Sciencemadness Discussion Board

The first real anti aging medicine

Wolfram - 27-10-2004 at 12:31

The first real anti agning medicine as I see it has been developed by a company called Alteon. It works by preventing crosslinking of proteins by carbohydrates.

http://www.alteon.com/cross1.htm



[Edited on 27-10-2004 by Wolfram]
Edit by chemo: spelling

[Edited on 27-10-2004 by chemoleo]

JohnWW - 27-10-2004 at 14:33

The mechanism of ageing which that medicine is designed to combat may have something to do with the observation that severe (although not fatal) caloric restriction, through limiting consumption of carbohydrates to a minimum, lengthens the life of many laboratory animals by up to about 100%. But I read somewhere recently that the same effect can be obtained through raised consumption of resveratrol, the principal anti-oxidant in red wine.

Besides, crosslinking of proteins (as in DNA) by carbohydrates is not the only sort of undesired reaction that results in ageing through tissue loss, through cells being unable to reproduce beyond a certain numbe of divisions. The more common is crosslinking caused by free radicals, which various antioxidants can be used to prevent or reduce, the most powerful being selenium.

Even if tissue loss due to crosslinking preventing cell reproduction could be entirely prevented, a further limit is imposed by the shrinking with each cell division of the telomeres, which are protective endings on each end of DNA chains of amino-acids. If the telomeres completely disappeared, a cell would no longer be able to reproduce, and would die without dividing. New-born animals are supplied with telomeres of maximum length on their DNA strands, and their cells divide the most efficiently, because of both this and their low incidence of DNA protein cross-linking.

Tissue-loss ageing due to severe reduction in the length of the telomeres on DNA strand ends can be prevented only if the production of the enzyme telomerase in cells could somehow be switched "on", and kept "on". This enzyme can completely repair loss of telomere length. However, in nature it is found only in reproductive cells (eggs, sperm, and fetal cells), and in cancer cells, which latter reproduce indefinitely at a high rate without ever slowing down unless treated by various anti-cancer methods specific to various types of cancer cells (surgery, chemotherapy, radiation).

True immortality could therefore be only attained if (besides heavy use of antioxidants) the production of telomerase in normal adult cells could be switched "on", either repeatedly (if it turns "off" after a while) or else kept "on" permanently. A firm called Geron somewhere on the west coast of the USA is currently researching this.

Telomerase study

solo - 27-10-2004 at 16:55

Quote:
Controlled activation of telomerase in normal cells can restore telomere length and thereby increase the lifespan of cells without altering their normal function or causing them to become cancerous.

........read more about it.http://www.geron.com/showpage.asp?code=prodotta

[Edited on 28-10-2004 by solo]

Yes ofcourse..

Wolfram - 27-10-2004 at 17:10

Yes ofcourse A.G.E.-breakers is not a cure for aging in general if someone thinks that I actually thought that,
but they will be an important part in preventing age related deseases.
The telomere/telomerase path is not the way to go to interfere with general aging according to me but you maybee nead to think about it if you want to be older than 150.

For those of you who would get more information about "antiaging" I would recomend the www.imminst.com forums.

[Edited on 28-10-2004 by Wolfram]

[Edited on 28-10-2004 by Wolfram]