The Map Magazine

The last year hasn’t been a good one for vitamin E.

Once considered a wonder supplement, an inexpensive and harmless pill that might prevent heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s, a flurry of recent clinical trials suggest it does none of those things.

Some even suggest there is a small chance it could be harmful in higher doses.

Yet while the oily little capsule apparently can’t keep people alive longer, it refuses to die, in part because in nearly every one of the recent negative studies some caveat or contradictory finding creates a glimmer of hope.

It also doesn’t hurt that the dietary supplement industry continues to promote vitamin E and offers experts to refute some of new research.

“It doesn’t go away,” said Edgar Miller, a vitamin E researcher and associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University. “Why does it keep selling when there are so many of these negative studies?”

The answer appears to be a combination of factors, including years of promising laboratory, animal and epidemiological studies; heavy promotion by the dietary supplement industry; and, more recently, contradictory findings within studies showing no overall benefit.

The required daily amount is 22 IU (international units). Many recent clinical trials have ranged from 300 IU to 2,000 IU.

Recent clinical trials of high-dose vitamin E have led some researchers to speculate that vitamin E in megadoses may increase the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, the bad kind.

When cholesterol is oxidated, it contributes to coronary artery disease.

There also is some concern that high amounts of vitamin E may displace other beneficial anti-oxidants from that average person’s diet.

Combining studies

Consider these recent studies: In November, a vitamin E bombshell was dropped by Johns Hopkins University researchers at an American Heart Association meeting.

They pooled 19 clinical trials of vitamin E involving 136,000 patients.

In 11 of the high-dose trials (400 IU or more), the risk of dying from any cause increased 4%, compared with people taking placebos.

Prior to that finding, vitamin E had been considered, at worst, harmless.

“People take anti-oxidants because they want to live longer,” said Miller, an associate professor of medicine. “What we showed is you don’t live longer.”

However, the analysis also suggested that lower doses of vitamin E (less than 150 I.U. a day) were associated with about a 2% reduction in deaths.

Researchers acknowledged several potential shortcomings in their study.

For instance, they noted that several of the high-dose trials involved people with various chronic diseases and may not apply to healthy individuals.

They also said the small size of several of the trials in the analysis and inconsistent reporting of health events prevented a detailed look at the effect of various doses of the vitamin.

“It’s a very flawed analysis,” said Julie Buring, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School who recently presented her own vitamin E research.

She also said the 4% increased risk of death was not “clinically meaningful” and could be a chance finding.

Women’s health study

On March 7, Buring and other Harvard scientists presented their own vitamin E study at the American College of Cardiology annual meeting.

Once again, the vitamin threw researchers a curve.

Analyzing data from the Women’s Health Study, a trial involving 40,000 women who got either 600 IU of vitamin E every other day or a placebo, researchers found that it provided no overall cardiovascular benefit such as reduction in heart attacks or strokes.

However, an analysis of a subgroup of women over 65 found a 26% reduction in cardiovascular events.

Buring said that although the finding was “intriguing,” it was not supported by previous research.

She added that it needs confirmation.

Adding even more confusion, the study found a statistically significant 24% reduction in cardiovascular deaths among all the vitamin E users.

Buring also questioned that finding because there was no overall reduction in strokes and heart attacks. She said it was possible that it was due to other cardiovascular causes such as arrhythmias or heart failure, but there was no reasonable biological explanation for that.

“People should look at that further, but it could be chance,” she said.

Buring concluded that vitamin E was neither harmful nor beneficial in preventing cardiovascular disease.

A surprise

About a week after the Women’s Health Study, another controversial vitamin E finding was presented.

The study involved 9,500 people aged 55 and older with vascular disease or diabetes who were followed for an average of seven years.

It found that 400 IU of vitamin E a day provided no protection against cancer or major vascular events such as heart attacks or strokes.

In addition, the study found a disturbing 13% increase in heart failure cases and 21% increase in heart failure hospitalizations.

That was the first time that vitamin E had been associated with an increased risk of heart failure, said lead author Eva Lonn, a professor of medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

“I am not convinced about the harm,” Lonn added.

