortality curve is where a person stays healthy until he or she dies. Most gerontologists try to square mortality curves to alleviate old age suffering. Most mortality curves decline from birth to death, especially in the later stages of life. That means your health gradually declines as you age, usually severely in the last ten years or so, just like Mr. Gearhart’s. So squaring the curve generally means a quick comfortable death.

A squared curve is not my goal. A horizontal one is. That would be where you stay in top shape with no end in sight. You would see no decline, because you wouldn’t age. (Yes, I know a “horizontal curve” is technically not a curve, but a line. I hardly ever get to coin a term though, so I’m going to keep using it.)

Then, if an accident suddenly ended your life, your curve would then become squared.

If you’re not yet convinced that keeping your mortality curve horizontal is possible, I’m sure you most certainly prefer a squared curve to that of a declining one. Personally, I’m holding out for quality AND quantity.

But whichever your goal is, you will advance toward it by keeping up with the weekly information in Longevity News Digest.

By the way, a horizontal curve is my goal for you as well as for me.

P.S. If you have donated to Maximum Life Foundation and are waiting for your final premiums, your wait is almost over. Stem Cell Products is taking delivery next week of their first inventory of Signals, the breakthrough skin care line. You will be receiving yours soon, and your wait will have been worth it. If you have had a change of address, please let me know.
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AVOID CHRONIC INFLAMMATION

Chronic inflammation is a potent source of biochemical damage that contributes to age-related disease. A reminder of the way in which that works and what can be done:

http://www.fightaging.org/archives/001659.php

The best short term way of evading chronic inflammation, and thereby increasing your chances to living more healthy years, is to avoid carrying excess visceral fat. But that only gets you so far: eventually even the healthiest immune system in the healthiest body starts to fall into a permanent condition of chronic inflammation called inflammaging. Evolution didn't produce a system that can be used for as long as we modern humans would like."

So when Reason says 'avoid chronic inflammation' he’s not really talking about sane lifestyle choices, although that's very necessary as well. He really means 'do what you can to help advance medical research into repairing our aged immune systems.' As time goes by, you'll find that the greatest determinant of your health and longevity is medical technology that can repair the damage of aging. While we're healthy and active, we should do what we can to advance that medical research; it'll pay off later.
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LATEST HEALTHY LIFE EXTENSION HEADLINES

Indy Longevity Mutation Works through Mitochondria (January 23 2009) http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2009/01/aging
Another longevity mutation is shown to work by reducing the all-important emission of free radicals from the mitochondria: "first discovered in 2000 [a] mutation in the Indy ('I'm Not Dead Yet') gene [extends] the life span of fruit flies. Subsequent studies of the Indy flies have led to the new finding that a mechanism in those genetically altered fruit flies appears to reduce significantly the production of free radicals, a cellular byproduct that can contribute to the aging process. This intervention takes place with few or no side effects on the quality of life for the fruit fly. The discovery could lead to the development of new anti-aging treatments. There are very few, if any, interventions that are known to dramatically extend healthy lifespan. Understanding how [the] Indy mutation alters the metabolic state of the fruit fly would allow someone to come up with pharmacological interventions that could mimic it and give you the benefit of genetic manipulation without having to do genetics."

Geron Going to Trials with Stem Cell Therapy (January 23 2009) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/business/23stem.html
As the New York Times reports, Geron's embryonic stem cell therapy for spinal injuries is soon entering phase I human trials. Make what you will of timing, and consider that in the absence of the FDA this would already be in clinics: "The clearance of the clinical trial - of a treatment for spinal cord injury - is to be announced Friday. Geron's trial will involve 8 to 10 people with severe spinal cord injuries. The cells will be injected into the spinal cord at the injury site 7 to 14 days after the injury occurs, because there is evidence the therapy will not work for much older injuries. Geron's therapy involves using various growth factors to turn embryonic stem cells into precursors of neural support cells called oligodendrocytes, which are then injected into the spinal cord at the site of the injury. The hope is that the injected cells will help repair the insulation, known as myelin, around nerve cells, restoring the ability of some nerve cells to carry signals. There is also some hope that growth factors produced by the injected cells will spur damaged nerve cells to regenerate." By way of a reminder, we should all be interested in technologies for myelin repair, given the evidence for a general decline in myelin during aging.

Rebuilding Nerves with Viruses (January 22 2009) http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/21991/
From the Technology Review: "Researchers working on tissue engineering hope to eventually be able to use a patient's own cells to grow replacement tissue for damaged hearts, livers, and nerves. But mimicking the structure and function of the body's tissue has proved difficult. Matrices of supportive, fibrous proteins sustain the cells of the heart, lungs, and other tissues in the body. These scaffolds provide both structural support and chemical signals that enable an organ or nerve tissue to function properly. Viruses that mimic supportive nerve tissue may someday help regenerate injured spinal cords. While other tissue-engineering materials must be synthesized and shaped in the lab, genetically engineered viruses have the advantage of being self-replicating and self-assembling. They can be designed to express cell-friendly proteins on their surfaces and, with a little coaxing, be made into complex tissue like structures. Preliminary studies show that scaffolds made using a type of virus called a bacteriophage (or phage) that infects bacteria but cannot invade animal cells can support the growth and organization of nerve cells."

Beyond Stem Cells (January 21 2009) http://www.agemed.org/default.asp?page=ShaneLaskyBeyondStemCellsJan09
A fascinating article: "stem cells are an imprecise physiological system to directly communicate to cellular networks of a host organism. The future of stem cell research will not necessarily be in the transplantation of stem cells to a specific pathogenic tissue region, but rather in reeducating or reprogramming that particular cellular network. Each organism has an exacting molecular blue print, which as a function of epigenetics, is either enhanced or mollified through its interfacement with a particular environmental milieu. Stem cell transplantation is not a precise strategy for amelioratively reprogramming cellular networks, which are compromised. In most instances, the stem cells, which have been transplanted are only inducing a minimum benefit in terms of their medicinal efficacy. Stem cell transplantation is not a therapeutic pantheon, but rather a way to comprehend how to modify a tissue's proteomics or physiological processes. Clinical medicine in the future will not involve providing imprecise cellular substrates, which vaguely impact genetic transcription and translation or millions of stem cells to a pathophysiologic tissue. Medical therapies will [instead] be a precise utilization of peptides which can ardently reprogram an overall.

Regenerating Stroke Damage (January 19 2009) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7795586.stm
The BBC looks at a clinical trial for Reneuron's foetal-derived stem cell line: "A Glasgow team is to launch a major trial to assess whether stem cells can be used to treat stroke patients. If it works, as it has done in animal model systems, it may allow new nerve cells to grow or regeneration of existing cells and actual recovery of function in patients who would not otherwise be able to regain function. For the high proportion of patients who make an incomplete recovery [you] can reorganize the brain, you can help that reorganization with physiotherapy but you cannot cause new nerve cells to grow. The hope with stem cell therapy is that by putting in new cells and new tissue that you can further improve on that recovery. We have only taken one donation of tissue to make this product. We have a technology that is able to scale up an individual cell into all of the cells that are required to treat thousands of patients. We think this is a major plus in the technology we have and really negates the ethical concerns about the original use of fetal tissue."

A Look at Osiris Therapeutics (January 19 2009) http://pharmexec.findpharma.com/pharmexec/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/575911?contextCategoryId=47505
An interview with the Osiris Therapeutics president is as revealing of the way in which the FDA constrains progress as it is of the work being done. Broadly promising scientific applications are held back for years and squashed down to minor, narrowly approved uses - and everyone involved has to speak as though this is wonderful and the best of all possible worlds lest they are targeted for retribution. It's a sorry state of affairs. From the interview: mesenchymal stem cells or MSCs "do three things: They downregulate inflammation, they work to regenerate the damaged connective tissue, and they prevent scarring or fibrosis. That's the Holy Trinity of the mesenchymal stem cell. It's the natural progression or sequence of how we respond to injury. When we're young, that process works well. Children heal in miraculous ways. Conversely, an elderly person will die of something like a fractured hip. This is because children have 1,000-fold more MSC in their body than adults do. What happens is an adult ends up with a very exaggerated inflammatory response, a weak regenerative response, and a lot of scarring. We can reverse that trend by administering MSC. Because MSCs naturally have a broad range of things they can respond to, our job is to package them as something that will satisfy the FDA."

