Interventions in Aging

Back in about 1955 I was lucky enough to be the daughter of a physician and surgeon who had an interest in natural health.  At the time he was one of the early subscribers to Organic Gardening and Prevention magazines from Robert Rodale's organization.  It happened too that Rodale was just upstate in my home state of Pennsylvania.

I've written several times about how I devoured each month's issue and how it was part and parcel of turning me into a doctor of a different color.  I've even been involved in more recent years in a number of Rodale's publications, including Woman's Book of Healing Herbs.

As far as anti-aging therapy goes there are many ways to look at this, and implement programs.  I went for herbs and orthomolecular and nutritional approaches to health.

I was taunted, especially by my mother who live to 99.  But undaunted, to this day, I stick with my beliefs and what I learn in almost daily continuing education.

My organiztion, CHI, can help you too.  Currently, with your donation you can receive a copy of our Rejuvenation Cleanse.

A panel of 10 luminaries in the field of gerontology, including Aubrey de Grey, Caleb Finch and Jan Vijg, convened to urge the translation of recent findings in the field of aging into therapeutic agents that can benefit the world's growing population of older individuals. Their report was published in the July 14, 2010 issue of the American Association for the Advancement of Science journal Science Translational Medicine.

In the introduction to their article, the authors note that age is the greatest risk factor for the majority of chronic diseases in the western world, and is of increasing significance in the developing world as well. Functionality decreases with age while disease incidence increases, and mortality rates double approximately every 7 to 8 years following puberty. These phenomena are attributable to the accumulation of damaging changes in the body that occur at the molecular, cellular and tissue levels due to the effects of normal metabolism as well as environmental causes and unhealthy lifestyles.

In order to prevent a global aging crisis caused by a greater proportion of older individuals and the resulting increases in medical costs and social challenges, the panel advocates the collaboration of a number of countries in an international initiative to translate laboratory findings on aging into pharmaceutical agents that will improve the lives of older men and women.

"We propose a global biological aging research agenda focused on the detailed understanding of the following overlapping core age changes and developing therapies for decelerating, arresting, and reversing them: (i) the loss of proliferative homeostasis, (ii) neurodegeneration, (iii) somatic mutations in both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA, (iv) nonadaptive alterations in gene expression, (v) immunosenescence, (vi) nonadaptive inflammation, and (vii) alterations of the extracellular milieu," the authors write. "To ameliorate age-related changes, we identify three broad modes of intervention that should be exploited in addition to ongoing conventional, disease-centered medical innovation: (i) reduction in exposure to environmental toxins and amelioration of other risk factors through improved public health; (ii) modulation of metabolic pathways contributing to age-related changes; and (iii) a more broadly conceived regenerative medicine, to embrace the repair, removal, or replacement of existing aging damage or its decoupling from its pathological sequelae."

"There is this misunderstanding that aging is something that just happens to you, like the weather, and cannot be influenced," remarked Dr Vijg, who is chair of genetics and the Lola and Saul Kramer Chair in Molecular Genetics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University. "The big surprise of the last decade is that, in many different animals, we can increase healthy life span in various ways. A program of developing and testing similar interventions in humans would make both medical and economic sense."

"In the case of late-life intervention in human age-related degeneration, what we can be certain of today is that a policy of aging as usual will lead to enormous humanitarian, social and financial costs," the authors conclude. "To realize any chance of success, the drive to tackle biological aging head-on must begin now." Source:Life Extension

Methuselah Foundation

Read more »

Posted in: ageing,aging,anti-aging supplements,vitamins delay ageing

Vitamin Combo Helps Delay Aging

UPDATE: 16 May - Just in case you happen to read this post, you might find it helpful to realize that if your right of access to health care of choice and supplement use over drugs, remember that the folks (members of Congress et al)wishing to bring you CODEX restrictions will allow you to have this level of supplementation, well below well proven therapeutic levels -

