Longevity

Dr. Harvey Bartnof is the founder of the California Longevity & Vitality Medical Institute. -- Testosterone is naturally produced primarily through a man's testes. -- The hormone helps regulate bone density, fat distribution, muscle strength, red blood cell production, sex drive and sperm production,

Their data suggest that NF-κB inhibitors can mitigate cellular damage and could provide clinical benefit for degenerative changes caused by aging.

"Scientists have been able to grow working pituitary glands from embryonic stem cells from mice."

UCSF scientists are reporting several studies showing that psychological stress leads to shorter telomeres – the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes that are a measure of cell age and, thus, health. The findings also suggest that exercise may prevent this damage.

Health expert Dr. Andrew Weil offers advice on healthy aging and ways to live long and live well.

(University of California - San Diego) Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco and colleagues report a game-changing advance in stem cell science: the creation of long-term, self-renewing, primitive neural precursor cells from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) that can be directed to become many types of neuron without increased risk of tumor formation.

Watch as Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes you inside the operating room during a total knee replacement.

Sirtris Pharmaceuticals co-founder David Sinclair says that aging is a disease that can be treated.

Researchers in Canada have reportedly found a new way to transform human skin cells into blood cells. Jay Dow reports on what could be a medical breakthrough.

Maggie Rodriguez speaks with Dr. Jennifer Ashton about everyday health tips to boost longevity.

A healthy baby boy was born from an embryo that was frozen for almost 20 years.

The first human embryonic stem cell trial is under way for a patient that suffered a spinal cord injury.

Michael J. Fox says the argument over stem cell research was more over politics, not health.

Dr. Anthony Atala explains why he thinks that it could be possible that human beings can regenerate vital organs.

Anne Wojcicki of 23andMe talks about how genomic testing can give consumers an active voice in health care.

https://www.23andme.com/

Researchers found that two copies of the protein bind together to form what is called a "dimer," and how that dimer physically interacts with DNA, regulating how enzymes called telomerases access and lengthen the telomeres.

- "Cdc13 has a crucial support role in maintaining and lengthening telomeres," -- "..telomere lengthening is one of the ways cancer cells obtain their immortality."
- they are investigating the potential of small molecule inhibitors to serve as viable therapeutics against cancer by blocking telomerase and their related proteins.
- When the researchers introduced mutations into Cdc13 that prevented the protein from forming a dimer, it caused the telomeres to shorten, which would hasten the demise of the yeast cells.
- When they created mutations that prevented Cdc13 dimers from binding to DNA, it had the effect of excessively lengthening telomeres, an act the researchers attribute to the notion that Cdc13 helps regulate the ability of DNA-replication enzymes to access telomeres.

The number of times our cells can divide is dictated by telomeres, stretches of DNA at the tips of our chromosomes.

The act of preserving telomeres through telomerase is a hallmark of only certain cells, particularly those in developing embryos. In adults, telomerase is active in stem cells, certain immune system cells and, most notably, cancer cells. Understanding how telomeres keep our chromosomes – and by extension, our genomes – intact is an area of intense scientific focus in the fields of both aging and cancer.

"We know that disabling this protein in humans will most likely lead to senescence, which is of particular interest in cancer, because telomere lengthening is one of the ways cancer cells obtain their immortality."

- The researchers used a type of embryonic rat stem cells known as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to restore ovary function in experimental rats.
- Within two weeks, the rats who had been treated with stem cells had regained full ovarian function and after eight weeks their hormone levels were the same as the rats who did not have ovarian failure.

"This is proof of concept, and there is still a long way to go before we can apply this to women," -- "Nevertheless, this work holds out the possibility that women with premature ovarian failure might be able to bear a baby of their own." -- "What we have done is proven that we can restore apparently fully-functioning ovaries in rats. The next step is to look how these rats might reproduce,"

The first randomized, placebo-controlled U.S. clinical trial to assess the use of bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells (BMC) in patients after a ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI; severe heart attack) demonstrated a strong safety profile for this cell therapy, based on phase 1 results published in the September issue of the American Heart Journal.