Value Reflections

One of the advantages of old age is your increased ability to reflect. You can reflect on the mistakes you made and on your regrets as some people choose to do most of the time. That’s called dwelling. Or, you can briefly reflect on those negative experiences and learn from them. That’s called wisdom.

An even more positive form of reflection is value reflection. No matter whom you are or how you measure your levels of happiness and success, you definitely have created and/or experienced values during your lifetime. Value reflection is one of the most rewarding and pleasurable experiences of life. Who doesn’t like to relive happy memories? Who doesn’t take pride and pleasure in looking back on the positive contributions you made to society, your market, your family, your friends and to yourself?

We all carry within us a treasure of values to be proud of, and with each passing year, that treasure grows, whether you are aware of it or not.

With extended longevity, imagine your possibilities. Not only is technology growth exponential, but so is personal growth. And if you remain vibrant, your enthusiasm can actually intensify with age.

In past issues, I wrote about how the power of technology doubles every year, including the technology that contributes to radical life extension. That means next year will see a doubling of all that power we made since the beginning of history. And here is what that means to you:

If you take the healthy steps to live an extra year, the technology that could lead to your open ended lifespan doubles in that year. If you decide to adopt a lifestyle that adds ten more quality years to your life, life enhancing technology will increase by over 1000 times! And then if you try just a little harder and add another extra year, the power of that technology will double to 2000 times. That means your 11th extra year was just as beneficial to you as those first extra ten.

Then add another year and… well, you get the idea. Before you know it, we will have cracked the longevity code, and you will be on your way to endless youth.

And what could one of the most pleasurable things about that be? As I said, more and more years to add happiness and value and even better value reflection. Imagine what you can accomplish in two lifetimes. In three or more. Imagine how big your values treasure chest will grow as you exponentially acquire wisdom.
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LATEST HEALTHY LIFE EXTENSION HEADLINES

The Life Expectancy Puzzle of Left-Handedness (December 05 2008) http://pmid.us/19044215
Many identified differences in human longevity between groups lack conclusive explanations, such as why women have a greater life expectancy. Differences in life expectancy due to handedness are another puzzle: "Many studies report that left-handers have a shorter longevity than right-handers, and the present study may provide a possible explanation for that finding. In a Cardiac Rehabilitation Unit for the elderly with a mean age of 75.2 years the prevalence of left-handers was 16.7%. This latter value was significantly different from the 6.7% in controls of similar age. These data suggest that heart disease may be one reason for a reduced longevity among left-handers. Left-handers use the right hemisphere for movement, and unilateral activation of that hemisphere in the form of EEG desynchronization and deactivation in the form of EEG slow waves are both related to cardiac abnormalities." In the grand scheme of things these differences are unimportant: the greatest determinant of our future longevity is progress in the application of aging research.

On Immunosenescence (December 05 2008) http://pmid.us/19047800
Researchers discuss the failing, age-damaged immune system: "At present, individuals can live up to 80-120 years, a time much longer than that of our ancestors, as a consequence of the improvements in life conditions and medical care. Thus, the human immune system has to cope with a lifelong and evolutionarily unpredicted exposure to a variety of antigens, which are at the basis of profound age-related changes globally indicated as immunosenescence, a multifaceted phenomenon that increases morbidity and mortality due to infections and age-related pathologies. The major changes occurring during immunosenescence are the result of the accumulation of cellular, molecular defects and involutive phenomena (such as thymic involution) occurring concomitantly to a hyperstimulation of both innate and adaptive immunity (accumulation of expanded clones of memory and effector T cells, shrinkage of the T cell receptor repertoire, progressive activation of macrophages), and resulting in a low-grade, chronic state of inflammation defined as inflammaging. It is unknown whether inflammaging, which represents a risk factor for most age-related pathologies, is a cause or rather an effect of the aging process. Centenarians seem to be equipped with gene variants that allow them to optimize the balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory molecules, and thus to minimize the effects of the lifelong exposure to environmental insults and stressors."

Dormant Emergency Stem Cells (December 04 2008) http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/haog-dsc120408.php
An intriguing discovery from a cancer research group that I suspect has more promise for the field of regenerative medicine: "Up to now, scientists have assumed that adult stem cells have a low division rate. According to theory, they thus protect their DNA from mutations. [Researchers] have now discovered a group of stem cells in mouse bone marrow that remain in a kind of dormancy [and] divide only about five times throughout the life of a mouse. Translated to humans, this would correspond to only one cell division in 18 years. In contrast, stem cells of the larger group, the 'active' stem cells, divide continuously about once a month. However, in an emergency such as an injury of the bone marrow or if the messenger substance G-CSF is released, the dormant cell population awakes. Once awakened, it shows the highest potential for self-renewal ever to be observed in stem cells. If transplanted into irradiated mice, these cells replace the destroyed bone marrow and restore the whole [blood] system. It is possible to isolate new dormant stem cells from the transplanted animals and these cells are able to replace bone marrow again – this can be done several times in a row. The situation is different with 'active' stem cells, where bone marrow replacement can successfully be carried out only once."

Evidence Against the Cancer Stem Cell Theory (December 03 2008) http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/uom-usp112608.php
It would be good for all of us if the cancer stem cell theory turns out to be true for even a majority of cancer types - as this would mean that a side-effect of stem cell research will be a cure for cancer. Unfortunately, there are good reasons to believe that this will not be the case; nothing in human biochemistry is as simple as we'd like. From EurekAlert!: "the cancer stem-cell model [must] be reassessed because it is based largely on evidence from a laboratory test that is surprisingly flawed when applied to some cancers. I think the cancer stem-cell model will, in the end, hold up for some cancers. But other cancers, like melanoma, probably won't follow a cancer stem-cell model at all. Scientists previously estimated that only one in 1 million melanoma cells has the ability to run wild, exhibiting the kind of unchecked proliferation that leads to new tumors. These aggressive interlopers are the cancer stem cells, according to backers of the model. But after updating and improving the laboratory tests used to detect these aberrant cells, [researchers] determined that at least one-quarter of melanoma cells [have] the ability to form new tumors. The assay on which the field is based misses most of the cancer cells that can proliferate to form tumors. Our data suggest that it's not going to be possible to cure melanoma by targeting a small sub-population of cells."

Senescent Cells and Cancer (December 03 2008) http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0060301
One of the consequences of an aging immune system is that it stops removing senescent cells - certainly, senescent cells increase dramatically with age. Here is a look at why that process is likely to increase your cancer risk: "Although 'cellular senescence' can suppress tumor formation from damaged cells by blocking the cell division that underlies cancer growth, it has also been implicated in promoting cancer and other age-related diseases. To understand how this might happen, we measured proteins that senescent human cells secrete into their local environment and found many factors associated with inflammation and cancer development. Senescent cells promote the growth and aggressiveness of nearby precancerous or cancer cells. Our findings support the idea that cellular senescence can be both beneficial, in preventing damaged cells from dividing, and deleterious, by having effects on neighboring cells; this balance of effects is predicted by an evolutionary theory of aging." Senescent cells are a prime target for the same sorts of discerning therapies being developed to kill cancer cells with no side-effects.

Towards Tuning the Immune System (December 02 2008) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081130153102.htm
Researchers are making good progress towards control over immune cells, and future goals seems likely to be applicable to the restoration of some function to an age-damaged immune system. Researchers have identified "seven different receptors on T cells that can tamp down immune responses during a prolonged battle with an infectious pathogen or against developing cancer. Chronic over-stimulation of the immune system can lead to poor control of infections and cancer, so the results explain why it is that these key immune cells gradually become 'exhausted' and ineffective over time. We are starting to see a picture emerging of a really tuneable array of inhibitory receptors expressed on T cells. That suggests it may be possible to not only dramatically enhance antiviral or antitumor T cell responses, but also to fine tune which response you want to enhance in order to reverse T cell exhaustion and continue fighting an infection or disease. This presents us with a great clinical opportunity. T cells have a lot of weapons at their disposal to control viral infection and most of them are disarmed when these cells become exhausted. It may be possible to selectively rearm T cells while generally reinvigorating them."