Indeed, a recent small study of heart failure patients taking a cholesterol-lowering statin drug suggested that vitamin E actually increased the statin’s ability to improve blood vessel function and lower inflammation.

Lonn and the other researchers said a review of all heart failure events in large vitamin E clinical trials “is strongly recommended.”

Confounding the heart failure finding was what appeared to be a statistically significant 28% reduction in lung cancer cases, although in a secondary analysis of the data the benefit seemed to disappear.

“The numbers are small,” Lonn said. “We think it’s a chance finding.”

The researchers noted that other larger vitamin E trials showed no lung cancer benefit.

Alzheimer’s research

There still is some hope that vitamin E might help prevent Alzheimer’s disease, although in May a clinical trial of 769 patients with mild cognitive impairment found it was of no benefit in delaying the progression to Alzheimer’s.

In that trial, the patients took a mega dose 2,000 IU a day for up to three years, according to the findings in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Other vitamin E / Alzheimer’s trials are ongoing.

The anti-oxidant vitamin enthusiasm of the 1990s is being tempered by clinical trials, according to a JAMA editorial that accompanied the Women’s Health Study results.

“These hopes are now confined to modest expectations for specific disorders and there are concerns about adverse effects,” the editorial said.

Mike Freije from Health Shop
http://www.health-shop.com

http://www.health-shop.info

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Perhaps you first read riboflavin at the back of a cereal box. Perhaps you first encountered folic acid from your first grade science teacher. Perhaps you first heard balanced diet from your mom. All that and more compose Vitamin B which is a group of eight individual vitamins, often referred to as B vitamins or B-complex vitamins. Vitamin B promotes normal growth and development, treats anemia and some types of nerve damage, helps mental and nervous conditions, improves resistance to infection and disease, increases appetite and energy, and improves memory. Vitamin B is also essential for the breakdown of carbohydrates into glucose, breakdown of fats and proteins, muscles in the stomach and intestinal tract, skin, hair, eyes, mouth, and liver.

As mentioned earlier, Vitamin B is a group of eight individual vitamins. These vitamins are thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin, pyrodixine (B-6), folic acid (B-9), cyanocobalamin (B-12), panthotenic acid, and biotin.

Vitamin B1 or Thiamine is essential for the conversion of carbohydrates into simple sugars called glucose which produces energy. This Vitamin B is also essential for the proper functioning of the heart, muscles, and nervous system. Thiamine deficiency is rare but often occurs to alcoholics because alcohol oftentimes interferes with the absorption of Vitamin B thiamine through the intestines. There are also several health implications associated with being thiamine deficient. One is beriberi, a disease characterized by anemia, paralysis, muscular atrophy, and spasms in the leg muscles. Other disorders associated with being thiamine deficient is Wernicke’s encephelopathy which causes lack of coordination, Korsakoff’s psychosis which affects short-term memory. Being thiamine deficient can also affect the mouth resulting to increased sensitivity of the teeth, cheeks, and gums as well as cracks in the lips. Vitamin B thiamine can be found in whole-grain cereals, bread, red meat, egg yolks, and green leafy vegetables. High doses of thiamine has been found not to cause adverse health effects and excess of this water-soluble vitamin b can be excreted.

Vitamin B2 Riboflavin is important in the breakdown of carbohydrates, and fats and proteins. It is also significant in the maintenance of the skin and mucuous membrane, the cornea of the eye, and nerve sheaths. Riboflavin deficiency can cause skin disorders and inflammation of the soft tissue lining around the mouth and nose. It can also cause the eye to be hypersensitive to light. Like Thiamine, Riboflavin is found in whole grain products, milk, meat, and eggs. This is also excreted because it is a water-soluble vitamin although a little is stored in the kidney and liver.

