Our hope for the future...

[Brian C.]

...is gene therapy. Because statin use substantially increases the error rate in DNA replication when out mitochondria reproduce, accelerating ageing and hence age-related infirmities due to DNA degradation, the answer will lie in introducing fresh genes into the nuclei of our cells :

*http://www.sens.org/index.php?pagename=mitosens

All else will be essentially palliative.

Brian.

[epfleger]

I couldn't agree with you more, Brian. I have been pursuing the stem cell side of the regeneration equation for some months now. There are two basic types of stem cell therapies currently being studied (and offered in some countries): Autologous and donor (adult, umbilical and/or embryonic). Donor stem cells, particularly embryonic stem cells, are very difficult to control and are known to cause unchecked tumor growth (i.e., cancer). Regardless of where you stand on the politics, it appears that George Bush did the scientific community a huge favor by banning embryonic stem cell research in the US, as this forced the research community here to look more closely at autologous stem cells, which apparently do not have the potential for rejection or cancer. Indeed, the last 8 years have seen HUGE advances in autololgous stem cell research.

My sense is that autologous stem cell therapy (meaning one's own stem cells taken from the bone marrow, amplified and cultured to a certain "proginator" state and re-injected back into the body) would likely not work, since this procedure would probably amplify and multiply the mDNA mutations. I suspect that umbilical cord and/or donor stem cell therapy would be a better option - if they can overcome the safety issues (rejection/tumor growth).

Anyway, great find Brian. The research you uncovered seems right on point for what ails us.

Ed

[cjbrooksjc]

Brian: very interesting stuff!

Brooks