- "The use of adult stem cells, derived from the patient's own bone marrow, presents a potential new type of therapy to benefit individuals after they suffer a heart attack,"
- "Also, these types of stem cells do not possess any of the ethical concerns of embryonic stem cell research."

Your body's pH, which stands for potential of hydrogen, plays a huge role in the proper functioning of cells and organs. Measured on a scale ranging from 0 to 14, a healthy pH helps to regulate normal cell production and healthy tissue throughout your body. Seven on the scale is considered to be neutral, with anything above that being alkaline pH (or basic) and anything below that being acidic. Normal body pH should be slightly alkaline at around 7.35, so when levels drop below 7 and dip into acidic pH, there begins to be a problem.

When you have an acidic pH reading, your body tries to return to a normal level of alkalinity. In order to get the base it needs, the body may "borrow" minerals and nutrients such as calcium and magnesium from bones, thereby weakening those bones. Acidic pH is believed to cause other issues such as:

- Fatigue and illness, Decreased cell energy, Low bone density, Stunted repair of cell damage, Limited ability of the body to destroy heavy metals, Hinder the ability to absorb important nutrients

VAXA

(Reuters) - Pluristem Therapeutics said early clinical trials show its placenta-derived cell therapy is safe and improves quality of life in patients with peripheral artery disease, or PAD.

- Pluristem harvests cells from the placenta after a woman gives birth, so there is no ethical issue on using embryos.
- "We have proved we can use the placenta as a source for a product that doesn't require a match between the donor and patient,"

Pluristem's clinical trials showed patients experienced improvement in bloodstream, pain and quality of life for six months following a 20-minute session of injections.

A team using StemCells Inc's nerve stem cells taken from aborted fetuses found that even a month after injury, the cells took up residence in the spine, proliferated and helped mice walk better.

- "These exciting results demonstrate an expanded window of opportunity for human neural stem cell intervention in spinal cord injury,"
- The cells migrated through the spine, grew and began to function -- 64% of the stem-cell-treated mice walked better, compared to 44% of mice treated with ordinary cells and 20% of placebo-treated mice.

About 1.25 million Americans have chronic spinal cord injuries. "This latest study provides additional evidence that the use of our human neural stem cells may be a viable treatment approach for them,".

The experts said they were particularly concerned about a firm in Germany called XCell-Center and about Beike, which offers stem cell treatments for a range of conditions including brain injury, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury and optic nerve damage.

- A spokesman for XCell said in a statement that its stem cell preparations are made from bone marrow and intended for "autologous" use, or use by patients from whom they came.
- Beike Biotech said in a statement that all its stem cells are administered by experienced physicians who work in and for leading hospitals in China.

Stem cells are standard treatments for leukemias and a few other genetic diseases, but their use in treating other conditions such as Parkinson's, spinal injury or optic nerve damage is as yet unproven.

"In an earlier study, we observed that middle-aged children of long-lived siblings have lower thyroid function compared to controls from the general population,"
"In the current study, we sought to assess whether in the generation of the long-lived siblings low thyroid function was related to enhanced survival of the parents of the siblings as well,"

After rating the longevity of these siblings' parents, the team analyzed the thyroid hormones in the siblings' blood. The two sets of values appeared to be strongly linked, supporting previous findings of heritability in decreased thyroid functioning and its relationship to long life.

CNN's Elizabeth Cohen discusses a woman who went against her doctors intial assesment and discovered tissue regeneration.

Chuck Murry, professor at the University of Washington, talks about his lab's research in regenerating new heart tissue out of stem cells.

- the building blocks of heart muscles, we can make the cells of blood vessels, connective tissue cells.
- progress in getting them to self assemble and organize a coherent tissue.
- we believe that by growing new heart muscle we can regress heart failure.
- we've shown that if we can transplant these in animals that have had a heart attack we can prevent them from developing heart failure.

