Hopes grow for anti-ageing drug

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

Here is a bit of very important information which shows for the first time a

pathway has been found to mop up free

radicals at source (the mitochondria). The implication are very wide spread and

the two supplements used are very

available and low cost. I already use both and will do further research to

determine the effective dose for humans.

Note the statement:

" The researchers estimate that the effect on the rats was the equivalent making

a 75 to 80-year-old person act

middle-aged. "

While I still believe a CRONing diet and exercise are highly effective in an

anti-aging protocol, this research is

exciting.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1827000/1827008.stm

Tuesday, 19 February, 2002, 00:09 GMT

Hopes grow for anti-ageing drug

Scientists have rejuvenated ageing rats by giving them a cocktail of dietary

supplements. The breakthrough raises hopes

that it might one day be possible to develop an anti-ageing drug for humans.

These old rats got up and did the Macarena

The researchers gave a combination of two natural chemicals available in health

food stores to the animals - which were

in the rat equivalent of their seventies. Lead researcher Dr Bruce Ames, of the

University of California at Berkeley,

said the results were astonishing. He said: " With the two supplements together,

these old rats got up and did the

Macarena. " The brain looks better, they are full of energy - everything we

looked at looks more like a young animal. "

The animals' memories were also significantly improved. The researchers

estimate that the effect on the rats was the

equivalent making a 75 to 80-year-old person act middle-aged.

Found in the body

The chemicals used in the experiment were acetyle-L-carnitine and alpha-lipoic

acid, both of which are normally found in

the body's cells and research like this provides the first step to developing

treatments that will help to improve

health in later life

Acetyle-L-carnitine is sold as an energy-booster and alpha-lipoic acid as an

antioxidant with anti-ageing effects. The

combination of the two chemicals has now been patented by the University of

California. A company set up to exploit the

patent, Juvenon, is already conducting human clinical trials.

Three research papers on different animal studies of the chemicals have been

published in the journal Proceedings of the

National Academy of Sciences. The studies probed the biochemical action of the

supplements, compared the behaviour of

old and young rats, and tested the memory of animals fed the compounds.

Cell power house

The researchers found that the two chemicals in combination have a positive

impact on mini-organs within the body's

cells called mitochondria. Mitochondria generate energy within the cells, and

research has suggested that their

deterioration is an important cause of ageing. The problem seems to be that the

very process of creating energy

generates molecules called free radicals, which have a deeply destructive effect

on the way cells work. The supplement

combination was found to mop up the free radicals in mitochondria. It also

boosts the activity of an enzyme fundamental

to the energy-creating process. The research also showed that mitochondria in

brain cells important to memory were less

damaged by radicals in animals fed the supplements.

Important research

Caroline Bradley, of the charity Research into Ageing, told BBC News Online that

the study was clearly important. She

said: " The big step forward is that they have found a way of getting

anti-oxidant into the mitochondria itself. Getting

past the mitochondrial membrane has been the main challenge. " She added that it

was early days for the research but

that it was the first step towards improving human health in later life.

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Good health & long life,

Greg ,

http://optimalhealth.cia.com.au