One of the most interesting things to emerge from a rigorous comparison of the biology of aging between species is the role of cell membrane composition, as outlined in the membrane pacemaker hypothesis.

The membrane pacemaker hypothesis predicts that long-living species will have more peroxidation-resistant membrane lipids than shorter living species.

Resistance to oxidative damage is of particular importance in mitochondria, cellular power plants that progressive damage themselves with the reactive oxygen species they produce as a byproduct of their operation - and that gives rise to a chain of further biochemical damage that spreads throughout the body, growing ever more harmful as you age. Less damage to the mitochondria should mean slower aging, and thus more resistant mitochondrial membranes should also mean slower aging.

The evidence for this view is good, and continues to accumulate. See, for example, investigations of the biology of naked mole rats and other long-lived species with unusual biochemistries. As this recent review paper notes:

The relationship between membrane fatty acid composition and longevity is discussed for (1) mammals of different body size, (2) birds of different body size, (3) mammals and birds that are exceptionally long-living for their size, (4) strains of mice that vary in longevity, (5) calorie-restriction extension of longevity in rodents, (6) differences in longevity between queen and worker honeybees, and (7) variation in longevity among humans. Most of these comparisons support an important role for membrane fatty acid composition in the determination of longevity. It is apparent that membrane composition is regulated for each species. ... The exceptional longevity of Homo sapiens combined with the limited knowledge of the fatty acid composition of human tissues support the potential importance of mitochondrial membranes in determination of longevity.

This, I think, is one of the best illustrations for the merits of comparative studies of the biology of aging. Absent data from a range of different species, it seems unlikely that the membrane pacemaker hypothesis would have gathered as much interest in the community. Here's a related commentary:

Comparative biology plays several roles in our understanding of the virtually ubiquitous phenomenon of aging in animals. First, it provides a critical evaluation of broad hypotheses concerning the evolutionary forces underlying the modulation of aging rate. Second, it suggests mechanistic hypotheses about processes of aging. Third, it illuminates particularly informative species because of their exceptionally slow or rapid aging rates to be interrogated about potentially novel mechanisms of aging. Although comparative biology has played a significant role in research on aging for more than a century, the new comparative biology of aging is poised to dwarf those earlier contributions

For my part, focused as I am on the biotechnologies of human longevity, I see the most important aspect of this discussion being that it draws more attention to mitochondria, mitochondrial structure, and the prospects for mitochondrial repair. Clearly it is the case that human mitochondria serve well for the first few decades of life, and it is only later that the level of mitochondrial damage becomes large enough for degenerative aging to become materially apparent.

With the advent of commercial telomere length measurement services, there's been a lot of unscientific hype in the media of late about tests that will show how long you're going to live. Some more sensible commentary here from FuturePundit: "the test can not precisely predict your year of death. Too many factors (accidents, suicide, and murder aside) influence your date of death. Take cancer for example. There's a lot of randomness involved in determining when we'll get cancer. The accumulation of damage in cells can make them turn cancerous. But just when the right set of genetic mutations or other cancer-promoting damage will occur in some cell in one's body is as hard to predict as when someone will win a lottery. Many things have to line up just right all in the same cell to make it cancerous. Every day is basically another throw of the dice. Will a bunch of mutations all line up to send a cell of yours into dangerous mad replication and growth? Better longevity tests seem useful for retirement planning. Should you save enough money to support yourself to age 95? Or expect to die by your late 60s? A telomere test could help you decide difficult questions about your savings rate and career choices. Do you need to work past age 70 to save enough money to avoid going broke in your 80s and avoid poverty in your 90s? A better sense of the odds would help. Of course, before we hit our biological shelf life expiration date some of us just might live long enough to still be around when rejuvenation therapies become available. Injections of youthful stem cells with long telomeres could replace older tired cells with short telomeres. This would be great for the immune system, for example, because a youthful immune system will do a better job of fighting cancer. Also, youthful cells for the cardiovascular system could cut the risk of heart disease, stroke, and other killers." The high level point being that unless you are old already the future of your life span has less to do with your telomeres and more do to with progress in medical science.