More on Exercise and the Aging Brain (December 01 2008) http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/rson-ehp112508.phpIt's well worth remembering that regular exercise brings benefits that no present medical technology can match-and at a fraction of the cost of medicines that do far less. EurekAlert! notes that researchers compared "brain scans of older adults who exercise to brain scans of those who do not. The researchers recruited 12 healthy adults, age 60 to 76. Six of the adults had participated in aerobic exercise for three or more hours per week over the last 10 years, and six exercised less than one hour per week. All of the volunteers underwent MRI to determine cerebral blood flow and MR angiography to depict blood vessels in the brain. Researchers were able to make 3-D models of the blood vessels and examine them for shape and size. They then compared the blood vessel characteristics and how they related to blood flow in both the active and inactive groups. The results showed that the inactive group exhibited fewer small blood vessels in the brain, along with more unpredictable blood flow through the brain. The active adults had more small blood vessels and improved cerebral blood flow. These findings further point out the importance of regular exercise to healthy aging."

Kekich’s Credo

Dear Future Centenarian,

About 21 years ago, I was reflecting on some really dumb mistakes I made in my life and what I could do to keep from repeating them. So I drew on almost all the positive lessons I learned and on all the wisdom of people and mentors whose paths I crossed. The result was personal rules of life encapsulated in 100 credos. I named it Kekich’s Credo” and studied it religiously.

A friend of mine got a copy and published it in his newsletter. Then it spread to another newsletter and so on, and in some circles I became known as “The Credo Guy”.

Last October, Pete Hilgartner, a very bright and fascinating chiropractor, called me to ask permission to publish some of my credos in his newsletter. He went on the say he wanted to write a little essay on each as they pertain to health and well-being. Since then, he did about twenty. From time-to-time, I will share some of Dr. Pete’s gems with you, starting with this one:


1. People will do almost anything to stay in their comfort zones. If you want to accomplish anything, get out of your comfort zone. Strive to increase order and discipline in your life. Discipline usually means doing the opposite of what you feel like doing. The easy roads to discipline are 1) setting deadlines, 2) discovering and doing what you do best and what's important and enjoyable to you and 3) focusing on habits by replacing your bad habits and thought patterns, one-by-one, over time, with good habits and thought patterns.

What health habits (or lack thereof) are you holding on to that are keeping you from your goals?

Are you trying to lose weight? Get strong? Get rid of back pain? Maybe you're ignoring your high blood pressure or triglycerides. "Yumm! that pizza just looks too good! I'll be more disciplined tomorrow..."

Here's a wake up call... NO YOU WON'T!

If you want a different outcome in your life, on any dynamic, you have to DO something different, NOW! The same-ol', same-ol 'is gonna get you the same-ol', same-ol'.

Yes, new habits are tough. They take you out of your comfort zone.

Getting up in the morning to stretch before you do anything else (OK, you can go pee first) is going to be new... but what will you gain? Is the pleasure of what you will gain worth the short term discomfort of doing what you haven't done before? What about giving up the donuts and replacing it with an egg? How about taking a walk instead of watching TV?

Change is actually easy once you decide what it is that you really want and don't let anything stand in the way of making that decision a reality. Excuses are simply a way for you to stay in your comfort zone.

When you hear that little voice in your head start to make excuses or rationalize, shout "STOP! Thank you for sharing...now go away...I choose to _______ (fill in the blank.) I'm DONE with my comfort zone!"

You can certainly stay in that warm bed and not go for that walk you planned. After all you can start tomorrow...

The choice is yours... but so are the results.

How are your choices working for you?


This guy is something else, isn’t he? How’d you like to have someone like Dr. Pete as your personal chiropractor? You can find more about him at www.drshilgartner.com.
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LATEST HEALTHY LIFE EXTENSION HEADLINES

The Age of the Cyborg (January 09 2009) http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/ubcreports/2009/09jan08/cyborg.html
The cyborg age is sneaking up on us by way of the tools of tissue engineering and improvements in nanoscale manufacture. Sooner or later most of us will have artificial structures in our bodies - though perhaps not the ones we imagined having when we were young: "With age, the human body wears out. And engineered materials - metals, polymers and ceramics - increasingly help repair or replace injured or destroyed body parts. As we become more sophisticated in our ability to design materials, particularly at the nanoscale, we open all kinds of opportunities for repairing damaged body parts. The potential is really unlimited. Considering the great strides materials engineers are making in developing materials that are readily accepted by the body and that accelerate the process of recovery and healing, the age of the Cyborg seems not so much science fiction as it does science fact - a good thing given the increasing life expectancy and enduring desire to lead active lives."

Most Likely Not Programmed Aging (January 08 2009) http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/sumc-sru010509.php
From EurekAlert!: "Two previously identified pathways associated with aging in mice are connected. The finding reinforces what researchers have recently begun to suspect: that the age-related degeneration of tissues [is] an active, deliberate process rather than a gradual failure of tired cells. Derailing or slowing this molecular betrayal, although still far in the future, may enable us to one day tack years onto our lives ... There is a genetic process that has to be on, and enforced, in order for aging to happen. It's possible that those rare individuals who live beyond 100 years have a less-efficient version of this master pathway." I suspect that one reason that theories of programmed aging remain somewhat popular is that the reactions of our cells to a slow stochastic accumulation of biochemical wear and tear do look something like the unfolding of a program. Gene expression steadily changes as the damage mounts. So you see research like this, said to support programmed aging but which could just as well support aging as an accumulation of damage. Researchers are linking changes in gene expression previously noted to be important to aging and longevity, but without evidence of the root cause of these changes, it's premature to declare aging programmed.

Provoking Regeneration (January 08 2009) http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/icl-scu010709.php
From EurekAlert!: "When a person has a disease or an injury, the bone marrow mobilizes different types of stem cells to help repair and regenerate tissue. New research [shows] that it may be possible to boost the body's ability to repair itself and speed up repair, by using different new drug combinations to put the bone marrow into a state of 'red alert' and send specific kinds of stem cells into action. In the new study, researchers tricked the bone marrow of healthy mice into releasing two types of adult stem cells - mesenchymal stem cells, which can turn into bone and cartilage and that can also suppress the immune system, and endothelial progenitor cells, which can make blood vessels and therefore have the potential to repair damage in the heart. The researchers were able to choose which groups of stem cells the bone marrow released, by using two different therapies. Ultimately, the researchers hope that their new technique could be used to repair and regenerate tissue, for example when a person has heart disease or a sports injury, by mobilizing the necessary stem cells. The researchers also hope that they could tackle autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, where the body is attacked by its own immune system, by kicking the mesenchymal stem cells into action."

More on Tissue Engineering of Bone Marrow (January 07 2009)
http://www.economist.com/science/tm/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12883495
From the Economist: "tissue engineers have mastered the arts of artificial skin and bladders, and recently they have managed to rig up a windpipe for a patient whose existing one was blocked. But more complicated organs elude them. And simpler ones, too. No one, for instance, has managed to grow bone marrow successfully. At first sight, that is surprising. The soft and squishy marrow inside bones does not look like a highly structured tissue, but apparently it is. That does not matter for transplants. If marrow cells are moved from one bone to another they quickly make themselves at home. But it matters for research. Bone marrow plays an important role in the immune system, and also in bodily rejuvenation. Stem cells that originate within the marrow generate various sorts of infection-fighting blood cells and also help to repair damaged organs. However, many anti-cancer and anti-viral drugs are toxic to marrow. That leaves patients taking them susceptible to disease and premature ageing. Experiments intended to investigate this toxicity using mice have proved unsatisfactory. Nicholas Kotov of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and his colleagues have therefore been trying to grow human marrow artificially."

Continued Improvement in iPS Cells (January 07 2009) http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/bu-cas010709.php
Researchers continue to rapidly improve the technology of production for induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells: a "research team has discovered a more efficient way to create [iPS] cells, derived from mouse fibroblasts, by using a single virus vector instead of multiple viruses in the reprogramming process. The result is a powerful laboratory tool and a significant step toward the application of embryonic stem cell-like cells for clinical purposes such as the regeneration of organs damaged by inherited or degenerative diseases. Prior research studies have required multiple retroviral vectors for reprogramming - steps that depended on four different viruses to transfer genes into the cells' DNA - essentially a separate virus for each reprogramming gene. Upon activation these genes convert the cells from their adult, differentiated status to what amounts to an embryonic-like state. However, the high number of genomic integrations - 15 to 20 - that typically occurs when multiple viruses are used for reprogramming, poses a safety risk in humans, as some of these genes [can] cause cancer. The major milestone [was] combining the four vectors into a single 'stem cell cassette' containing all four genes. The cassette (named STEMCCA) [was] able to generate iPS cells more efficiently - 10 times higher than previously reported studies."