Scientists in Romania say they have discovered a type of cell called telocites, which may be similar to stem cells.

- first found in the pancreases and then in 15 other organs.
- they hope that telocites can play a role in the regeneration and repair of the body because they are related to stem cells.

- Stem Cells harvested to repair achy joints.
- The cells start as one type and changed to another to treat arthritis, tendon, and ligament damage.
- 20% of the cases show no improvement, 1/3 of the dogs need treatment again in a year.

- Experts say it's time to recognize aging as a condition that can be treated and delayed.
- Because aging is not viewed as a disease scientists are hampered by regulators who license for diseases.
- By finding the genes thought to help determine longevity, scientists think they may be able to mimic their action to extend health span.

- Stem cells can be coaxed into becoming the hair cells deep inside the ears that are destroyed in hearing loss.
- 15 percent of Americans between 20 and 69, or 26 million people, have high frequency hearing loss caused by noise.

- ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis better known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
- The first FDA approved clinical trial of fetal stem cell in adults that is making history.

- Scientists in Germany and Switzerland found that an enzyme called COX-2 triggers development of fat cells to become brown fat, instead of white fat.
- Once activated by cold temperatures, brown fat burns calories faster than regular fat.
- Mice who were genetically engineered to produce high levels of COX-2 burned energy faster and were protected from obesity.

- The findings suggest that women with Parkinson's could serve as their own stem cell donors.
- The endometrial stem cells generate less of an immune system rejection and women shed them naturally every month.
- The researchers transformed stem cells into dopamine-producing nerve cells like those in the brain.
- Parkinson's is caused by the destruction of brain cells that produce dopamine, an important message-carrying chemical involved in movement.

(HealthDay News) - Researchers at the U.S. National Institutes of Health have discovered bone-generating stem cells in the spine, at the end of the shins and in cartilage-rich areas of other bones.
- "Now researchers can explore ways to harness these cells so that ultimately they might be used to repair damaged or malformed bone."
- The U.S. National Institutes of Health has more about http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/ stem cells.

- The differences in DAF-16 corresponded to differences in longevity, stress resistance and immunity between the four species, with higher levels of DAF-16 activity correlating to longer life, increased resistance and better immunity against some infections.

The key to repairing our tissues and growing new organs could be physical forces.
- The video shows scientists growing hearts, arteries, and bone linked to the stem cell need for physical forces.

Good large cholesterol is linked to inheritance but exercise increases and is linked to good cholesterol; diet is linked to reducing bad cholesterol. Calorie restriction which triggers the body’s survival mode response, stimulates the Sirtuin Genes, is linked to longevity but resveratrol also stimulates the Sirtuin Genes without the calorie restriction.
- Cholesterol; good large cholesterol has been linked to people living to 100 years old.
- Sirtuin Genes; kick in when the body is in survival mode and increase DNA repair and prevent cell death.
- Insulin; low levels are linked to longevity in research studies.

Experts are saying there is a possibility that the more bored you are the more likely you are to die early.
- people who reported being bored a lot were more likely to die young or earlier.
- social activity and exercise reduces boredom which helps people to live a longer life.

- You're the Life of the Party: Researchers speculate that their more resilient brains may be due to lower levels of cortisol--studies show that oversecretion of this "stress hormone" can inhibit brain cells' communication.
- You're a Flourisher: They have a positive outlook on life, a sense of purpose and community, and are healthier than "languishers"
- You Really Like Your Friends: "Good interpersonal relationships act as a buffer against stress," says Micah Sadigh, PhD

Chronic stress weakens the immune system and ages cells faster, ultimately shortening life span by 4 to 8 years, according to one study.

 Living For Ever: Scientists speak about different technologies to extend life

You're the life of the party
Outgoing people are 50 percent less likely to develop dementia, according to a recent study of more than 500 men and women age 78 and older from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. Participants also described themselves as not easily stressed.