Link: http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/008089.html

Stem cell therapies are one theoretical path towards therapies for sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass and strength with age. Here, researchers have discovered "the mechanism that causes stem cells in the embryo to differentiate into specialised cells that form the skeletal muscles of animals' bodies. ... The field has the potential to revolutionise medicine by delivering therapies to regenerate tissue damaged by disease or injury. Differentiation happens soon after fertilisation, when embryonic cells are dividing rapidly and migrating as the animal's body takes shape. ... The scientists investigated the effect of a known signalling pathway called NOTCH on muscle differentiation. They found that differentiation of stem cells to muscle was initiated when NOTCH signalling proteins touched some of the cells. These proteins were carried by passing cells migrating from a different tissue - the neural crest - the progenitor tissue of sensory nerve cells. Muscle formation in the target stem cells occurred only when the NOTCH pathway was triggered briefly by the migrating neural crest cells. ... This kiss-and-run activation of a pathway is a completely novel mechanism of stem cell specification which explains why only some stem cells adopt a muscle cell fate. ... the team would now focus on unravelling the mechanisms of embryonic muscle cell differentiation at the molecular level as a necessary step to regulating regeneration of the muscles in human patients."

Link: http://www.monash.edu.au/news/show/stem-cell-study-could-pave-the-way-to-treatment-for-age-related-muscle-wasting

I was reminded today that the Foresight Institute is holding an event next month, on June 25th-26th in the Bay Area, California. Some of the speakers and topics are relevant to those of us interested in longevity science, such as William Andregg of Halcyon Molecular, a fellow who has no problems in speaking his mind when it comes to achieving radical extension of the healthy human life span. The conference reminder came with a $50 discount to the conference registration price for Fight Aging! readers - just enter FIGHTAGING when registering.

Join friends old and new this summer at Google's Mountain View headquarters in Silicon Valley as we explore the future of nanotech with a rockstar lineup of nanotech experts and entrepreneurs.

Want to understand the science behind the dream? Find out why Sir Fraser Stoddart's successful development of molecular switches and motor-molecules merited him a knighthood. Talk molecular robotics with Ari Requicha, or molecular computation with quantum theorist William A Goddard, III. See single atoms with microscopist Andrew Bleloch, hear how Feynman Prize-winner Christian Schafmeister builds macromolecules, and find out how rising star Matt Francis is shaking up the world of synthetic biology.

Want innovative entrepreneurial applications? Hear word from the nanostartup trenches with Halcyon Molecular founder William Andregg and "Mad Scientist" One-Nano CEO Rob Meagley. Find out about new nanotech initiatives from IBM's decade-long, worldwide Director of Physical Sciences, Thomas Theis. Learn the practical impact of nanotech innovation in a forecast from futurist expert Paul Saffo, or the problems of financing them with Founders Fund partner and Paypal founder Luke Nosek.

For some pointers as to why progress in the field of nanotechnology is important for longevity science, you might look back in the Fight Aging! archives. Bear in mind that, as a bottom line, everything that goes wrong as we age is caused by atoms and molecules that are out of place. Progress in biotechnology is very much a matter of learning how to - as precisely as possible - identify and manipulate certain problematic atoms and molecules:

• Dreams of Molecular Nanotechnology
• The Desires Made Real By a Mature Molecular Manufacturing Technology Base

Systems that can identify, manage and place trillions of molecules accurately are not a pipe dream; after all, we are already surrounded by examples. You, for example, are just such a system, albeit somewhat slow at self-assembly to full size. There's nothing in the laws of physics that jumps out and says we can't do this. It's just a matter of time.

If you have the technology base to build a nanoforge to assemble a brick, then you also have the technology base capable of simultaneously assembling and controlling a hundred million medical nanorobots of arbitrary design and programming. Or an artifical lung better than the real thing, or replacements for immune cells that never get old or worn. You get the idea. A brick is just as complex as any portion of the human body if you have to build the thing molecule by molecule; more fault-tolerant, but just as complex.