More on Skulachev's Research and SkQ1 (January 06 2009) http://pmid.us/19120018
One of the items I'd like to see reasonably settled soon is whether longevity can be reliably engineered by targeting antioxidant compounds to the mitochondria and thereby slowing the accumulation of damaged mitochondria and their contribution to aging. We have good demonstrations that it can, and good demonstrations that it can't. Something interesting is clearly going on (as indicated by mice living significantly longer than they ordinarily would), but the details are still fuzzy. One of the lines of this research I've been following for a while is the work of Skulachev and colleagues in Russia, who seem to have developed an ingested compound called SkQ1 that can perform the mitochondrial targeting trick without the need for gene engineering of the sort employed by Rabinovitch. Here's the latest paper from that group: "Very low (nano- and subnanomolar) concentrations of 10-(6'-plastoquinonyl) decyltriphenylphosphonium (SkQ1) were found to prolong lifespan of [an] insect (Drosophila melanogaster) and a mammal (mouse). The lifespan increase is accompanied by rectangularization of the survival curves (an increase in survival is much larger at early than at late ages) and disappearance of typical traits of senescence or retardation of their development. Data summarized here and in the preceding papers of this series suggest that mitochondria-targeted antioxidant SkQ1 is competent in slowing down execution of an aging program responsible for development of age-related senescence."

Enthusiasm for Regenerating Teeth (January 06 2009) http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008593860_teeth06.html
From the Seattle Times: "the real news about the future of dentures is that there isn't much of one. It turns out wisdom teeth are prolific sources of adult stem cells needed to grow new teeth for you. From scratch. In your adult life, as you need them. In the near future. Regenerating a whole tooth is no less complicated than rebuilding a whole heart. Not only do you have to create smart tissue (nerves), strong tissue (ligaments) and soft tissue (pulp), you've got to build enamel - by far the hardest structural element in the body. And you have to have openings for blood vessels and nerves. And you have to make the whole thing stick together. And you have to anchor it in bone. And then you have to make the entire arrangement last a lifetime in the juicy stew of bacteria that is your mouth. It's a nuisance, but researchers are closing in on it. They think the tooth probably will be the first complex organ to be completely regenerated from stem cells. In part, this is because teeth are easily accessible. Nobody is predicting when the first whole tooth will be grown in a human, although five to 10 years is a common guess."

An Interview with Jason Silva (January 05 2009) http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2009/01/05/interview-jason-silva-on-how-science-will-make-you-live-forever/An interesting interview: "I believe humans have always overcome their biological limitations. It is what has brought us out of the caves and onto the moon. We have cured ourselves of diseases, we fly remarkable machines through the air at 500 miles per hour. We communicate instantly and wirelessly across the world. Why is it such a stretch to imagine us re-programming our biochemistry (much like computer software) so that we may alleviate suffering, decay, and death? Death is a profound tragedy. Human consciousness is basically a profound (and valuable) pattern of information residing in a complex biological machine. This machine can repair itself for a certain period, but over time it wears out and decays at a faster rate than it can fix itself. This is why we die. Today, however, we are at the verge of correcting this. Death is the loss of everything that matters - It is our memories, our loves, the images and dreams that define us - the songs that moved us and the films that shaped us. Death takes this all away. I argue that in the same way we feel compelled to preserve the works of Shakespeare and other great works of art, why shouldn't we extend this into our physicality?"

New "Miracle" Anti- Aging Products

It was a fun week.

I just returned from a large annual anti-aging conference and trade show. Every year unveils new “miracle” anti-aging products. Doctors and others lectured for almost a week, and the trade show lasted three days. Thousands attended, mostly physicians.

It was an interesting mix of practitioners, serious scientists, some serious and not so serious participants and a few hundred companies and individuals promoting a huge mix of anti-aging products and services.

I especially enjoyed meeting new people in this exciting field and getting together with old friends. Saturday evening was most stimulating, because I had a chance to take part in brain-stretching discussions with very legitimate scientists, physicians and activists at a private event. We even had a chance to discuss some of the newer products and services on the market. Some credible, backed by scientific studies. Some were worthless snake oil. And there were a whole lot in between that I just couldn’t figure out. I’m not the only one either.

So out of the hundreds or thousands of anti-aging products displayed at shows like this… or especially on the Internet, how do you know what works and what doesn’t? That’s an important question, since your life may depend on it.

How’s that? Your life?

Sure. And here’s why.

As you’ve heard me say over and over, we are going to be able to reverse the damage aging does to you one of these days. And when that happens, you, if you are still alive, could be transformed from the old person you are growing into, to a twenty-something improved version of your former self. And then, you will essentially have a youthful open-ended lifespan ahead of you.

But whether or not you live long enough to see that day could be largely up to you. Don’t forget, your genes only account for 25-35% of your destiny. (And science is working on fixing that 25-35% too.) You largely control the rest.

That’s why knowing which supplements or medical treatments work, and which don’t, might save your life. The extra few or more years the effective ones could add to your lifespan could very well be the difference between your living long enough to take advantage of tomorrow’s life extending miracles… or just barely missing out.

I had a very interesting conversation with two separate gentlemen at the event which led me to a conclusion. Maximum Life Foundation may be positioned to filter most of the anti-aging claims and information that overwhelm us. If we can find out what actually works and what doesn’t, then you will have a handy source of information. It will take several months to work out the details and to determine if we have the time to do this. And if we or someone else can, you will benefit.

Meanwhile, I just finished my longevity book, Life Extension Express, "7 steps you can take now, to catch the emerging wave of medical breakthroughs… for a youthful, indefinite (yes, indefinite) lifespan."

You can get a big jump on boosting your longevity by reading it. You’ll be able to get a copy from Amazon soon, but better yet, you can have a FREE downloadable copy by going to www.MaxLife.org now.
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LATEST HEALTHY LIFE EXTENSION HEADLINES

Gene Therapy Versus Periodontitis and Arthritis (December 12 2008) http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/uom-gte121008.php
Via EurekAlert!: "Using gene therapy, [researchers] found a way to help certain cells using an inactivated virus to produce more of a naturally-produced molecule soluble TNF receptor. This factor is under-produced in patients with periodontitis. The molecule delivered by gene therapy works like a sponge to sop up excessive levels of tumor necrosis factor, a molecule known to worsen inflammatory bone destruction in patients afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis, joint deterioration and periodontitis. Targeted Genetics released human trial results that showed the same gene therapy approach [had] positive affects in human patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The company tested 127 human subjects and showed a 30 percent improvement in pain relief, and gain of function, among other enhancements using the gene treatment. The gene also delivers quite a bit of genetic bang for the buck. The periodontal tissues were spared from destruction by more than 60-80 percent with the use of gene therapy. If you deliver the gene into the target cells once, it keeps producing in the cells for a very long period of time or potentially for the life of the patient. This therapy is basically a single administration, but it could have potentially life-long treatment effects in patients who are at risk for severe disease activity."

Manipulating Heart Cells into Regeneration (December 11 2008) http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/haog-hra121108.php
Via EurekAlert!: "Up until today scientists assumed that the adult heart is unable to regenerate. Now, researchers and cardiologists [have] been able to show that this dogma no longer holds true. [They] were able to show that the body`s own heart muscle stem cells do generate new tissue and improve the pumping function of the heart considerably in an adult organism, when they suppress the activity of a gene regulator known as beta-catenin [which] plays an important role in the development of the heart in embyros. [Researchers] could now show that beta-catenin is also important for the regeneration of the adult heart. They suppressed this factor in the nucleus of the heart cells in mice. This way they activated heart precursor cells (stem cells) to turn on the regeneration of heart in adult mice. Four weeks after blocking beta-catenin, the pumping function of the heart of the animals had improved and the mice survived an infarction much better than those animals with a functioning beta-catenin gene."