Vitamin B3 Niacin, also known as nicotinamide, is important in metabolism as well as in the maintenance of healthy skin, nerves, and gastrointestinal tract. Niacin deficiency can result to a disease called pellegra. The symptoms of pellegra are sometimes called “Three Ds” - diarrhea, dermatitis, and dementia. The mouth is also affected by pellegra which causes the inside of the cheeks and tongue to become red and painful. Vitamin B3 can be found in dairy products, poultry, fish, lean meat, nuts, and eggs. Niacin can also be prescribed in higher doses as drugs to help lower cholesterol but this can cause side effects such as flushing of the skin , itching, headaches, cramps, nausea, and skin eruptions.

Vitamin B6 Pyridoxine which is also known as pyridoxal phosphate is used in the production of red blood cells and in the biochemical reactions involved in the metabolism of amino acids. It is also responsible in the synthesis of of antibodies in the immune system and helps maintain normal brain function. Vitamin B6 deficiency is rare except for alcoholics. It causes skin disorders, abnormal nervous system known as neuropathy, confusion, poor coordination, and insomnia. Inflammation of the lips, tongue and the rest of the mouth are oral symptoms of Vitamin B6 deficiency. Vitamin B6 can be found in organ meats, brown rice, fish, whole grains, fortified breads and cereals, and legumes.

Vitamin B9 Folacin is a Vitamin B-complex which interacts with Vitamin B12 for the synthesis of DNA which is important for all cells in the body. Folacin, a combination of Vitamin B12 and Vitamin C, is essential in the breakdown of proteins and production of red blood cells, tissue growth, and cell function. It also stimulates appetite and formation of digestive acids. Folacin deficiency causes anemia, stunted growth, and irritation of the mouth. Alcoholics, the malnourished, the poor, the elderly, and those who have certain illnesses are usually the ones found to be Vitamin B9 deficients.Vitamin B9 is found in legumes, citrus fruits, whole grain cereals, and green vegetables.

Vitamin B12 Cyanocobalamin like all other Vitamin B-complex is essential in the processing of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Vitamin B12 is also needed for maintenance of our nerve sheaths, activates amino acids during protein formation, and helps in the perpetuation of cells and fomation of new ones. One interesting thing about Vitamin B12 is that it cannot be absorbed by the body unless combined with mucoprotein made in the stomach. Once Vitamin B12 attaches to the mucoprotein, it travels in the small intestine to be absorbed by the body. Vitamin B12 deficiency is recurrently seen in strict vegetarians who do not take vitamin supplements. A deficiency can also cause pernicious anemia which in turn causes weakness, numbness of the extremities, and fever.

Pantothenic acid and biotin are the last two Vitamin B-complexes. Pantothenic acid is used in the breakdown of carbohydrates, lipids, and amino acids while biotin functions as a coenzyme in carboxylation reactions. There is no known disorder associated with pantothenic acid deficiency while deficiency in biotin can cause scaly dermatitis which is a skin disorder. Pantothenic acid is mainly found in meat, legumes, and whole-grain cereals while abundance of biotin is found in beef liver, mushrooms, and egg yolk.

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Note: This article may be freely reproduced as long as the AUTHOR’S resource box at the bottom of this article is included and and all links must be Active/Linkable with no syntax changes.

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Charlene J. Nuble 2005. For up to date links and information about vitamins, please go to: http://vitamins.besthealthlink.net/ or for updated links and information on all health related topics, go to: http://www.besthealthlink.net/

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For centuries on end, herbalists in Tibet and Mongolia have recommended small red berries called ‘Goji’ as a remedy for those suffering from a variety of problems. In fact, the people of Tibet and Mongolia hold a two-week annual festival in honor of the goji berry. Many of them have nicknamed the goji berry “happy berry” because in common folklore “to eat goji in the morning will lead to smiles all day”.

But respect for the goji berry isn’t confined to the foothills of Tibet and Mongolia. The goji berry has been used for hundreds of years as a tonic in Chinese medicine. During the Tang dynasty (A.D. 772-842), poet Liu Yuxi wrote a poem celebrating the nourishment of “body and spirit” brought about by the goji berry. Without a doubt, the people of this region of the world love the goji berry. But the goji berry’s introduction to the Western world is still fairly recent, so the berry remains a relatively unknown fruit for a large fraction of the world’s population. So what is a goji berry? And why is it so loved?