Patching a damaged heart is on the agenda again, with nanoscale-featured scaffold material this time: "When you suffer a heart attack, a part of your heart dies. Nerve cells in the heart's wall and a special class of cells that spontaneously expand and contract - keeping the heart beating in perfect synchronicity - are lost forever. [At present] surgeons can't repair the affected area [but the] best approach would be to figure out how to resuscitate [it] ... scientists turned to nanotechnology. In a lab, they built a scaffold-looking structure consisting of carbon nanofibers and a government-approved polymer. Tests showed the synthetic nanopatch regenerated natural heart tissue cells ­- called cardiomyocytes - as well as neurons. In short, the tests showed that a dead region of the heart can be brought back to life. ... the engineers employed carbon nanofibers, helical-shaped tubes with diameters between 60 and 200 nanometers. The carbon nanofibers work well because they are excellent conductors of electrons, performing the kind of electrical connections the heart relies upon for keeping a steady beat. ... In tests with the 200-nanometer-diameter carbon nanofibers seeded with cardiomyocytes, five times as many heart-tissue cells colonized the surface after four hours than with a control sample consisting of the polymer only. ... The scaffold works because it is elastic and durable, and can thus expand and contract much like heart tissue. ... It's because of these properties and the carbon nanofibers that cardiomyocytes and neurons congregate on the scaffold and spawn new cells, in effect regenerating the area."

Link: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-05/bu-rcn051711.php

It is good to see some of the larger and better funded life science research communities showing interest in targeting mitochondria - the more people working on this the better, as mitochondria are important in degenerative aging, but there is presently relatively little ongoing research into the practical approaches to mitochondrial repair: "Mitochondria are cytoplasmic organelles responsible for life and death. Extensive evidence from animal models, postmortem brain studies of and clinical studies of aging and neurodegenerative diseases suggests that mitochondrial function is defective in aging and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Several lines of research suggest that mitochondrial abnormalities, including defects in oxidative phosphorylation, increased accumulation of mitochondrial DNA defects, impaired calcium influx, accumulation of mutant proteins in mitochondria, and mitochondrial membrane potential dissipation are important cellular changes in both early and late-onset neurodegenerative diseases. Further, emerging evidence suggests that structural changes in mitochondria, including increased mitochondrial fragmentation and decreased mitochondrial fusion, are critical factors associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and cell death in aging and neurodegenerative diseases. This paper discusses research that elucidates features of mitochondria that are associated with cellular dysfunction in aging and neurodegenerative diseases and discusses mitochondrial structural and functional changes, and abnormal mitochondrial dynamics in neurodegenerative diseases. It also outlines mitochondria-targeted therapeutics in neurodegenerative diseases."

Link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21470101

From the SENS Foundation: "SENS Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit which works to develop, promote and ensure widespread access to rejuvenation biotechnologies which comprehensively address the disabilities and diseases of aging. The Foundation combines significant direct research efforts with education, affiliation and outreach programs. The SENS Foundation Academic Initiative (AI) is the nexus of its educational activities, which includes student mentoring, small but growing grants and scholarship programs, and coursework development. SENS Foundation is seeking a staff member to be Academic Coordinator. The Academic Coordinator will oversee the Academic Initiative and be responsible for designing, implementing and expanding projects and programs that support the aims of SENS Foundation. Additional responsibilities will include managing AI volunteer staff and students; maintaining active communication with SENS Foundation management, the Foundation Research Center, and AI volunteers; and establishing and maintaining reporting measures to document AI operations. The AC will report to the CEO, and work closely with the CSO, Vice President, and Director of Research Operations. Major projects already in development include the creation of online undergraduate courses in longevity science, development of a comprehensive training program, continuance and expansion of the scholarship and mentoring program, and implementation of a comprehensive marketing strategy to expand and promote the Academic Initiative."

Link: http://www.sens.org/node/2017

Announcements at this year’s American Association for Cancer Research Event included the findings that there is a connection between vitamin supplementation and breast cancer rates.

If you have been taking vitamins and calcium supplements, there is good news concerning your risk of getting breast cancer!  New findings about breast cancer prevention were announced at this year’s American Association for Cancer Research 101^st Annual Meeting. The event took place April 17-21^st in Washington DC.  The meeting attracts over 15,000 attendees each year.

This year one of the presentations included conclusive information that vitamins and calcium supplements have been shown to be effective in reducing the risk of breast cancer.  This new research involved 457-control group and 268 women with breast cancer.  The study showed that vitamins reduced breast cancer risk by about 30%.  Calcium supplements, on the other hand, actually reduced the risk by 40%.

