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How the world got lost on
the road to an anti-aging pill
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October 28, 2010: by Bill Sardi
A molecule extracted from the botanical herb Astragalus is now being widely touted as a “youth preserver.” One advocate calls it “the most exciting breakthrough in the last century.” Theoretically, how does this molecule do this? Answer: By lengthening the age-shortened end caps of chromosomes called telomeres.
A published human study claims those subjects who took the Astragalus extract called TA-65 had cells that were 5-20 years younger. TA-65 activates the gene that produces telomerase, the natural enzyme that repairs fragmented telomeres.
There always a kernel of truth to such claims, but in this instance there is also a lot of stretching the truth too.
Telomeres are known as the biological clock of the cell, since they shorten with each cell division and with advancing age. Shortened telomeres is claimed to govern the rate of aging. Telomere lengthening agents like Astragalus extracts would theoretically slow aging.
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: by Bill Sardi
Derived from the medical literature and from reports by consumers to manufacturers.
Symptoms believed to be related to over-inhibition of TNF (tumor necrosis factor)
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October 17, 2010: by Bill Sardi
A published report in the Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology (Volume 88, pages 1017-1025) today confirms that Longevinex® is the first branded resveratrol-based dietary supplement shown to exhibit cardio-protection, that is, it preconditions the heart so if a future heart attack occurs, the patient (in this instance, a laboratory rat) won’t succumb to this unexpected event. An abstract of the report can be viewed online (click here), and the full paper is also available for free public viewing (PDF version / HTML version)
The experiment showed that Longevinex®, a multi-ingredient nutriceutical that provides resveratrol in a matrix with quercetin, rice bran phytate, ferulic acid and vitamin D3, exerts cardio-protective action equivalent to that produced by plain resveratrol at a dose 40% lower than prior published studies (175 mg resveratrol, 100 mg resveratrol/Longevinex matrix).
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October 14, 2010: by Bill Sardi
Source: Med Hypotheses. 2010 Oct 5. [Epub ahead of print]
Mannari C, Bertelli AA, Stiaccini G, Giovannini L.Department of Neuroscience, Pharmacology Section, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
Researchers in Italy report that inexpensive, diluted wine activates the Sirtuin1 survival gene better than pure resveratrol. The study was conducted to determine the potential health effects afforded by table wine made from Lambrusco grapes.
An errant study published in 2003, researchers showed that resveratrol is the small molecule that most effectively activates the Sirtuin1 gene among all small molecules tested. The Sirtuin1 gene is akin to the SIR2 gene in lower life forms (yeast cells, roundworms, fruit flies) and is portrayed as the key gene that is activated by a limited calorie diet, a practice that unequivocally doubles the lifespan of all living organisms.
However, it was discovered that the fluorescent compound used in the 2003 assay is what activated Sirtuin1, not resveratrol, thus obfuscating the gene target of this red wine molecule.
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October 7, 2010: by Bill Sardi
Las Vegas, NV (October 7, 2010) – Longevinex® is the first resveratrol-based nutriceutical to demonstrate it abolishes the earliest sign of blood vessel aging and significantly inhibits a marker of inflammation, in humans.
In a 3-month study conducted among patients with metabolic syndrome (obesity, elevated blood sugar) in Japan, researchers report that 1-capsule of Longevinex® taken daily strongly inhibits loss of “flow mediated dilatation,” which is described as impaired ability of arteries to widen (dilate) with increased heart rate induced by physical exertion or stress. If the arteries do not dilate when a human goes from a resting heart rate to a faster heart rate, then the artery remains abnormally narrow, blood pressure rises abnormally, and the threat of a stroke becomes real.
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October 1, 2010: by Bill Sardi
“Resveratrol this and resveratrol that, it cures most everything in the laboratory rat.”
Main points:
Resveratrol — the red wine molecule heralded for its potential to reverse biological time, to erase the ravages of human aging, to do what only could be previously imagined in science-fiction books. But the rush to commercialize resveratrol is trivializing its future. A cobweb of false advertising, pseudoscience (even in published scientific journals), misleading labeling and potential side effects posed by overdosing could provoke regulatory agencies to step in and declare this molecule a drug, robbing the public of direct access to this miracle of our time.