What is a goji berry?

The term goji berry technically refers to the Tibetan goji berry, also known as Lycium Barbarum (its Latin name). It is a member of a family of flowering plants known as the Solanaceae, a plant family which also includes within its ranks potatoes, tobacco, and tomatoes. Roughly eighty different varieties of lycium berry exist, including the Chinese Wolfberry (often touted by Chinese healers as a cure for male sexual dysfunction). However, the Chinese Wolfberry is only considered a genetic cousin of Lycium Barbarum and not a true goji berry.

Goji berries grow on small green-leafed vines that yield a bright red fruit with a shape most resembling a raisin. The berries are extremely delicate, and during harvest, they are shaken from the vine rather than being picked. To avoid spoiling, they are slowly dried in the shade. The texture of a goji berry is very chewy, and its taste is often described as a cross between a raisin and a cranberry. Several additional names are used to describe the goji berry, such as happy berry, gouqi, and gou qi zi.

What makes the goji berry so potent?

Goji berries are believed to be a rich source of vitamins and nutrients with each goji berry purported to contain 18 different amino acids and vitamins B1, B2, B6, C, and E. It is believed that goji berries contain more beta carotene than is found in carrots of equal size. And the goji berry is touted as one of the richest sources of vitamin C in the world, trailing only the Australian billygoat plum and the South American camu camu. Goji berries are also believed to contain zinc, iron, calcium, phosphorus, selenium, and germanium in varying quantities. As a rich source of many of the vitamins and minerals essential to nutrition, goji berries are filled with antioxidants.

The unique properties endemic to the Tibetan goji berry make it one of the more fascinating fruits on Earth. As consumption of the goji berry grows in popularity in other parts of the world, our knowledge of the plant itself is certain to increase. Until then, do yourself a favor and enjoy a delicious goji berry!

Britt Gillette is author of two books. He also educates people on the many benefits of Himalayan Goji Juice.

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Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects mainly children of school age, about 3% to 5% of the population. It is also known as Hyperactivity and typically symptoms include the child not being able to sit still, inattention, disruptive behaviour, restlessness, feverish excitement, screaming fits, hysteria, impulsivity, hyperactivity, emotional problems, lack of social skills and learning disabilities. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms can appear before two years of age but usually it is before five years of age. Boys are more affected than girls, 40% of cases of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are grown out of by puberty but cases do continue into adolescence and adulthood causing problems with concentrating, insomnia and excessive thirst.

To combat the ADHD and hyperactive behaviour, start your child on a diet that is free from aspirin containing foods, artificial food colourings and flavours, preservatives, sugar and salt which can lead to hyperactivities in children. Keep to organic food in the diet and include wholegrain foods, seafood and legumes which are high in zinc. It is also recommended to take zinc as a supplement as children with ADHD tend to be lacking in this mineral. Boys especially need extra zinc around puberty. As well as sugar, omit artificial sweeteners especially aspartame and foods containing them, as these tend to make symptoms worst. Avoid products that contain salicylates such as suntan lotion, certain toothpastes and soap. I would also suggest that the child should drink plenty of bottled mineral water to keep them well hydrated.

During pregnancy, the mother should increase her intake of essential fatty acids (EFAs) of omega-3 and omega-6. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in oily fish such as salmon, trout, herring, mackerel, sardines and pilchards, omega-6 fatty acids are found in plant oils such as seeds, nuts, dark green leafy vegetables and whole grains. The pregnant mother should not smoke during pregnancy and try to avoid exposure to lead and other heavy-metal exposures.

The following supplements may help if your child is suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Essential fatty acids - Omega 3 and omega 6

Evening primrose oil

Iron (for deficiency only)

L-carnitine

Magnesium

Vitamin B6

Zinc B vitamins

Stewart Hare C.H.Ed Dip NutTh

Advice for a healthier natural life

Website: http://www.newbeingnutrition.com

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Vitamin C is a well-known antioxidant which protects the skin from UV radiation damage. It can actually reverse some of the damaging effects of the disease. Excessive exposure to the sun and UV radiation causes photo aging (”age spots” caused by the sun), which causes oxidative damage in skin cells. This is characterized by wrinkles, laxity, irregular coloring and appearance of brown spots, and a leathery quality.

