Thanks for the information on homocysteine and the interesting connection with SAM-e. I have followed Pauling's advice of "one or two Super-B Complex tablets daily" (HTLLAFB) so I get extra B12, folate, etc. But I will consider adding Sam-e.
And yes I know that Ed Park has a financial stake in TA-65. He freely admits it. He was the FIRST M.D. outside of TA Sciences to offer it, and he was so enamored with the company that he bet everything ($10 million) and lost it all on either stock or options of Geron Corp.
To me that is irrelevant to the basic issue of whether life can be extended past the biblical 120 year human limit (a limit to our maximum life span that current science happens to agree with.)
Re:In the body higher levels of HCY can, oxidize cholesterol which is the food for our cells and makes it rancid! Even our cells don‘t like rotten food!, breakdown endothelial cells, disrupted nerve actions, cause premature cellular apoptosis, breakdown muscle tissue and place the body in oxidative stress.
Message: Take Antioxidants.
But I wonder what defines "premature" cellular apoptosis? I was watching a Oil of Ole Regeneris commercial last night - promising to "rejuvenate" skin cells on the face. Before, i would think, okay give these aging cells vitamins, antioxidants, coq10, etc.
Now, I see that if the Ed Park Stem Cell theory is correct, the way to rejuvenate the face is counter-intuitive. It would be to KILL (causes apoptosis) of the facial skin cells! That is the way to get new cells, not try to preserve the aging cells.At normal levels it aides in natural muscle breakdown and rebuilding, carries oxygen to distant cells and helps cleanse the body of cells that have reached their end of the line, and takes out foreign or wayward cells.
So!!! No !!! the fire is not always lit only when the proper elements are missing does it become a fire that burns the fuse thru higher then normal levels.
Back to the basics. The fuse is ALWAYS burning. You are talking about the rate. EVERY TIME A CELL DIVIDES IT'S TELOMERES SHORTEN, apparently because it is not possible to correctly copy the entire DNA strand from end to end. Natural Shortening of telomeres is a function of cell division.
Telomerase can increase the length of these telomere base pairs, and the gene needed is turned on in stem cells, but not ordinary mortal somatic cells.
Apparently lobsters have the gene/telomerase activated in ALL cells (maybe that's why they taste so good
as apparently do some sea turtles and tortoises.
Owen; You do realize that the author of that book you are reading has a very heavy hand in the $ale of TA65. So it should be read like you read a sales pamphlet for a New Car, with a grain of Salt, as the saying goes.
And you do realize that those negative press articles you found are necessary to desensitize the public if the plan is to try and outlaw the sale of these substances (or turn them into drugs.) I still say there is an enormous amount of compact knowledge in the Park book. Maybe he raises more questions than answers, but although the Harvard lab experiments with animals did not show an increase in life span, (they were not looking for it), it did have a result similar to the Bruce Ames experiments with Carnitine and Alpha Lipoic Acid - making old rats younger. See Below.
Edit
References
1.Jaskelioff M, Muller FL, Paik JH, et al. Telomerase reactivation reverses tissue degeneration in aged telomerase-deficient mice. Nature. 2011 Jan 6;469(7328):102-6.
Life Extension Magazine wrote:
There is evidence that fish oil,4 vitamin D,5 carnosine,6-8 multivitamins,9 and healthy lifestyle choices10 may slow the rate of telomere shortening. This helps explain why people who take care of themselves and use the proper supplements enjoy such profound health benefits.2,11,12
What had not been proven, until now, is what happens if telomere length is substantially restored in already severely degenerated aged organisms.1
In the Nature study, prematurely aged mice developed degenerative problems such as shrinkage of organs, inability to produce sperm, and failure of their brains to produce new neurons or to maintain the structural integrity of the myelin sheath that protects existing neurons.1
As these degenerated mice neared death, researchers induced the re-activation of the enzyme telomerase. In response to telomerase re-activation, the telomeres at the end of their chromosomes lengthened.1
After only 30 days, there was a reversal of the degenerative changes in every system the researchers tested. The brains of the treated mice not only started growing new neurons, but began to thicken the protective myelin sheath surrounding existing neurons. As one of the researchers was quoted, they were able to “reverse neurodegeneration.” 1
The treated mice produced new viable sperm, their spleen atrophy and intestinal damage were reversed, and even their sense of smell was restored (indicating restored olfactory function in their brains).1
These mice initially were on the verge of dying, but went on to live a typical life span that was longer and healthier than could ever have been imagined considering the degenerative condition they were in at the beginning of the study. In humans, this would be like restoring the health and vigor of a sickly 80-year-old to that of a young adult!
Other studies (TA65)
Cells. 2013 Jan 14;2(1):57-66. doi: 10.3390/cells2010057.
Functional assessment of pharmacological telomerase activators in human T cells.