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September 22, 2010: by Bill Sardi
For unexplained reasons biologists working in the field of aging fail to explain what causes aging genes to switch on or off, and why genes that accelerate aging begin to progressively exert their influence with advancing age, beginning after full childhood growth is achieved.
There are electrifying studies which assay the gene activation (called gene expression) profiles of animals and humans subjected to calorie-restricted (CR) diets, which is a known practice that prolongs the life of all living organisms.
Also, molecular CR mimetics, or so-called anti-aging pills, comprised of small molecules like resveratrol that can influence genetic machinery inside living cells, have been analyzed for their influence over the human genome.
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: by Bill Sardi
The Telegraph, a British online news source, announces Viagra (Sildenafil) will soon be sold in supermarkets without the need for a doctor’s prescription. The focus of the Telegraph report is not that Viagra will be sold over-the-counter, but rather that it could be a “bad idea… according to pension experts.” Viagra would be a bad idea — not because it may have side effects or cause men to use it indiscriminately, but for another reason.
The Telegraph says it all has to do with the law of unintended consequences. The gap between male and female life expectancy is narrowing. Typically women live 5-8 years longer than men. That gap is shrinking to about 4 years, according to the British Office of National Statistics. A pension consultant quoted in the Telegraph report says this is because men are seeking medical care and visiting their doctor more than in past years, not for reasons to check up on their health, bur rather to obtain a prescription for Viagra.
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September 21, 2010: by Bill Sardi
Niacinamide (form of vitamin B3) is also known as nicotinamide. You read in the following abstract that depletion of nicotinamide is sufficient to activate the SIR2 gene (which is akin to the SIRTUIN1 gene in humans) and therefore regulate longevity. Since vitamin B3 is ubiquitous in food, starvation (calorie restriction) would deplete this essential vitamin and send a survival signal by upregulating SIRTUIN1 (SIR2 in lower life forms). [see Ref. #1 below] Of course, niacin is essential for life, a frank deficiency resulting in the vitamin deficiency disease called pellagra. So it would not be desirable to deplete niacin, nor starve oneself, to achieve longevity, though limited-calorie (CR) diets that border on starvation are employed by a few longevity seekers (Calorie Restriction Society). The idea of employing resveratrol is to create the same survival signal without having to deprive oneself of food. Biologists face a roadblock here because CR produces lean bodies, whereas resveratrol has only been shown to do this in animals at extreme doses (14,000 mg human equivalent dose in rodents, which is a potentially toxic dose). [Ref. #2 below] However, it has become apparent that low doses of resveratrol work better than high doses [Ref. #3], and when combined with other small molecules such as those provided in red wine (quercetin, ferulic acid, etc.), exerts even greater biological activity and influence over the genome. More important, when resveratrol is combined with other small molecules such as quercetin, the two molecules inhibit fat cell (adipocyte) activity. [See Refs #4 & #5 below] Longevinex was compared to a CR diet and plain resveratrol in a head-to-head study. Whereas it takes life-long adherence to a CR diet to significantly differentiate 832 genes, Longevinex differentiated nearly twice as many longevity genes (1711) in the short-term. For comparison, short-term CR only exerted influence over 198 genes and plain resveratrol 225 genes. This suggests that short-term supplementation with plain resveratrol would have to continue for decades to achieve the same effect as a CR diet, whereas Longevinex produced a similar gene expression profile as CR in the short-term. Since many people don’t have decades of life ahead of them, the full benefits of resveratrol supplementation may not be achieved. This is not to say resveratrol is not beneficial, but it may not mimic the longevity of CR with short-term use.
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September 12, 2010: by Bill Sardi
Amyloid protein is now said to “poison” insulin-secreting islet cells in the pancreas and may be the triggering event in adult-onset diabetes say researchers in Dublin today. It is believed amyloid protein is a “rogue protein that sparks diabetes,” say researchers.
According to a BBC News report, “the researchers said that they hoped the finding would ‘spur new research’ to target the mechanisms of the disease,” acting as if underlying mechanisms are unknown. In fact, the accumulation and lack of control of copper has been clearly identified as the factor responsible for the accumulation of amyloid protein in the pancreas and other human tissues with advancing age.
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