Research studies have shown that presence of Vitamin C in tissues reduces this damaging effect on skin. In addition to being an antioxidant, it is also well known for collagen production. Collagen also enhances skin resilience, working as an anti-wrinkling agent for the skin. Vitamin C Creams have been an excellent antidote against skin damage. Essentially, Vitamin C reverses some of the cumulative skin damage from sun exposure. Some of the Vitamin C Creams can also be used as an aid to sunscreen protection. The chemical in this vitamin transforms itself under UV light exposure, creating an anti-inflammatory reaction, thereby reducing sunburn. In addition, since it gets absorbed in the skin, it is washed off by water or perspiration.

As a word of caution, using too much Vitamin C Cream can cause irritation. Always test a small area on your skin before you buy a product in the store. Ideally, try to use high-quality, natural and hypoallergenic products, and keep yourself restricted to the dosage recommendations.

Regular usage of Vitamin C Cream can actually slow down the aging process of your skin and retain your juvenile look for more years!

Vitamin C provides detailed information about vitamin C, benefits of vitamin C, topical vitamin C, vitamin C creams and more. Vitamin C is the sister site of Frequent Sinus Infections.

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Biological clock

Obviously you need biological clock to time and alarm the point when you need to die and when you need to age. Aging is the same death as in those one-day butterflies, but a little bit prolonged one. Not immediate kill but gradual shut down of protection mechanisms - immunological, genetical repair, and just other necessary functions of proliferation. As soon as those functions turned off - an organism starts to deteriorate and wear off.

Interesting that our organism is not a static thing. We probably replace all molecules in our body within relatively short period of time. Obviously water is replaced completely every couple months. Water is 60% of our body. Other molecules are replaced as well. Thus, human being is just some unstable chemical organisation around genetical information. Molecules swirl and disappear like crazy. DNA in cells maybe is not changed so fast, but the cells themselves change quickly in most of cases. There is no need to age just because of wearing.

Biological clocks are necessary and there is no doubt they exist.

The theories of aging that consider death as a sequence of events caused by external causes - like oxidations and accumulation of genetical errors should anyway include the idea of Internal Biological Clock as well. Simple example is menopause in women. Somewhere at 40-55 all women undergo menopause. Unavoidable. Though there were reports of childbirth at 60 yo but considering one chance in billions, it is just a joke. Males have their equivalents too. All people after certain age change their immunological, hormonal, metabolic levels and so on. Majority of organs decrease their function . Thymus involute. Fat cells overgrow others, muscle cells degenerate etc. The same happens to all other multicellular animals and plants.

Now the real question: Is it possible to break the biological clock or at least slow down and rejuvenate?

Possible methods of rejuvenation.

1. Telomeres lengthening and other genes regulation.

Several genes that might play role in aging described recently. Telomerase encoding genes are the most discussed. In theory, if we lengthen the telomeres (these are the ends of chromosomes that are shortened with each division by very interesting mechanism), we could overcome cell tendency to lose ability for proliferation. Hence, we have “immortal cells”. Hence, immortality or at least longevity is reached - cells divide indefinitely and repair organism. Basically, to restore telomeres length we need to activate production of or to introduce into the cell an enzyme named telomerase. To reach each cell in the body we would use viral vectors or smallRNA. Working with virus production and then cell transduction I would say it is difficult, very difficult. There are too many obstacles to use them efficiently. SmallRNAs would be more promising. In any case, when you go from theory to practice problems rise exponentially. Biggest question: will it work? Immortal cell (cell which is able to divide indefinitely) does not mean immortal body. One of the outcomes would be uncontrollable cell growth and, hence, cancer. Actually scenists discuss telomeres mostly in connection with cancer. They are very cautious saying about the rejuvenation. Mass media extrapolates the findings to possibility of longevity and further rejuvenation.