One of the people presenting this information was Jaime Matta PhD from the Ponce School of Medicine in Puerto Rico.  Matta stated, “This process involves at least five separate pathways and is critical for maintaining genomic stability.  When the DNA is not repaired, it leads to mutation that leads to cancer.”  Apparently, calcium supplements enhance DNA repair.  If this complex repair process is interrupted it can lead to cancer.

In addition to supplements reducing the risk of breast cancer, there are also different superfoods that are effective at fighting breast cancer as well. These superfoods include fatty fish, beans, berries and tomatoes.

Sources:
sciencedaily.com
women.webmd.com

Discuss this post in Frank Mangano’s forum!

Researchers have discovered that increased omega-3 fatty acids can reduce the risk of colon cancer. This can come from food sources or fish oil supplementation.

Do you get tons of omega-3 fatty acids in your diet?  If so, new research indicates you will reduce your risk of colon cancer.  Taking fish oil supplements can also accomplish the same goal.

According to Dr. Sangmi Kim at the National Institute of Environmental Health Studies in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, not only can fish oil supplementation fight inflammation, it can also reduce the risk of cancer.

The study examined polyunsaturated fatty acid intake and bowel cancer risk in both whites and African Americans.  Approximately, half of the people in each group were colon cancer patients.  The other half served as the control group.

The researchers found that the people in the group of whites, who consumed the top forth amount of omega-3s, had half the risk of colon cancer.  They also found that fish oil had the same effect.  Although when the black participants were analyzed separately, they didn’t see cancer rates drop as omega 3 intake increased.  However, researchers stated, “Whether the possible benefit from this dietary modification varies by race warrants further evaluation.”

So where can you get the necessary omega-3 fatty acids? They are found in walnut oils, flaxseed oil, and leafy greets.  It is important to remember to eat more omega-3s than omega-6 fatty acids, as you want a healthy balance in your diet.  It can be unhealthy to have more omega-6 in your system. Omega-6 acids can be typically be found in oils like soybean oil and sunflower oil as well as meats.  While omega-3 oils reduce inflammation, omega-6 oils can cause inflammation.

Frequent readers of Natural Health on the Web know that I am a big advocate of the Mediterranean diet. This diet suggests eating foods high in omega-3 fatty acids like fruits, vegetables, olive oil and fish rather than omega-6 rich meats.

Sources:
sciencedaily.com
umm.edu

Discuss this post in Frank Mangano’s forum!

Russian cryonics provider KrioRus is starting to receive the sort of mixed press attention that Alcor did five years ago or so: "'I don't ever want to die... It wouldn't suit me,' said Innokenty Osadchy. Fortunately, the 35-year-old investment banker is certain he has found a loophole out of death. Osadchy is ready to pay a small fortune to freeze his brain until future technology allows him to continue his life - after being transplanted into a new body and resuscitated. 'Why do I have to die in a couple decades? I don't see any logic in this. It won't be another life, it'll be the continuation of my life. I don't ever want to die ever. Not in a year, not in a million years.' Osadchy and other clients of Russian cryonics company KrioRus believe the brain operates like a computer hard-drive and its contents can be frozen and stored for the future. 'We know that the personality is stored in the brain. So when a person's body is old, there's no reason to keep it,' said Danila Medvedev, who runs KrioRus, the first cryonics outfit outside the United States. ... Since its 2005 launch, KrioRus has been building new vats, in anticipation of the 30 clients, like Osadchy, with whom it already has contracts."

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hcee6gk4tTAqxAfRk1MhcG5dMELw

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

A compound in dark chocolate has been shown to protect cells after a stroke.

A study at Johns Hopkins has shown that dark chocolate contains a special compound, which can protect the brain after a stroke.  As it turns out, the dark chocolate increases cells that are designed to protect nerve cells from damage. The Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism recently published this study.

Researchers induced a stroke in mice 90 minutes after giving mice a compound in dark chocolate called epicatechin.  Epicatechin is a member of the compounds named plant flavonoids. Flavonoids also work to prevent blood clots and damage caused by clogged arteries.

To induce the stroke, researchers cut blood to the mice’s brains.  They found that the animals that had received the dark chocolate compounds were less likely to receive brain damage.  Also researchers learned that they could give the epicatechin to the animals 3.5 hours after the stroke.  Usually treatments for humans who have had strokes need to be given 2-3 hours later to be effective.  Therefore, this means that doctors can wait longer before administrating epicatechin treatments to patients.