CR Mimetics Are Not CR (December 10 2008) http://pmid.us/19056839
By way of a reminder that there's still a world of difference between calorie restriction (CR) and a CR mimetic drug that reproduces some of the same observed biochemical changes: "resveratrol may produce calorie restriction-like effects on metabolic and longevity endpoints in mice. In this study, we sought to determine whether resveratrol treatment elicited other hallmark changes associated with calorie restriction, namely bradycardia and decreased body temperature. We found that during short-term treatment, wild-type mice on a calorie-restricted diet experienced significant decreases in both heart rate and body temperature after only 1 day whereas those receiving resveratrol exhibited no such change after 1 [week]. We also used [obese] mice to study the effects of long-term treatment because previous studies had indicated the therapeutic value of resveratrol against the linked morbidities of obesity and diabetes. After 12 [weeks], resveratrol treatment had produced no changes in either heart rate or body temperature. Strikingly, and in contrast to previous findings, we found that resveratrol-treated mice had significantly reduced endurance in a treadmill test. We conclude that the bradycardia and hypothermia associated with calorie restriction occur through mechanisms unaffected by the actions of resveratrol."

Another Approach to Restoring Hair Cells (December 10 2008) http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5hI6vwfg3SuetvGrNdvVr1wKBUq6Q
Researchers are exploring a range of options to restore the hair cells of the ear that are lost with age, leading to deafness: "Damage to hair cells in the inner ear due to ageing and overstimulation is a major cause of deafness, affecting 10% of the worldwide population. The cell loss is irreversible because the cells have a limited capacity to regenerate. However, a new study suggests that the ependymal layer of the lateral ventricle of the brain contains stem cells which share characteristics with inner ear hair cells and which have the potential to reproduce. According to the scientists, these cells could potentially be transplanted from a person's brain into their ear, where they would undergo a functional switch to enable them to replace the damaged ones. The authors concluded that transplanted cells could alter their functions to work as inner ear hair cells and thus restore hearing. They suggested their findings on the flexible function of certain cells could also be extended to offer treatment for other problems affecting the nervous system."

Hourglass VI (December 09 2008)
http://ouroboros.wordpress.com/2008/12/09/hourglass-vi-a-carnival-of-biogerontology/
The sixth edition of the Hourglass blog carnival on aging and longevity science is up at Ouroboros. One of the linked posts is a series of thoughts on the way in which we humans cut ourselves short by discounting the
future: "The best example of human’s irrational dealing with the future is what is called hyperbolic discounting (also called: temporal discounting, or future discounting). Hyperbolic discounting is the human preference for small immediate reward over larger future payoffs. The further the time in the future of the reward the greater the discounting. Humans are generally bad at delaying rewards and hence we too easily take the immediate smaller reward rather than delaying our immediate gratification for a greater reward in the future. I propose here that unless humans soon become better at thinking about the future - and not discounting it so much - we might not be able to make the changes we need for a better world and society. The same could be said about longevity research - if we can not imagine ourselves living longer and healthier lives - and not imagine it as only happening to a 'stranger' we [are] unlikely as a society to invest in this imagined future."

Newsweek on Mainstream Longevity Science (December 08 2008) http://www.newsweek.com/id/172561/output/print
Newsweek has a general interest article up online on the topic of mainstream longevity science: projects aimed at the hard target of metabolic manipulation to slow aging. "Since the days of Ponce de Leon, if not before, people have been seeking the elusive Fountain of Youth. Until recently, such pursuits were the realm of quacks and charlatans. And there are still plenty of snake-oil salesmen out there on the Internet and in so-called anti-aging clinics, hawking everything from longevity-bestowing Ecuadoran waters (which are probably harmless) to growth hormones (which could be downright dangerous for adults). But serious scientists are now bringing respectability to the field, unraveling the secrets of aging on a cellular level and looking for ways to slow it down. And while the science is still young (so to speak), legitimate longevity-boosting treatments could be available in 10 to 15 years - although the gains would be [modest]. Some critics of the scientific quest for longevity say it's God's will that we should die when our time comes. But in the past century, a clean water supply, antibiotics, vaccines and improved medical care have boosted life expectancy at birth by roughly 50 percent in the United States - from 48 for men and 51 for women in 1900 to 75 for men and 80 for women today. No one seems to object to that."

A Viral Cause for Alzheimer's? (December 08 2008) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081207134109.htmThis release via EurekAlert! is very compelling - but how does it fit in with the good evidence that Alzheimer's is a form of diabetes? "The virus behind cold sores is a major cause of the insoluble protein plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer's disease [AD] sufferers. [researchers] investigated the role of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1) in AD. Most people are infected with this virus, which then remains life-long in the peripheral nervous system. HSV1 DNA is located very specifically in amyloid plaques: 90% of plaques in Alzheimer's disease sufferers' brains contain HSV1 DNA, and most of the viral DNA is located within amyloid plaques. The team had previously shown that HSV1 infection of nerve-type cells induces deposition of the main component, beta amyloid, of amyloid plaques. Together, these findings strongly implicate HSV1 as a major factor in the formation of amyloid deposits and plaques, abnormalities thought by many in the field to be major contributors to Alzheimer's disease."

Life Expectancy

Can your expectations determine how long you will live?

I believe lots of us actually die because of our expectations. We're conditioned to believe the average lifespan is around eighty years, so we wind down and die right on schedule. We usually get what we expect, not what we want. What if you expected to live to 100? Wouldn't you naturally gravitate toward the habits that will make that happen? Wouldn't your thoughts and emotions be more positive? How about longer? Loads of research tells us we should stay healthy for up to 100 years. But why don't we? Could it start with your attitude? Don't cop out by blaming it on your genes or on luck. Really, 65–75% of it is the choices you make. Your genes account for less that 35%.

This is backed up by hard science. Studies have shown that people who just think they are aging faster actually do age faster!

If you always think the glass is half full, you're on the right track. Mayo Clinic research shows that people with positive outlooks typically live 19% longer than people who see the glass as half empty. Although it's questionable if this can be attributed to optimists being more likely to seek medical help when they're ill, or if their immune systems strengthen as a result of their sunny outlook. The end result is though, they live longer. Optimists are also less likely to suffer depression and helplessness than their pessimistic counterparts.

To support the hypothesis that their immune systems are actually strengthened, Dr. Bruce Lipton’s experiments, and that of other leading-edge scientists, have examined in great detail the processes by which your cells receive information. The implications of this research radically change our understanding of life. It shows that genes and DNA do not control your biology. Instead, DNA is controlled by signals from outside your cells, including the energetic messages emanating from your positive and negative thoughts.

He clearly describes the connection between your core thoughts, beliefs and attitudes and how your cells function as a result. Happy thoughts put your cells’ functions in balance. Hateful, angry and resentful thoughts do the exact opposite. They suppress your immune system, alter your hormones, upset your digestive system, and diminish your brain function and respiration.

Dr. Lipton’s profoundly hopeful synthesis of the latest and best research in cell biology and quantum physics is being hailed as a major breakthrough showing your body can be changed as you retrain your thinking. His book, The Biology of Belief is a groundbreaking work in the field of New Biology.

In addition, an often repeated study showed that when a person’s living cells from different organs are put in separate dishes, cells from one organ would respond when cells from a different organ in a different dish were stimulated. If the cells were from two different people, they would not get the reaction. This means the trillions of cells in your body are always in direct communication with one another, even if they are not in direct contact by chemical or neurological pathways.

Stub a toe, and all your cells react. Poison your body with cigarette smoke or toxic food, and you stimulate every cell. Subject yourself to uncontrolled stress, and you stress tens of trillions of cells. Now can you see why stress management and attitude are so critical to your health and longevity?

Now that you know your thoughts affect every single cell in your body, what are you going to do about it? Since you now realize positive, loving and grateful thoughts keep you healthy and make you live longer, while negative thoughts destroy you from the inside out, you have a big anti-aging advantage. What happens to you usually doesn’t matter one bit. How you react means everything.

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LATEST HEALTHY LIFE EXTENSION HEADLINES

Cryonics as Emergency Medicine (November 21 2008) http://www.depressedmetabolism.com/2008/11/19/cryonics-sets-example-for-emergency-medicine/
From Depressed Metabolism: "One of the most neglected aspects of cryonics is that its procedures, and the research to support them, can have important practical applications in mainstream fields such as organ preservation and emergency medicine. Contrary to popular opinion, cryonics does not just involve an optimistic extrapolation of existing science but can set the standard for these disciplines. As a matter of fact, that is exactly what cryonics, and cryonics associated research, has been doing over the last 25 years. It is encouraging to observe that some of the procedures that are routine in cryonics stabilization protocol are starting to catch on in mainstream emergency medicine practice as well. For example, contemporary cryonics stabilization protocol has been strongly shaped by the idea that the best strategy to limit brain injury after cardiac arrest is to combine a number of different interventions: cardiopulmonary support, induction of hypothermia, and administration of circulation-supporting and neuroprotective medications. It is therefore very encouraging to learn that the Wake County EMS group in North Carolina has achieved impressive results in treating out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims using a protocol that closely follows elements of current cryonics stabilization protocol."

