Health

Several important criteria were considered in evaluating these drugs.
The first is whether there is any evidence that the drug has extended mean and/or maximum lifespan in laboratory animals.
The problem with this measure is that there have been relatively few lifespan studies conducted with potential anti-aging therapies.
For example, there is evidence that deprenyl, melatonin, and centrophenoxine can extend lifespan in animals,
but this evidence (except in the case of deprenyl) is sparse and far from definitive.
Two other factors in our analysis are availability and affordability.
Some drugs were lower on our list than they might have been because they are costly and difficult to obtain.
For example, we have omitted potential anti-aging drugs such as low dose RU-486 because of the difficulty in obtaining it for clinical use.

What are the most Important life extension drugs?
In considering this list, it is important to understand that all the drugs included on the list are there because there is solid evidence that they have significant benefits for health and longevity.
It's also important to note that new findings about these drugs are pouring into our offices at an unprecedented rate, which could lead us to change our opinion about the order of the list at any time.

10:SYNTHETIC HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE
Increases: muscle mass, strength, flexibility, coordination.
Injections of synthetic human growth hormone have been used by geriatric physicians to rejuvenate aging men.
Growth hormone deficiency is a major cause of the decline in immune function and protein synthesis with advancing age in both muscle and neurologic tissues.
Recent findings suggest that growth hormone may be an effective treatment for early-stage Alzheimer's disease as well as early senile dementia caused by a decline in brain cell energy metabolism.
We will soon be reporting on clinical benefits reported with growth hormone therapy in both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's patients.
If growth hormone were not artificially overpriced because of the FDA restriction of its sale in the United States, we might have placed it higher on our list.
It doesn't cost any more to synthesize growth hormone than it does to synthesize insulin.
Without FDA interference, most aging Americans could easily afford injections of growth hormone in an attempt to slow aging.
The need to inject growth hormone also limits the availability of this highly potent life extension drug.
The current cost of synthetic human growth hormone ranges from $12,000-225,000 annually.

9: PIRACETAM
Improves: short-term memory, overall cognitive function.
It is the most frequently used offshore drug for these purposes.
There are more than 800 published studies documenting the ability of piracetam to promote youthful neurologic function, including enhanced cellular protein synthesis and interhemispheric and intercellular communication.
Stroke victims might avoid paralysis and death if given drugs like piracetam after entering the hospital.
Even in patients who suffered stroke-induced brain cell injury years ago, there is evidence that piracetam may help to improve the functioning of these damaged cells.
Piracetam can be ordered from Europe.
If we succeed in abolishing the FDA, piracetam, like every other drug and nutrient product you buy, will be reduced immediately in price by at least 50%.

8: DHEA
Improves: adult-onset diabetes, atherosclerosis, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's disease, autoimmune disease (multiple sclerosis, lupus)
Because of some recently published studies in elderly humans, the news media have been touting the multi-faceted anti-aging benefits of DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone).
DHEA is now fulfilling much of the promise indicated in the animal studies that Saul Kent and The Life Extension Foundation have been informing our members about since 1975.
DHEA can be expensive for people who need high doses, but for most people it is reasonably priced.
We recommend blood tests to measure the effect that DHEA supplementation has on your DHEA serum level.
While these tests currently cost $55-$110, they can save you money by enabling you to lower your daily dose of DHEA.
Men should also have more regular PSA (prostate specific antigen) tests to make sure they do not have prostate cancer.
It is regrettable that we have had to advise men with prostate cancer to avoid DHEA because it could increase testosterone (and subsequently dihydrotestosterone levels), which could accelerate the proliferation of prostate cancer cells.
For all men taking DHEA, we suggest supplementation with SERENX to block the conversion of testosterone into the more dangerous dihydrotestosterone.
SERENX (also called PERMIXON, SAW PALMETTO EXTRACT)
has not been listed in the top ten because it is not an appropriate therapy for most women.
However, for men over 40, we strongly recommend the daily intake of 1-2 capsules of low cost SERENX to prevent benign prostatic hypertrophy and possibly prostate cancer.
If DHEA was completely free of side effects, and did not require blood testing, we might list it higher.
It is a well substantiated life extension therapy that can help to protect us against many of the degenerative diseases associated with aging, and may have an effect on aging itself.