My guess would be that telomeres are some of the “final cogwheels” in the Internal biological clock. It is useful to divide the clock on intracellular and whole body levels just for understanding. But in reality the levels are not separable, they continue one into another. It is easy to understand that intracellular production of any protein, any enzyme depends on transmembrane regulation. Hormones activate receptors that activate DNA transcription and protein production. Other genes that play role in cellular aging are described recently as well. I do not know how to use this method at present time

2. Hormone replacement.

When I studied in med school, several time I met mentions about hormonal side effects that cause a person to look much younger. Well known for example are: If a woman in menopause suddenly resumes menstrual cycles and looks younger than her age, we might suspect an ovarian Tumour producing excess of estrogen. If a person has thyrotoxicosis - excess of hormone thyroxine - he/she loses weight and looks much younger Persons with manic phases of bipolar disorder look younger, more energetic. Certain hormones - corticosteroids for example - might be increased or decreased in elderly. Couples that look younger were shown to have increased level of sexual relationships. Again, that supposedly should significantly change the hormonal levels.

If we give a person some of those synthetic hormones - estrogen, thyroxine - we can sometime reproduce the younger looks.

It is not the same as plastic surgery or skin creams and massages. It invigorates whole body. Skin as well. There is heavy price - recent debates are waxing and waning - if estrogen replacement increases or decreases risks of cancers (uterine, breast, ovarian etc.) Thyroxine excess takes heavy tall on cardiovascular system. Psychiatric disorders (mania for example) was linked to ceratin changes in neurotransmitter levels. Certain psycho tropic drugs change the ratios. Supposedly they can be employed for rejuvenation. Unfortunately, you would rather receive a psychosis than younger look.

On internet you can find massive information about hormones that rejuvenate you. I saw some websites that list practically any major hormone:

• estrogen

• androgens

• corticosteroids

• growth hormone

• thyroxine

• DHEA

• melatonin

• and some others as a drug that leads to rejuvenation.

The websites often have references to scientific literature. Most of the websites just sell you those hormones or offer courses of hormone therapy.

My personal opinion would be that blind replacement can cause more harm than lead to any desired rejuvenation.

Useful information that I would extract from the item is that A) Practically every hormone in the body is involved. B) Certain means of rejuvenation are actually documented. That gives hope.

I do not use hormones personally. If I would employ them, I would use them in very small quantities to mimic physiology and in special controlled conditions that I will describe below. The doses that are used in regular therapy are actually way to high compare to the natural levels of a healthy organism.

3. Antioxidant therapy.

As we discussed, in the best case antioxidants are the method for longevity, not rejuvenation. I use mega-doses of antioxidants available over the counter. I use only those that I consider safe. I have a lot of doubts they give measurable effect. Anyway I use them. Would not throw away.

4. Caloric restriction.

I use it as well. 60% of regular meal - is way to much - you would barely move your feet. I regulate it. My opinion: if you increase your activity, you can eat more. Just balance your food and motions. Though I might be wrong.

5. Hypothalamic regulation.

This is scary level. Hypothalamus is the area of your brain that sits on the base of your skull. Why do we discuss hormones above? Well, hypothalamus contains hundred of centres that regulate your metabolism and first of all, hormonal status. Studies of hypothalamus are complicated - mostly there are postmortem studies of brain sections. To perform functional study you need to use micro-neurosurgical techniques (still very rude) and try to register changes in a hundred or so cells out of several billions. Changes would include minuscule production (nano and Pico grams) of poorly defined neurotransmitters. The infinitely small quantities of those neurotransmitters are produced by only few out of hundreds cell connections and exist only several nanoseconds. In general to study this area is more difficult than to look for a needle in a haystack. If you consider that there are only few centres have appropriate expertise, you would understand why the progress is relatively slow. Even fewer labs study rejuvenation. Though there were reports that transplantation of hypothalamic tissue from younger animals to older could result in rejuvenation-like effect.

