A giant step for mankind that started with a mouse!

In the very beginning of our book The Immortality Edge, in my forward, I quote Neil Armstong:  “One small step for many, one giant step for mankind,” rendering my opinion on the importance of telomerase therapy and telomere science.

That opinion is passing from an opinion to fact.

This past week saw several major releases in the anti-aging field.  I will get into detail about them in a moment, but I want to remind you about something critical that is also beginning to change.  Last year, I had the great fortune of standing in front of interested people at David Wolfe’s Longevity Now Conference and teaching them about Omega3’s, telomeres, epigenetics and other, soon-to-be timely topics.

Every single one of those heretofore unknown areas has been in the news lately.  In addition, Suzanne Somers’ book Bombshell came out last week and spent 21 pages on topics we wrote an entire book on in 2010: telomeres, telomerase and TA-65. This was a huge step, because now a popular author is writing about my field — something that has never really happened before.

OK, the BIG BANG study of the year is Dr Blasco’s latest study and it is gigantic for several reasons.

First, it uses telomerase therapy and markedly extends the life spans of adult mice (24% longer lived) and old, old mice (14% longer lived) with a single (yep, that is one time) injection of telomerase therapy. Next, it uses viral transfection, to insert the telomerase gene, a method that had heretofore, increased the risk of cancer. Now, it can be done with no risk of increasing cancer. I hope these silence the critics of telomerase therapy once and for all. For years, they have been hiding behind the misconception that telomerase “causes cancer”. I suspect many of them knew it does not, all along, but it made a fast, easy and scary argument against using telomerase.

At least now we will be treated to the real reasons why people fight it: “We aren’t supposed to live forever, Doc!” OK, your choice – you don’t get any, how’s that?!

It is important to note that the mice were allowed to accumulate the damage of aging to adult and old age, before they were treated. Then, when they were already “damaged by aging” they were treated and got better!

Next critics will say: “But it did not create immortal mice.”  First off, who would want to! Next, mice do not age by telomere degradation and telomerase lack, alone. If we were to estimate “how much” mouse aging is dependent on telomeres, it would probably be around 50% or less. This suggests that when we develop said therapies for people, it may have more startling results. Sign me up!

Of course, there is little impetus to develop an anti-aging shot, among Big Pharma and the government, but I can guarantee you this. They will be first in line when it is approved!

For now, we are “stuck” with a safe effective alternative, TA-65. And yes, there will be more and more studies on this as well, but just in case you missed it, Dr Blasco was able to demonstrate significant life span lengthening (and yes, health span as well) with no increase in cancer with her mice on TA-65, as well.

For the past 2 years, since the publication of our book The Immortality Edge, I have had to listen to people criticize what we wrote, as being speculative and unproven. I challenged each critic to come back and write their concerns again, in a year or two, because they would all be answered. No one did, but one guy wrote, “Hey Doc, what do you think?! You think you know something the rest of the world doesn’t?”

In this case, I might!

But, there is so much more to learn and I do love this stuff. Stay tuned and I’ll do my best to translate it into English for you.

Doc

P.S. Of lesser note this week, a very interesting study came out looking to identify “SNPs” Single Nucleotide Substitutions or (P) polymorphisms in identical twins. This was pretty cool, because it might identify some of the reason one twin (or on a broader sense , why someone) is more “disease prone” than the other.  They definitively need to do epigenetic mapping and short telomere testing on the twins as well!

References:

Telomerase gene therapy in adult and old mice delays aging and increases longevity without increasing cancer

Bruno Bernardes de Jesus1, Elsa Vera1, Kerstin Schneeberger1, Agueda M. Tejera1, Eduard Ayuso2,3,

Fatima Bosch2,3, Maria A. Blasco1*

Keywords: AAV9; aging; gene therapy; health span; TERT

DOI 10.1002/emmm.201200245

Received February 22, 2012

Revised March 29, 2012

Accepted March 30, 2012

TA-65 versus other telomerase activators

I am getting a bit sick of all the BS that people are sending me, saying whatever product they represent (usually by an MLM ) is superior to TA-65. I allow dissenting opinions, because no one is ever right 100% of the time, including me.  Over the past few months I have publicly retracted statements I made a few years back, when new research indicated a clear cut answer to a question, or viewpoint I had expressed, that was incorrect.  Even the great Dr Joe Mercola has publically admitted making mistakes.  Not so long ago he sent an email out stating that after years of pushing cod liver oil, he does not endorse it any more. He gave, as his reason, concern that high doses of Vitamin A, as found in cod liver oil, might interfere with Vitamin D absorption/metabolism and could lead to an increase in colon cancer.

It takes a lot of guts to admit you might have had a hand in causing someone’s colon cancer, but if that is the case, then honesty is always the best policy.

And so it is to honesty that I speak to the people who persist on sending me comments about various and sundry (usually MLM) compounds.