7: VINPOCETINE and/or HYDERGINE
Brain Enhancement
- Enhances: intelligence, memory, learning, and recall, serotonin, brain cell metabolism, brain glucous, ATP
- Increases blood supply and oxygen to the brain
- Protects the brain from damage from low oxygen
- Prevents free radical damage in brain cells
- Slows lipofuscin (age pigment) in the brain
- Stops blood from becoming sticky
These two drugs provide a wide range of anti-aging effects in brain and other cells that you cannot easily obtain with any other therapy.
Vinpocetine is rather expensive (at 20-40 mg a day), which is one reason we don't list it any higher.
Vinpocetine has been on the world market since the early 1980s, but as far as we know, has yet to be entered in the FDA's new drug approval quagmire.
The cost of this periwinkle herbal extract would be very little if the FDA didn't interfere with the shipment of drugs from overseas companies.
We are currently seeking a standardized periwinkle extract that we could sell as a low cost nutrient just as we do with acetyl-l-carnitine and melatonin.
Hydergine is more affordable at effective dose ranges of 4 to 12 mg a day.
Most generic brands of ergoloid mesylate are comparable to the Sandoz "Hydergine" brand.
If money is no object, you should consider ordering Vinpocetine from Europe.
Cost conscious members should stay with Hydergine.

6: LIFE EXTENSION DRUG GH3 or KH3
Active agent: Procaine. Suppresses monoamine oxidase (MAO) levels.
Elevated MAO destroys the essential neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine.
Procaine is an anti-aging compound discovered in the 1950s by Romanian physician Ana Asian.
GH3 or KH3 also suppress elevated serum cortisol levels, which has been linked to several of the degenerative diseases of aging.
There are better cortisol suppressing therapies such as low dose RU486, but at this time, RU-486 is not available to Americans.
GH3 and KH3 can be taken every day including the days you take deprenyl, which is a selective MAO inhibitor.
An appropriate dose of these drugs is one to two GH3 or KH3 tablets daily.
Some doctors believe you should take a five day break from these drugs once a month to avoid too much monoamine oxidase suppression, but our review of the scientific literature does not support the need for taking such a break.

5: CENTROPHENOXINE
Has extended the lifespan of laboratory mice
Lifespan studies have documented specific anti-aging properties for the combination of DMAE and p-chlorophenoxyacetate, the two active ingredients that make up centrophenoxine, a potent life extension drug sold under several names, including Lucidril.
Centrophenoxine has extended the lifespan of laboratory mice and has been shown to reduce a type of cellular debris called lipofuscin (aging pigment) in the neurons that populate our brain and central nervous system.
The excessive accumulation of lipofuscin with advancing age has been linked to age-related neurologic diseases.
Centrophenoxine speeds up information processing in the brain and enhances brain cell uptake of glucose.
Brain cells use glucose to produce the energy they need to perform their neurological functions and to maintain cell viability.
Some People cannot tolerate even one tablet a day of centrophenoxine, while others can take 1-4 tablets a day and experience dramatic cognitive and energy enhancing effects.
Centrophenoxine can be ordered from Europe at affordable prices.

4: PHOSPHATIDYLSERINE
hmmm
Phosphatidylserine (PS) is sold as a drug in Europe at outrageously high prices.
The standardized PS extract now available as a dietary supplement is less expensive than the European "drug", but is still a pricey item.
We have written extensively about the anti-aging benefits of PS later in this September edition of Life Extension Update and want to reiterate that PS may produce a cumulative effect that could enable people to reduce their dosage of the drug after attaining the desired cognitive enhancing benefits.
Standardized PS extract is contained in the new COGNITEX and is available in bottles of 100 mg soft-gel caps.