I mention this level because A) hypothalamus regulates production of bunch of intermediate messengers that in turn activate hypophysis, that activate adrenal glands, ovaries, thyroid gland etc (maybe many other areas in th body) that in turn produce the hormones discussed above. (Full description you could find in a textbook of Endocrinology) B) because of complexity of hypothalamus it is a good candidate were a “supreme cogwheel” of biological clock may reside. One hint would be proximity of epiphysis - small pea-like gland that produce melatonin and regulates circadian rhythms. It would not be surprise that all that is interconnected in the hypothalamus. One of objection - what is about worms? They do not have hypothalamus as it is. But they age and die as well as humans. Explanation would be that worms also have nervous system and some other part of it may play the central role in the biological clocks. Another explanation would be that there is no such centre at all, everything happens on the lower levels.

I was interested in methods of rejuvenation since childhood. Maybe I read too many science fiction. When I was in medschool a saw some mentions of unusual phenomenon in magnetic radiation. To make story short, eventually I found a book - 400 pages of fine script. I found the book in Central Medical Library in Moscow. Even our relatively large library in Russian State Med U did not have this book. In addition I read the dissertation thesis, that were related to that book. Several Russian scientists developed relatively complicated theory, done many hundreds of experiments. Theory is a little bit complex, involves discussion of stress and adaptation syndrome. Obviously hypothalamic area also discussed. I am not big fan of that theory. But result the authors described were striking: they were able to restore menopause in rats, prolong rats life span almost twice and more important repeat it again and again. By the description from the book “rejuvenated rats” looked the same as young, but were just bigger in size. Well, you saw a lab rat, you know that older rats have rare hair, bleak eyes, are in menopause etc. Young rat, in opposite, would have bright red eyes, very sleek hair, menstruations, etc. This is no surprise - all growth of hair, production of oil by skin, production of moisture in lacrimal glands and so on are regulated by the hormones. The same is true for rats as well as for humans.

Authors described the methods that they found mostly empirically. Moreover they tested some methods on humans and described treatment of variety of diseases - asthma, gastritis, peptic ulcers, low grade skin cancers (non-melanoma) just to name few. As I understand they did not describe rejuvenation in humans. Though later there were some mentions in literature. Authors describe zones of activation, training and stress. In general the methods are difficult to apply - they require permanent control of organism condition for many months, maybe years. Control of hormonal level and control of blood work. In addition parameter would vary from individual to individual. In modern medicine it is much faster and more reliable to cut out skin cancer with knife or give powerful proton pump inhibitors for a gastric ulcer.

I realized that I used some of the methods described, even before I read that book. Since then I added some more methods for my own use. Mostly I use the methods that I feel safe and efficient. For example transplanting of hypothalamus would be out of question. It is a wacking unsafe procedure. Recently there were reports that DHEA, melatonin or other hormones could make miracles: older people feel as young. I would wait confirmation of the effects. Some authors suggest rejuvenation may be reached by individually designed cocktails of hormones. I would think that any hormone given makes more mess than regulation. Practically every hormone described have loops and pathways that prevent overproduction. If you just replace the hormones by giving the substitute, you wack the production of your own hormones those that injected as well as many others. All hormones are complexly interrelated. Individual cocktails would be better, but the doses described in literature are wacking. Again I might be wrong. Maybe everything is so simple - just get cocktail and you will jump as a newborn bunny.

Considering different information from different sources, I would propose following theory:

To rejuvenate yourself you need to recreate the hormonal and metabolic level of young organism.

This is actually very difficult to reach: your organism have all the means to produce all the necessary hormones. Levels of hormones in elderly are not so far from the levels in youth actually. The difference is several percentages, not several folds. But biological clock switch to underproduction. The idea is to cheat the biological clock and to restore the youth levels. The most difficult part is to get into the window of optimal production. You can not go too low - just wouldn’t have any effect on rejuvenation. You can not go above the optimal level - it will cause stress and even more deterioration. So approach is very individual. There is no quick effect - you can not rejuvenate from looking 50 to looking 30 overnight. You really need a lot of commitment and time. The methods which you choose are not of so great importance. Practically any action toward your body would cause changes in your metabolic and hormonal status. Physical exercise, herbs, yoga, hormones (low doses) etc - we could list thousands.