The lead research on this study is Sylvain Dore, PhD.  He said that his study showed that epicatechin stimulated pathways that can shield the brain from damage.  Dore hopes that his studies on dark chocolate and epicatechins can help begin to limit the kinds of damage caused by stress.

If you are turning to chocolate for health benefits, always remember to reach for the dark chocolate.  But don’t forget that the higher the cacao content, the better.

Sources:
physorg.com
webmd.com

Discuss this post in Frank Mangano’s forum!

Naked mole-rats are becoming very well studied. Researchers are attempting to find the root causes of cancer immunity and exceptional longevity in this species, with an eye to creating beneficial medical biotechnologies for humans. Fight Aging! has seen a couple of items on naked mole-rats already this month, which is illustrative of the present pace:

• More on NRG-1 in Naked Mole-Rats
• Enhanced Proteasome Activity in Naked Mole Rats

Present theories are varied, but on the longevity side of the house the consensus appears to lean towards an increased resistance to forms of cellular membrane damage - naked mole rat membranes are built of a more resilient mix of proteins than those of comparable species. This is known as the membrane pacemaker hypothesis of aging:

The membrane pacemaker hypothesis predicts that long-living species will have more peroxidation-resistant membrane lipids than shorter living species. ... Resistance to oxidative damage is of particular importance in mitochondria, cellular power plants that progressive damage themselves with the reactive oxygen species they produce as a byproduct of their operation - and that gives rise to a chain of further biochemical damage that spreads throughout the body, growing ever more harmful as you age. Less damage to the mitochondria should mean slower aging, and thus more resistant mitochondrial membranes should also mean slower aging.

Continuing the naked mole-rat theme for May, here is another just-published open access paper on the resilience of naked mole-rat biology (abstract, and full article):

Studies comparing similar-sized species with disparate longevity may elucidate novel mechanisms that abrogate aging and prolong good health. We focus on the longest living rodent, the naked mole-rat. This mouse-sized mammal lives ?8 times longer than do mice and, despite high levels of oxidative damage evident at a young age, it is not only very resistant to [cancer] but also shows minimal decline in age-associated physiological traits.

...

Like other experimental animal models of lifespan extension, naked mole-rat fibroblasts are extremely tolerant of a broad spectrum of cytotoxins including heat, heavy metals, DNA-damaging agents and xenobiotics, showing [median lethal dose] values between 2- and 20-fold greater than those of fibroblasts of shorter-lived mice. Our new data reveal that naked mole-rat fibroblasts stop proliferating even at low doses of toxin whereas those mouse fibroblasts that survive treatment rapidly re-enter the cell cycle and may proliferate with DNA damage. Naked mole-rat fibroblasts also show significantly higher constitutive levels of both p53 and Nrf2 protein levels and activity, and this increases even further in response to toxins.

...

Enhanced cell signaling via p53 and Nrf2 protects cells against proliferating with damage, augments clearance of damaged proteins and organelles and facilitates the maintenance of both genomic and protein integrity. These pathways collectively regulate a myriad of mechanisms which may contribute to the attenuated aging profile and sustained healthspan of the naked mole-rat. Understanding how these are regulated may be also integral to sustaining positive human healthspan well into old age and may elucidate novel therapeutics for delaying the onset and progression of physiological declines that characterize the aging process.

You might also look back a few years at other research into the role of Nrf2 in determining species longevity. The details can be a little overwhelming, but the big picture remains one of damage at the level of cells and protein machinery: less damage and more resilience to damage means a longer life span.