3: DEPRENYL (Eldepryl)
Has produced dramatic life extension effects in animals.
Deprenyl alone will not do as well in humans.
The reason for this is that in rats, the elevation of monoamine oxidase (MAO) plays a greater role in the aging process than in humans.
Deprenyl is a potent, selective inhibitor of MAO-B, the type of MAO that damages brain cells during "normal" aging.
Life Extensionists take deprenyl to help prevent Parkinson's disease and the symptoms of aging that are very similar to those suffered by Parkinson's patients.
There is solid evidence that deprenyl protects many types of brain cells from premature aging and death.
There is also evidence that deprenyl boosts cellular production of SOD and catalase, the natural antioxidant enzymes that are depleted in aging.
Our current protocol calls for 2-5 deprenyl tablets (5 mg) a week for those in their 40s.
The older you are, the more deprenyl you should take, but it is advisable not to take more than one 5-mg tablet (or capsule) of deprenyl a day unless you have the early symptoms of Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease.
In this case, you should take 10 mg of deprenyl a day under the supervision of a physician.

2: ACETYL-L-CARNITINE
Beneficial to heart muscle cells, immune function, enhances energy production in every cell of the body.
There are too many new studies appearing in the scientific literature about acetyl-l-carnitine for life extensionists not to take this enhanced amino acid compound
It enters the blood stream and penetrates cell membranes more effectively than regular I-carnitine.
The multi-faceted benefits of acetyl-l-carnitine in brain cells makes it the single most important supplement we can take to maintain and improve overall neurological function.
Acetyl-l-carnitine has been shown to improve neurological function even after we stop taking it, suggesting that acetyl-l-carnitine may re-program neuronal and neurotransmitter functions to enable the brain to function in a more youthful, energetic state.
We suggest that healthy members go on at least two 50-day cycles (2 capsules each day) of acetyl-l-carnitine supplementation every year.
If you can afford to take acetyl-l-carnitine more often, this should produce greater benefits.

Acetyl-l-carnitine can be ordered by calling 1-800-841-5433.

1: MELATONIN
Protects against neurological aging.
It may protect against every age-related disease known to mankind.
Other uses are for insomnia, and jet lag.
Melatonin is the most documented anti-aging therapy in the world.
It is a highly potent antioxidant, has been shown to protect against various forms of cancer, and has extended lifespan in laboratory animals.
Melatonin has also been used by physicians at high doses as an effective treatment for a wide variety of diseases.
There has been no evidence of toxicity in any of the published studies of melatonin that we have seen.
Melatonin costs very little (less than $5 a month).
People who do not suffer from insomnia take at least a 1 mg of melatonin every night.
There are some people who should not take melatonin.
Here are the conditions where melatonin might be contraindicated: children, pregnant women, people under 30, people with seasonal affective disorders (SAD), schizophrenics, those with ovarian or immune system cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma

APIRIN (salicylic acid)
Prevents: Heart Attacks, Strokes.
75% of Americans die from heart attacks and strokes.
81mg is sufficient to protect against heart attacks and strokes.
Consuming over 2600mg a day can produce serious side effects.
If you take it with a heavy meal, there is little risk of gastric irritation.
Aspirin reduces overall cardiovascular disease risk, may lower colon cancer risk, and Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw have uncovered evidence of a unique mechanism by which aspirin may slow the decline in protein synthesis during aging.
Aspirin works by a mechanism that is different than anti-thrombotic nutrients, such as green tea extract, ginkgo, vitamin C, vitamin E, folic acid, etc.

EPA/DHA fish oil supplements resembles aspirin's anti-clotting action
Fish oil supplements are highly recommended for a wide range of health benefits.
Most people do not like the "repeating" that occurs after ingesting fish oil capsules
Fish oil capsules are fairly expensive.

CURRY (tumeric, curcumin)
Prevents and may Cure: Cancer
Researchers from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston say may help suppress and destroy the blood cancer multiple myeloma. Curcumin is what gives mustard and turmeric their yellow color. In the laboratory, the researchers added curcumin to human cells infected with multiple myeloma. The result: The curcumin stopped those cells from replicating, and the cells that were left died, reports Reuters.
There's only one problem with this miracle cure for cancer: Greed.
To learn more about turmeric's cancer-fighting properties, including the proper dosage, requires large medical experiments with a great number of patients. Such ventures are costly and are typically financed by drug companies eyeing future product development. However, in this case, the "drug" is a natural compound. Aggarwal explained to Reuters that no drug company can reap the financial benefits if turmeric proves to be an effective anti-cancer drug so no drug company is likely to pay the big bucks needed for the medical studies.