Personally I used available antioxidants, slight caloric restrictions, herbs (some of substances in herbs like ginseng, Echinacea, etc mimics hormones in their chemical structure), self-hypnosis, neurolinguistic programming (NLP), auto-training, different exercises, lactic bacteria, etc. Important is the ability to adjust the level of treatment - reduce the dose of herbs or increase dose of exercise etc.

Methods of control are of much great importance. The described methods include measurement of hormonal level and of certain fractions of cells in the blood work(that is also regulated by hormonal and metabolic reactions)

If I would have a clinic of rejuvenation therapy I would probably use many of those methods - they are objective and reproducible. But they require blood work.

For individual use there some subjective methods exist. They are described in literature as: If you are in the condition of rejuvenation you feel great energy, hunger, restlessness. Your sleep would be normalised, you are fighting regular infections much more efficiently - inflammatory reaction might be exaggerated, but they last shorter time. Your eyes would glisten as in youth. You will feel constant euphoria and need in doing something. There are some other subjective criteria. Personally, I would add: you will notice that your nails and hair grow like crazy in those conditions.

The biggest problem is how to hold in this condition of rejuvenation for a prolonged period of time. You really can not go overboard - super activation would just wack all your system. You can not go under activation - just no any useful effect. You need to get it is just right. Solution is tight, continuos control. Boy, it’s really tough in the modern stressful environment (would not describe all the junk that I had in recent years), but it is possible. Dedication is your solution. Some formulas to calculate doses of stimuli are described in the literature, but I feel it is easier to go with individual subjective feelings. Below there is an animation that contains some simple elements of NLP and might help to tune a brain a little.

Now, what did I get by using those methods? Well not much, but I hope for more. At present time I am 35 yo I do not really have good control group in my personal experiment. Sometime people asked me if I am younger than my brother (He is younger than me for several years). Maybe it is some sort of control group. When I come into a bar (can not say often, maybe once in a year with friends) waiter often asks my ID. It is funny also because I do not use alcohol. So, to drink a Coke I need to show ID, being 35 yo. Sometime people ask me are you 18 or 19 When I played water polo at Yale, undergrads told me they thought I was freshman (as I guess also 18 or 19). That time I was 33. Teenagers often start to talk to me in the way if I am another teenager. And so on.

So, in general it is really hard to measure rejuvenation. All measurements are mostly subjective. Even in well designed scientific trial you find either some description of biochemical changes (which doesn’t say you anything about rejuvenation as it is) or some subjective descriptions - “patients felt much better, felt rejuvenated and invigorate”. How much rejuvenated? How many years were reversed? It is very difficult to estimate. If I say to a person that I have MD and PhD, he says “aha”. Mentally they immediately adjust and now they say that I am probably 30. OK. Sometime they just say: you look so young.

Again 35 is not the age where you really can brag that the methods worked. I would wait couple more decades to say that there was measurable effect. Unfortunately. You do not have the right for a mistake. If a method did not work , you can not go back and change it. You already are behind for several years.

But my personal, subjective feeling is that the methods do work. I believe that it is possible by tight control maintain the level of younger organism. It just requires a lot of work.

Below there is animation that might help to tune in the desired “optimal rejuvenation condition”. Animation requires Flash file player I use that animation for myself. I doubt that it will necessarily help you. Maybe 1 out of 10. If you are not sure, don’t’ touch it. The animation contains some simple NLP information.

Animation

Basically looking at the animation couple times a week for 5 min should start the tuning process (at least I feel so). You should target at the condition when you feel inexhaustible energy, euphoria, normalized sleep, and some feelings that is hard to describe - like a fine tingling in your fingertips, subjectively it feels like a pouring energy. It is difficult to explain, but when you feel you understand it. If you do not feel anything, it means it did not work, forget it.

So to finish I would say that Rejuvenation is difficult but probably possible to reach - at least in a certain degree. A.K.2004

About The Author

Aleksandr Kavokin, MD,PhD

http://www.geocities.com/aging_rejuvenation/

http://www.geocities.com/usmle_test

aging_rejuvenation@yahoo.com

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