1)      The only possible study that was done on these compounds (I know of one of them, no others) was with a TRAP assay for telomerase. The expression of active telomerase does not necessarily equate to telomere maintenance, or lengthening (Oulette 1999 and others!) so, while that is a start, it is a far cry from proving anything.

2)      These assays are done on human cell cultures, under ideal conditions, with varying concentrations of the product. This is how initial studies were done on TA-65. Mouse and human studies followed.

3)      There is a little thing called “pharmacokinetics”, which describes how things are absorbed in the gut and distributed throughout the blood volume and ultimately the cells. Only TA-65 has this data because no one else has bothered to test their products in this fashion.

4)      Even with positives on all of the above, the end point is “what does it do in live people”?

5)      Since TA-65 was tested for safety and efficacy, using end points like a reduction in critically short telomeres, immune system de-aging, bone density improvements, inflammatory marker reduction, vision, skin and improvements in blood glucose and other “age related” biomarkers, it is the only supplement that has that data. The other supplements have none, not even safety data. They are made up using pre-existing supplements, that have proven safe, but in theory, at least a specific combination could have toxicity as the sum of its parts, that the individual compounds do not have. None of the “competitors” even have mouse studies.

This does not mean that the aforementioned compounds are worthless as supplements.  They may indeed be a “telomere maintenance supplement”. Many contain a good mix of active antioxidants that may indeed slow telomere loss.  We don’t know that for sure, but let’s assume it’s true for the moment.  This is still a far cry from telomerase activation, in real live human beings, with reproducible results. It is also a far cry from the many mouse studies done with TA-65 in Maria Blasco’s and others’ labs around the globe. Said studies have shown remarkable reversal, in many physical parameters of aging; in at least one study, a 40% extension of lifespan. (Mice do not age solely by telomere loss, or it would probably be much longer).

I also understand the MLM mentality. Everyone is gung ho to change the world and make millions. The obscene fact that an infinitesimally small number of people do, either whether in or out of an MLM, seems not to be a deterrent.

Here is some of the BS I have had to listen to:

‘Our product has 30% more of the astragalus extract used in TA-65.’

Answer: if that is true, you are in violation of International Patent law and will be prosecuted and probably shut down. Better check your facts.

‘Our product is 10X more effective than TA-65.’

Answer: Great! I want some, but show me the human studies first.

‘I’ll show you studies, just give me a year.’

Answer: If you are making claims now, you should have the backup NOW, not in 1 year. I know, for a fact, one company has never pursed the studies they made so much noise about doing.

‘But it’s got bacopasides!!!’

Answer: What the hell does that mean?  Do you have any idea what a bacopaside is? Since the answer is probably “no,” let me help. Functionally, Bacopa monnieri is an ethnobotanical antioxidant that has some ability to help with the generation of the body’s most potent antioxidant, glutathione. It may also influence neurotransmitters, like ACH and dopamine. The association of bacopa and telomeres exists in one single trial that just started and was filed in March 2012; thus, there is no data yet.

It is possible that a company has “internal data” they are not sharing, about a particular ingredient but, as of this writing, the only potentially reputable trial to even associate the words bacopa and telomere in the same paragraph is at least a year from completion.

Now, here is the thing. Most of these claims are not written anywhere. They are the parroted words of an MLM devotee, who feels personally attacked, when asked for solid proof. That is when the ad hominem attacks on me start, by these people who have never met me and have no clue about what I really do.

In the words of Larry David, “Curb your enthusiasm!”,  at least on my site.  If you want me to take what has, here to fore, been absolute nonsense mixed with ignorance, BS and not a little bit of marketing hyperbole, fed to you by salesmen who use you to make their money for them in large doses, seriously, you are going to have to show me proof.

Until you actually have more than what your up lines told you, please do not claim any product is superior to TA-65. There are some head to head trials going on right now that are awaiting publication. Wanna guess what they show?  My attitude, in this blog, should be a big hint!!!!

Finally, Suzanne Somers’ book “Bombshell”, mentions only one telomerase activator for 21 pages — TA-65, not anything else, for telomerase activation. So, if you think that her book is going to increase your revenues and down line signups for something else, you will be disappointed.

Remember, there is a huge difference between telomere support, telomerase activation in cell culture and lengthening telomeres, in real live human beings. The latter is the only end point that really matters and that is where TA-65 has a monopoly.  So, if you want to convince me that you have something worthwhile, show me those human studies. Don’t say you are “going to do them” and then not get around to it, as one of these companies seems to have done. Get a reputable lab, with reputable scientists and do an independent study, the way TA Sciences has done. No one else has. I have been approached by all the MLM’s to support their product and have declined for this reason.

Someday, there will be a superior product to TA-65. When it comes, I will test it take it and report on it. But that day is not today, or tomorrow, or any time in the immediate future. Meanwhile, unless you are lengthening those critically short telomeres, you are getting older.

Don’t blame me!

Doc