Building New Pancreatic Cells (November 21 2008) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081120130539.htm
Regenerative medicine advances, step by step: "researchers have developed an unlimited number of pure insulin-producing cells from mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs). These pure insulin-producing cells, which according to electron microscopy studies, have the same sub-cellular structures as the insulin-producing cells naturally found in the pancreas, were highly effective in treating diabetes in the mouse model. The transplants of pure insulin-producing cells reduced the blood glucose levels of diabetic mice with high blood glucose levels. None of the diabetic mice involved in the transplant experiments developed teratoma, which are a type of tumor often associated with ESCs and which could complicate their use in human therapeutic treatment. Furthermore, the pure insulin-producing cells managed to retain their insulin-production and glucose-sensing capacity over time. Besides providing a tool to facilitate basic research in test tubes and animals, these insulin-producing cells may be also used to replace the isolated native pancreatic cells that are hard to obtain in a large amount, for pharmacological tests."

Towards Accurate Biomarkers of Aging (November 20 2008) http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-11/bifa-but111208.php
From EurekAlert!: researchers "have identified for the first time biomarkers of aging which are highly predictive of both chronological and physiological age. Biomarkers are biochemical features that can be used to measure the progress of disease or the effects of treatment. The research involves nematode worms, microarrays which measure changes in gene expression, and complex computer algorithms. This is the first step toward identifying similar biomarkers in humans which would provide a means of scientifically validating anti-aging therapies. This is the first evidence that physiological age can be predicted non-subjectively. This is a first step; our results were not perfect, but we were able to predict the ages of the animals 70% of the time, which is far better than anything that has been done before. Research into the biology of aging in humans has been hampered by the lack of irrefutable biomarkers that correlate with the aging process. I am confident that at some point there will be a non-subjective method of determining how old someone is with a high level of confidence."

Inflammation and Alzheimer's (November 19 2008) http://pmid.us/19014446
A prodrome is an early set of non-specific symptoms that herald a particular disease. Here, researchers point to chronic inflammation as a prodrome of Alzheimer's (AD): "Recently, the term 'inflammaging' was coined [to] characterize a widely accepted paradigm that ageing is accompanied by a low-grade chronic up-regulation of certain pro-inflammatory responses. Inflammaging differs significantly the from [traditional] acute inflammation in that it is characterized by a relative decline in adaptive immunity. While the over-active innate immunity characteristic of inflammaging may remain subclinical in many elderly individuals, a portion of individuals (postulated to have a "high responder inflammatory genotype") may shift from a state of "normal" or "subclinical" inflammaging to one or more of a number of age-associated diseases. Although conditions of enhanced innate immune response with overproduction of pro-inflammatory proteins are associated with both healthy aging and AD, it is suggested that those who age 'well' demonstrate anti-inflammaging mechanisms and biomarkers that likely counteract the adverse immunity of inflammaging. Thus, opposing the features of inflammaging may prevent or treat the symptoms of AD."

Regeneration via Embryonic Stem Cells (November 19 2008) http://www.reuters.com/articlePrint?articleId=USTRE4AI02220081119
From Reuters: "Stem cells from tiny embryos can be used to restore lost hearing and vision in animals, researchers said Tuesday in what they believe is a first step toward helping people. One team repaired hearing in guinea pigs using human bone marrow stem cells, while another grew functioning eyes in tadpoles using frog cells. They grew the stem cells into neuron-like cells in lab dishes and then transplanted them into the inner ears of the guinea pigs. Three months later, the animals appeared to have some hearing. The goal was to regrow the tiny hair cells that are essential for mammals to hear, although she is not sure yet how the stem cells made this happen. They would eventually like to try something similar in humans." These are early stage proof-of-concept demonstrations. It is an illustration of progress that they do not stand out as exceptional amidst advances in the many other lines of regenerative research presently taking place.

More on the Biochemical Value of Exercise (November 18 2008) http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-11/aps-eib111708.php
Exercise is good for you: "A new study confirms that exercise can reverse the age-related decline in the production of neural stem cells in the hippocampus of the mouse brain, and suggests that this happens because exercise restores a brain chemical which promotes the production and maturation of new stem cells. One hypothesis the researchers investigated is that the age-related decline in neurogenesis is tied to a rise in corticosterone in middle age. Elevation of corticosterone has been associated with a drop in the production of new stem cells in the hippocampus. The second hypothesis is that nerve growth factors -- which encourage new neural cell growth but which decrease with age -- account for the drop in neurogenesis. Production of neural stem cells improved by approximately 200% compared to the middle-aged mice that did not exercise. In addition, the survival of new nerve cells increased by 170% and growth by 190% compared to the sedentary middle-aged mice. ... Based on these results, it appears that nerve growth factor has more to do with these findings than the corticosterone."
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Aging is Slowly Stealing Our Lives

You and I are both aware that aging is slowly stealing our health, our vigor and our lives. Yet we function without a sense of urgency to do something about aging. Why? Because we’re bombarded with our personal and career responsibilities and daily distractions. And those squeaky wheels are what get our attention. This is totally normal and logical. We have to take care of our families, get our haircuts and pay attention to endless details. Who has time to really make a commitment to being proactive when it comes to something as abstract as age-reversal?

That’s the way I used to think. But taking paths of least resistance normally leads us down reactive paths. In other words, we usually let outside forces control our lives. It isn’t until we’re faced with a crisis that those forces take a backseat to focusing on something that may have been avoided in the first place. Sometimes, that crisis means life or death.

This really hit home when I just found out a close and loved associate was diagnosed with one of the deadliest forms of cancer. What’s even more tragic is he’s an active life extension researcher. That’s the worst of ironies.

I am saddened to report that Dr. Chris Heward, one of the original participants of MaxLife’s first international scientific brainstorm sessions to reverse aging, is fighting an uphill battle for his life. Chris is Director of the Kronos Science Laboratories of Phoenix, AZ. He has been diagnosed with terminal, Stage-IV Esophageal Cancer. The cancer has metastasized to several other organs, and consequently his condition has a poor prognosis (50% mortality in 90 days and about 99% in a year).

Since surgery is no longer a realistic option, Chris has proposed to undergo an experimental but very promising immunotherapy treatment in Boca Raton, FL. However, this treatment requires blood donors less than 30 years old with "A" or "O" positive or negative blood types and no prior history of cancer in their families. If you are in—or if you know anyone in this category who would be willing to donate several units of blood to retrieve the granulocyte cells, please get in touch with me as soon as possible. Not only could this experimental treatment save Chris, but it could lead to a universal cure for many types of cancer. Here’s an opportunity to contribute to a great cause that could ultimately save many lives by making a simple referral.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this critical matter.
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LATEST HEALTHY LIFE EXTENSION HEADLINES

Researchers on Aging (November 14 2008) http://www.mcclatchydc.com/226/story/55835.html
An article of quotes from various noted aging reseachers: "Aging is caused by the gradual, lifelong accumulation of a wide variety of molecular and cellular damage. The free radical theory is the most widely accepted theory of aging. But the idea that aging is caused by one thing is naive. One general theory can never fit all. Clearly, it's the combination of genes that your parents dealt you and the lifestyle choices you make and the environmental toxins one is exposed to. One need only count the number of ways a car will fail to start to appreciate that aging can be caused by a large number of problems. Like any machine, it's going to wear out. About 25 percent of how a person ages is due to inherited genes. Certain genes control a cell's ability to repair damaged DNA. If those genes are defective, they can't do their job. Not everybody will be susceptible to diseases like Parkinson's or cancer as they age. But each one of us will lose muscle mass and muscle strength. That's why this research is so important. Frailty affects all of us."