Molgora B1, Bateman R2, Sweeney G3, Finger D4, Dimler T5, Effros RB6, Valenzuela HF7.
Author information
Abstract
Telomeres are structures at the ends of chromosomes that shorten during cell division and eventually signal an irreversible state of growth arrest known as cellular senescence. To delay this cellular aging, human T cells, which are critical in the immune control over infections and cancer, activate the enzyme telomerase, which binds and extends the telomeres. Several different extracts from the Astragalus membranaceus root have been documented to activate telomerase activity in human T cells. The objective of this research was to compare two extracts from Astragalus membranaceus, TA-65 and HTA, for their effects on both telomerase and proliferative activity of human CD4 and CD8 T cells. Our results demonstrate that, TA-65 increased telomerase activity significantly (1.3 to 3.3-fold relative to controls) in T cell cultures from six donors tested, whereas HTA only increased telomerase levels in two out of six donors. We also demonstrate that TA-65 activates telomerase by a MAPK- specific pathway. Finally, we determine that during a three-day culture period, only the T cells treated with the TA-65 extract showed a statistically significant increase in proliferative activity. Our results underscore the importance of comparing multiple telomerase activators within the same experiment, and of including functional assays in addition to measuring telomerase activity.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=molgora+TA-65
1.
[b]A natural product telomerase activator as part of a health maintenance program: metabolic and cardiovascular response.
Harley CB, Liu W, Flom PL, Raffaele JM.
Rejuvenation Res. 2013 Oct;16(5):386-95. doi: 10.1089/rej.2013.1430.
PMID:
23808324
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Related citations
Select item 214264832.
The telomerase activator TA-65 elongates short telomeres and increases health span of adult/old mice without increasing cancer incidence.Bernardes de Jesus B, Schneeberger K, Vera E, Tejera A, Harley CB, Blasco MA.
Aging Cell. 2011 Aug;10(4):604-21. doi: 10.1111/j.1474-9726.2011.00700.x. Epub 2011 Apr 14.
Abstract
Here, we show that a small-molecule activator of telomerase (TA-65) purified from the root of Astragalus membranaceus is capable of increasing average telomere length and decreasing the percentage of critically short telomeres and of DNA damage in haploinsufficient mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) that harbor critically short telomeres and a single copy of the telomerase RNA Terc gene (G3 Terc(+/-) MEFs). Importantly, TA-65 does not cause telomere elongation or rescue DNA damage in similarly treated telomerase-deficient G3 Terc(-/-) littermate MEFs. These results indicate that TA-65 treatment results in telomerase-dependent elongation of short telomeres and rescue of associated DNA damage, thus demonstrating that TA-65 mechanism of action is through the telomerase pathway. In addition, we demonstrate that TA-65 is capable of increasing mouse telomerase reverse transcriptase levels in some mouse tissues and elongating critically short telomeres when supplemented as part of a standard diet in mice. Finally, TA-65 dietary supplementation in female mice leads to an improvement of certain health-span indicators including glucose tolerance, osteoporosis and skin fitness, without significantly increasing global cancer incidence.
© 2011 The Authors. Aging Cell © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
PMID:
21426483
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Free PMC Article
Related citations
Select item 208223693.
A natural product telomerase activator as part of a health maintenance program.Harley CB, Liu W, Blasco M, Vera E, Andrews WH, Briggs LA, Raffaele JM.
Rejuvenation Res. 2011 Feb;14(1):45-56. doi: 10.1089/rej.2010.1085. Epub 2010 Sep 7.
PMID:
20822369
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Free PMC Article
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A novel telomerase activator suppresses lung damage in a murine model of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.Le Saux CJ, Davy P, Brampton C, Ahuja SS, Fauce S, Shivshankar P, Nguyen H, Ramaseshan M, Tressler R, Pirot Z, Harley CB, Allsopp R.
PLoS One. 2013;8(3):e58423. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058423. Epub 2013 Mar 14.
PMID:
23516479
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Free PMC Article
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Select item 189811632.
Telomerase-based pharmacologic enhancement of antiviral function of human CD8+ T lymphocytes.Fauce SR, Jamieson BD, Chin AC, Mitsuyasu RT, Parish ST, Ng HL, Kitchen CM, Yang OO, Harley CB, Effros RB.
J Immunol. 2008 Nov 15;181(10):7400-6.
PMID:
18981163
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Free PMC Article
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Select item 182220633.
Reduced telomerase activity in human T lymphocytes exposed to cortisol.Choi J, Fauce SR, Effros RB.
Brain Behav Immun. 2008 May;22(4):600-5. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2007.12.004. Epub 2008 Jan 25.
PMID:
18222063
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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[/b].
Owen R. Fonorow, Orthopath® (Orthomolecular Naturopath)
® is a trademark of the Institute for Orthomolecular Studies