ALLOWABLE VITAMIN POTENCY UNDER CODEX: Vitamin C (225 mg - up from the original 60 mg); Vitamin E (15 mg - up from the original 7)(Gamma Tocopherol); Magnesium (400 mg); Vitamin B-12 (9 mcg when normal dose in the 1940s-70s was 2400-2800 daily and we had very little dementia); Vitamin B-6 (5.4 mg - when we know a minimum of 200 mg daily is for basic intake); Beta Carotene (4 mg); Vitamin D (5 mg - although FDA is currently suggesting a minimum of 1000 mg)

A supplement composed of vitamins B-1, B-3, B-6, B-12, C, D, E, folic acid, beta-carotene, CoQ10, rutin, bioflavonoids, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, green tea extract, ginger root extract, garlic, L-Glutathione, magnesium, selenium, potassium, manganese, chromium picolinate, acetyl L-carnitine, melatonin, alpha-lipoic acid, N-acetyl cysteine, acetylsalicylic acid, cod liver oil and flax seed oil supports anti-aging.

Much of this research has been completed in the past by such natural health greats as Gary Null, Carleton Fredericks, and Gayelord Haueser.  In the 40-50-60s vitamins, especially B complex and B12, along with natural thyroid support were key medical therapies for aging and prevention of dementia.

A cocktail of vitamins, minerals and herbals may delay the major aspects of the aging process and extend lifespan by 10%, according to a mouse study from Canada led by David Rollo.

Mice fed a supplement containing 30 dietary ingredients did not experience a 50% loss in daily movement like non-supplemented animals, according to findings published in the journal Experimental Biology and Medicine.

The benefits were linked to increases in the activity of mitochondria, the power plants of the cells, as well as by reducing levels of free radicals produced by the mitochondria, said researchers from McMaster University.

"For aging humans, maintaining zestful living into later years may provide greater social and economic benefits than simply extending years of likely decrepitude," Rollo said. "This study obtained a truly remarkable extension of physical function in old mice, far greater than the respectable extension of longevity that we previously documented. This holds great promise for extending the quality of life of humans," he added.

Rollo and his co-workers used bradykinesis, or declining physical movement, as a biomarker of aging and mortality risk. Mice were divided into two groups: One was fed a normal diet, while the other was supplemented with a cocktail of dietary supplement ingredients.

"Dosages were derived from recommended human doses adjusted for body size and the 10-fold higher metabolic rate of mice," explained the researchers.

Results showed maintenance of youthful levels of locomotor activity into old age in the supplemented animals, whereas old non-supplemented mice showed a 50% loss in daily movement, said the researchers. This was accompanied by a loss of mitochondria activity, and declines in brain signaling chemicals relevant to locomotion, such as striatal neuropeptide Y. This chemical is associated with a range of functions, including maintaining energy balance, as well as effects in memory and learning. No such declines were observed in supplemented animals, the researches said.

"Although identifying the role of specific ingredients and interactions remains outstanding, results provide proof of principle that complex dietary cocktails can powerfully ameliorate biomarkers of aging and modulate mechanisms considered ultimate goals for aging interventions," Rollo and his co-workers stated.

The supplement was composed of vitamins B-1, B-3, B-6, B-12, C, D, E, folic acid, beta-carotene, CoQ10, rutin, bioflavonoids, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, green tea extract, ginger root extract, garlic, L-Glutathione, magnesium, selenium, potassium, manganese, chromium picolinate, acetyl L-carnitine, melatonin, alpha-lipoic acid, N-acetyl cysteine, acetylsalicylic acid, cod liver oil and flax seed oil.
Experimental Biology and Medicine 235:66-76, 2010

Personality may influence brain shrinkage in aging

ScienceDaily (2010-04-27) -- A team of psychologists has found an intriguing possibility that personality and brain aging during the golden years may be linked. Researchers found lower volumes of gray matter in the frontal and medial temporal brain regions of volunteers who ranked high in neuroticism traits, compared with higher volumes of gray matter in those who ranked high in conscientious traits. ... > read full article

Read more »

Posted in: anti-aging supplements,vitamins delay aging