Enhanced Longevity through Telomerase (November 14 2008) http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/38552/title/Telomere_enzyme_a_likely_key_to_longevity
From Science News: "the enzyme telomerase can extend the lifespan of mice by about 24 percent. Telomerase lengthens telomeres - the 'caps' on the end of chromosomes that protect DNA from damage. Like burning fuses, telomeres normally get shorter each time that most body cells divide. While the enzyme enables cells to keep dividing, it also takes cells one step closer to growing and proliferating out of control - that is, becoming cancerous. Lab animals with extra genes for telomerase often die young from tumors. [researchers] engineered mice to have not only an extra copy of the gene for telomerase, but also extra anti-tumor genes to combat the enzyme's cancer-causing potential. In the altered mice, signs of aging such as poor coordination or degraded tissue health were delayed compared to mice that had only the extra copies of anti-tumor genes." Most interesting; you might also want to look at recent research that suggests telomerase operates by protecting mitochondria, and less damaged mitochondria means better preservation of telomeres - but, more importantly for life span, less oxidative stress.

Better Synthetic Cartilage (November 13 2008) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081113075959.htm
From ScienceDaily: "Until now, creating synthetic cartilage was complex but not impossible. The problem was that it was impossible to imitate the perfection of human cartilage due to the difficulty in orienting the collagen nanofibers [in] a particular configuration: in parallel, in a circle, or crossed. The fibers that form the cartilage that protects the knee are aligned in parallel. [Researchers have now] achieved this using the electrospinning method. Collagen nanofibers are obtained by exposing the collagen to electrical discharges. The collagen is extruded, in the form of a nanofiber thread, through a fine needle and is deposited on an electric collector consisting of two grounded plates. The student placed a nonconductive material between the two conducting plates. The nanofibers aligned on top of each other perfectly in parallel lines between the two conducting plates." Innovations in engineering the simpler forms of human tissue have been arriving more rapidly of late - more scientists are involved, the tools are improving, and the cost of research is falling. This is all groundwork for the next decade and tissue engineering of complex replacement organs.

Steps towards Liver Regeneration (November 13 2008) http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2008/11/liver-stem-cell-marker.html
Discovering a stem cell population is the first step to regenerating the tissue they support: "A novel protein marker has been found that identifies rare adult liver stem cells, whose ability to regenerate injured liver tissue has the potential for cell-replacement therapy. In the future, this marker will allow for the isolation and expansion of these stem cells, which could then be used to help patients whose livers can no longer repair their own tissue. In a healthy liver, proliferation of mature liver and bile-duct lining cells is sufficient to maintain the necessary size and function of the organ. This even works when the liver is confronted with mild and acute injury, but the situation changes when injury to the liver is chronic and severe. For chronic injury, the liver uses a back-up system that stimulates stem cells to proliferate and eventually differentiate into new liver cells. [Researchers] found that these dual-potential stem cells can be identified and potentially isolated from other liver cells."

More on Myelin Loss (November 12 2008)
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-11/mnia-itw111208.php
You might recall that age-related thinning of the myelin that insulates nerves strongly correlates with declining brain function. Researchers investigating MS are making progress into the mechanisms by which this happens: the protein netrin-1 "is known to guide and direct nerve cell axons to their targets. Blocking the function of netrin-1 and one of its receptors in adult neural tissue causes the disruption of myelin. We've known for just over 10 years that netrin is essential for normal development of the nervous system, and we also knew that netrin was present in the adult brain, but we didn't know why. The new findings show that
netrin-1 and its receptor are needed to hold paranodal junctions in place, and thereby maintain the structure of myelin. The paranodal junction is a highly specialized region of contact where an oligodendrocyte cell attaches itself to the nerve cell's axon. This juncture acts as a molecular fence, which organizes and segregates the distribution of key proteins along the nerve cells axon and plays an imperative role in the proper conduction of electrical signals along the length of the nerve cell. When the function of netrin-1 and its receptor is disrupted, the organization of this adhesive junction comes apart, disrupting the function of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord."

Brain Growth Receptors and Lifespan (November 10 2008) http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0060274
A very readable overview of recent research from PLoS Biology: "When resources are short, growing organisms face an existential choice: should you ignore the shortage and hope for better times soon, or scale back and live within your limited means? And if you do scale back, will there be any payoff later in life? For animals, these choices are played out hormonally, with environmental fluctuations leading to internal rearrangements in endocrine signal and response throughout the growing body. In mammals, two principal hormones - growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) - promote growth. Remarkably, inhibiting one or both of these two not only retards growth, but also extends lifespan, not just in lab animals, but possibly also in people: mutations that reduce the function of the IGF-1 receptor have recently been discovered in centenarians (who are also short). Growth occurs throughout the body, and receptors for IGF-1 are found in every organ on virtually every cell. But [researchers have now shown] that it is the IGF-1 receptors in the brain that set the pattern for growth and lifespan."

Mainstream Press on the Singularity and Longevity (November 10 2008) http://english.ohmynews.com/ArticleView/article_view.asp?menu=A11100&no=384115&rel_no=1
An interesting, if flawed, article on the singularity and engineered longevity via the Korean OhmyNews: "Amidst the rapid changes of society ranging from general advances in science and technology to politics and social policy, with respect to knowledge, there is an emergent issue that promises to radically change our lives and our reality. It is predicted that within less than 20 years, the human lifespan will be extended to perhaps 150 or more years. Scientists and futurists on the cutting edge of thought about science and society believe that the increase in lifespan is one step towards what will be known as the Singularity, at which time, life might be extended indefinitely depending upon environmental conditions. The Singularity is the term used for a technological integration unheard of; it is a theoretical future point of unprecedented technological progress, caused in part by the ability of machines to improve themselves using artificial intelligence. It was just over a hundred years ago, when the human lifespan began to double to what it is today. It is possible that most people who lived only to 35 years of age thought that to live to 72 years would be too long and that they would be too tired. Nevertheless, we have adjusted and found life to be meaningful, even in our current 'long' life of 72 years."

A Valuable Lesson

As promised, I’m going to pass on a valuable lesson from Dr. Pete Hilgartner.

What is your first reaction to a crisis? Let’s say you get diagnosed with a serious illness. First your heart skips a beat and then thunders like a jackhammer. Maybe you break out in a cold sweat. Then when reality sets in, do you retreat? Do you roll up in a fetal position, pull the covers over your head and hope your problems disappear? Do you tend to sleep more, head for the liquor cabinet or pray harder than you had in years?

How about when you life’s savings gets wiped out overnight due to mismanagement, theft, the economy or just by hard luck?

Or what do you do when the economy slows down, and your customers’ orders slow to a trickle, or you get laid off?

What about when all the real estate equity you built over the years vanishes overnight?

Time to retreat, right? Batten down the hatches. Cut expenses. Downsize. Deprive yourself until things get better. That’s what most people do, and that’s one reason the press tells you our economy sucks.

What if there was a better way to handle crises? Well there is. In fact there are two. The first is offered up by Dr. Pete. The second by yours truly.

Dr. Pete is a fascinating guy and a successful student of life. He was very sickly as a child, way sicker than most people could tolerate. But his illnesses motivated him to set lofty goals. He decided to win an Olympic gold metal, to become an officer in the Marine Corps and to become a physician. He was well on his way to a shot at the gold when his aching back tripped him up. So he joined the Marines and later became a successful physician.

The Marines taught him one of life’s great lessons. They taught him how to survive an ambush.

Capt. Pete survived six ambushes in fact. He realized he survived them the same way he survived his childhood injuries and the same way he’s surviving today’s economic climate. When you’re ambushed, the Marines teach you to head for an escape route. But what is there is none? What do you do when the enemy closes off all escape? Then you make yourself as small a target as possible, right? Wrong!

If you want to escape, to survive, you do the counter-intuitive. You do the unexpected. You expand… and attack. But don’t just sort of expand. Expand with decisiveness, purpose, order and with a plan. Play offense instead of defense. Overcome your fear and take the fight to the enemy. Dr. Pete and most of the company he commanded live today because of that one critical lesson.

Have you noticed that when people are filled with fear, they tend to withdraw? They stop communicating. If they do communicate, it’s usually to complain about how bad things are. When you’re down, be a beacon of optimism. Take charge of your situation. Every cell in your body will react and rally you to your recovery.

Can you force yourself to expand, when every fiber of your existence wants to do what everyone else is doing; succumbing and contracting to fear? Yes, you can!

I have another way to not only survive, but to prosper as well. It’s your surest path to sound health and longevity. In a word, it’s “prevention”. Expand now, and avoid your ambushes. Head off disease and illness by taking precautionary measures now and forever.

It’s a well-known fact that people will go to the ends of the earth searching for cures but will ignore preventative measures. Terminal diseases and what is happening now are concretes. The threat of disease and the future are abstracts. So we live for the moment while internal time bombs tick away. Sooner or later, one catches up with you. And more often than not, it’s too late. If you catch it early enough and/or expand and attack, you have a chance to beat it back. But not all of Capt. Pete’s soldiers got out alive.

Will tomorrow’s technologies obsolete death from aging and other diseases? I’m certain of it. Will we all live to see the day? Unfortunately, no. And most of those who miss the extreme longevity boat will miss it because of inattention to prevention. Some will make it because they will expand when their crisis catches up with them. But with so much at stake, why roll the dice? Play to win, not to not lose. Expand right now, before it’s too late.

Now getting back to reacting to a health crisis. I’m afraid I have some terrible news for you. You have a terminal disease that no one has ever survived. You were born with it, and you too will die from it – unless you improve your odds by expanding and by preventing. It’s called aging. Instead of complaining about it, or even joking about it, for the first time in history, you can actually do something about it. One contribution many of us can make is supporting the research that will conquer the effects of aging while you are still alive. The other is simply taking a proactive approach to your health to keep yourself alive until emerging medical miracles will give you a new lease on life.
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LATEST HEALTHY LIFE EXTENSION HEADLINES

The Most Important Research (November 07 2008) http://www.exchangemagazine.com/morningpost/2008/week45/Friday/1107018.htm
From the Exchange Morning Post, a statist, public funding viewpoint on longevity science: "Learning how to turn back time - or at least how to slow the aging process - may be more important for improving our overall health than the discovery of a cure for cancer. There are real, tangible benefits, for society as well as individuals, to slowing down the aging process. 'By extending the life span, people would remain in the workforce longer, personal income and savings would increase, age entitlement programs would face less pressure from shifting demographics, and national economies would flourish'. Almost half of the current population over 75 years old is limited in their activity by chronic conditions, with costs to society set to rise dramatically. Given the current predicament we face, we can't ignore the call to tackle aging more aggressively. To those who ask: 'Can we really afford to invest more in such research?' we can reply: 'Can we really afford not to tackle aging?' The greatest obstacle will be convincing the general public that slowing the aging process is both feasible and deserving of a larger share of the funds available for scientific research."

An Overview of Cryonics (November 07 2008) http://kn.theiet.org/magazine/issues/0819/science-without-deadline.cfm
A good article on cryonics from Engineering and Technology: "The field of cryonics, which made its debut in the 1960s, continues to push the envelope and search for a solution to death. The process consists of preserving legally dead humans or pets at very low temperature (below -130C) in the hope that future science can restore them to life, youth, and health. The advancement of medicine and science is so much faster than it used to be. Science fiction is becoming science fact on a daily basis. All of a sudden, cryonics doesn't look quite so far-fetched. Most cryonicists believe reanimations will occur within 50 to 100 years for those currently being cryopreserved. Within that time frame, virtually all current diseases should be curable and elderly people can probably be rejuvenated to a youthful condition. With full disclosures and signed consent, [cryonics] is highly ethical. When you think about the grand scheme of things, cryonics is a lot more conservative than burial or conventional cremation. Tissue preserved at the temperature of liquid nitrogen does not deteriorate, even after centuries of storage. Therefore, if current medical technology can’t keep us alive, we can instead choose to be preserved in liquid nitrogen, with the expectation that future medical technology should be able to reverse any cryopreservation injury and restore good health.

Cells as Vectors for Targeted Therapies (November 06 2008) http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-11/miot-mct110508.php
The possibilities of bioengineering are endless, and one of the most energetic branches of the research community is involved in developing methods of precisely targeting therapies: "MIT engineers have outfitted cells with tiny 'backpacks' that could allow them to deliver chemotherapy agents, diagnose tumors or become building blocks for tissue engineering. The polymer backpacks allow researchers to use cells to ferry tiny cargoes and manipulate their movements using magnetic fields. Since each patch covers only a small portion of the cell surface, it does not interfere with the cell's normal functions or prevent it from interacting with the external environment. Researchers worked with B and T cells, two types of immune cells that can home to various tissues in the body, including tumors, infection sites, and lymphoid tissues - a trait that could be exploited to achieve targeted drug or vaccine delivery. The researchers found that T cells with backpacks were able to perform their normal functions, including migrating across a surface, just as they would without anything attached. By loading the backpacks with magnetic nanoparticles, the researchers can control the cells' movement with a magnetic field."

Towards a Rejuvenated Thymus (November 06 2008) http://www.uga.edu/news/artman/publish/081106_Manley_Research.shtml
One approach to the issue of declining naive T-cells with age - and consequence failure of the immune system - is to boost production by manipulating the thymus: "a key gene may be crucial to maintaining the production of the thymus and its disease-fighting T-cells after an animal's birth. The discovery could help scientists find out how to turn the thymus back on so it could produce T-cells long after it normally shuts down most of its function, which, for humans, occurs by early adulthood. If the finding leads to further ways to manipulate the gene, the result could be a new avenue for the body to fight disease more effectively as the body ages. Such things as infectious diseases, inflammation and heart problems are all related to immune response. You don't have to think far to see how understanding the effect of this gene could affect the quality of life for older people and others as well. If [physicians] were able selectively to turn T-cell production back on, then many diseases that currently afflict older people could become manageable if not, in cases, entirely absent."

Boosting the Aging Immune System (November 05 2008) http://pmid.us/18981163
Many research groups are working on ways to boost the effectiveness of an exhausted immune system - due to either chronic viral infection or aging - without necessarily aiming to address the root causes: "In contrast to most normal somatic cells, which show little or no telomerase activity, immune cells up-regulate telomerase in concert with activation. Nevertheless, during aging and chronic HIV-1 infection, there are high proportions of dysfunctional [immune cells] with short telomeres. Exposure of CD8(+) T lymphocytes from HIV-infected human donors to a small molecule telomerase activator (TAT2) modestly retards telomere shortening, increases proliferative potential, and, importantly, enhances cytokine/chemokine production and antiviral activity. The enhanced antiviral effects were abrogated in the presence of a potent and specific telomerase inhibitor, suggesting that TAT2 acts primarily through telomerase activation. Our study is the first to use a pharmacological telomerase-based approach to enhance immune function."

Incremental Improvements in Scaffolding (November 03 2008) http://www.technologyreview.com/printer_friendly_article.aspx?id=21625&channel=biomedicine&section=
From the MIT Technology Review: "Engineering heart tissue presents particularly tough problems for researchers, since the heart is an active organ. Scaffolds designed for other kinds of tissues did not have the right mechanical properties for heart tissue. Heart tissue must be flexible enough to change shape as the heart contracts, but also strong enough to withstand the intense forces generated by these contractions. The researchers designed the scaffold to encourage cells to align themselves in the same direction to better mimic this property of natural heart muscle tissue. Using a laser cutting technique, they created a pattern of oblong holes in the polymer; the result is a flexible, honeycomb-like structure that is stiffer in one direction than another. Just as rowers line up in one direction to propel a boat forward, 'all the heart muscle cells in a given region have to be lined up and contracting in the same direction' in order for the heart to beat efficiently. The honeycomb-like scaffold [represents] a 'substantial jump' toward that goal. If we had a biodegradable biomaterial, which had beating heart cells, we might be able to return function to [damaged parts] of the heart."

A General Interest Calorie Restriction Article (November 03 2008) http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5i8eh2v_zPiht03CZWKvVulsaPYqAAs the science advances, these articles get more positive. Recall the ridicule heaped upon the practice of calorie restriction even just a few years ago. "Some people are doing it strictly to enhance longevity. Others do it to avoid age-related disease, or because they already have diabetes, high cholesterol or clogged arteries and want to clean up their bodies by using diet. In rich countries, 90 percent of the population probably eats, on average, about 50 percent too much. Even if they were to reduce their calorie intake by half, they would still only be at baseline. A wealth of scientific evidence has confirmed that maintaining that balance helps prevent type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. But experiments with both animals and humans have also shown that pushing one's calorie intake 10 to 20 percent below that baseline threshold -- without lowering nutrients -- may provide additional health advantages. Will this add 10 years to your life? Nobody knows. But one thing is sure -- calorie restriction will help you reach your maximum lifespan potential, which is different for all of us depending on our genetic profile."