Source:
http://www.longevitymeme.org/newsletter/latest_rss_feed.cfm

Researchers continue to investigate why the ApoE4 gene variant is associated with Alzheimer's disease: "A well-known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease triggers a cascade of signaling that ultimately results in leaky blood vessels in the brain, allowing toxic substances to pour into brain tissue in large amounts, scientists report ... a gene called ApoE4 makes people more prone to developing Alzheimer's. People who carry two copies of the gene have roughly eight to 10 times the risk of getting Alzheimer's disease than people who do not. [Scientists] found that ApoE4 works through cyclophilin A, a well-known bad actor in the cardiovascular system, causing inflammation in atherosclerosis and other conditions. The team found that cyclophilin A opens the gates to the brain assault seen in Alzheimer's. ... In the presence of ApoE4, increased cyclophilin A causes a breakdown of the cells lining the blood vessels in Alzheimer's disease in the same way it does in cardiovascular disease or abdominal aneurysm ... In studies of mice, the team found that mice carrying the ApoE4 gene had five times as much cyclophilin A compared to other mice in cells known as pericytes, which are crucial to maintaining the integrity of the blood-brain barrier. Blood vessels died, blood did not flow as completely through the brain as it did in other mice, and harmful substances like thrombin, fibrin, and hemosiderin, entered the brain tissue. When the team blocked the action of cyclophilin A, either by knocking out its gene or by using the drug cyclosporine A to inhibit it, the damage in the mice was reversed. Blood flow resumed to normal, and unhealthy leakage of toxic substances from the blood vessels into the brain was slashed by 80 percent."

Link: http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/news/story/index.cfm?id=3512

Source:
http://www.longevitymeme.org/newsletter/latest_rss_feed.cfm

While getting old may beat the alternative, living in denial is a comfortable choiceand a lot more pleasant than your first colonoscopy. The annual checkup at your doctors office covers the basics, but a truly thorough medical exam will involve trips to several offices, with the usual long waits and patients stacked up like planes over Chicagos OHare. Two years ago one of my closest friends died from a coronary that absolutely could have been prevented had he only taken the time from his crazy work schedule and family obligations for a checkup.

With baby boomers starting to age, there has been a proliferation of facilities offering comprehensive executive physicals. Having just turned 50 myself, I figured this might be a good time to see how the examsand my bodyhave evolved. Among the best-known options, the Mayo and Cleveland clinics, along with the Johns Hopkins, Duke, UCLA, and Stanford units, are all associated with major hospitalswhich is useful should serious complications be found or immediate treatment be recommended. According to the Mayo Clinic, less than 5 percent of its exams revealed potentially life-threatening conditions and almost half exposed risk factors for serious illness. These centers draw patients from all over the world and focus not just on medical needs but a lifestyle approach as well. The Cleveland Clinic even offers programs through the Canyon Ranch spa resorts. Also available are a number of private diagnostic centers that only perform physical exams, such as the Princeton Longevity Center in New Jersey and Texass Cooper Clinics. I chose the PLC strictly for its convenience, but some might be more comfortable going to a hospital. Others prefer to go the true luxury route and turn their physical into a spa holiday or fit it into a resort vacation. To me, though, the chance of getting some bad medical news before my kelp facial could be a real buzz kill.

As at most centers, the day in the PLC started at the scanning facility, replete with state-of-the-art, 64-slice CT machines. I was then shuttled around the main office, given every sort of workup imaginable, and promised a full report on my mortality within hours. Some centers recommend full-body CT scans for patients over 45. While they can be lifesavers, they are also controversial. Dr. Reginald Munden, interim chair of the department of Diagnostic Radiology at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, says, Im not comfortable with a shotgun approach to screening, citing the limited sensitivity of scans to common cancer lesions and the small but significant increase in cancer risk from more radiation exposure. There is also the issue of false positives: Up to 80 percent of such tests may find something that can lead to what Munden calls a spiral of expensive and anxiety-provoking follow-up scans with few meaningful results. Interestingly, just as risky can be false negativesbeing told the scan shows no problems to be concerned about. This can lead some people to continue damaging behavior, such as smoking, or to ignore new symptoms.

Of course, there are many stories of serious problems being caught. Doctors at the clinics have received numerous e-mails from patients whose renal cancer or developing aneurysm was detected early, possibly saving their lives. In fact, the day I was at the PLC an exinvestment banker discovered, after 53 years, that he was born with only one kidney. Balancing the risks against the benefits of a scan is a personal decision, and any clinic should provide you with plenty of information to allow you to make an educated evaluation. Dr. Richard S. Lang, who heads the section of preventive medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, explained that while the scans may not be for everyone, they certainly offer additional information to a patients profile and, so long as the findings are managed properly, can be of great valueeven if just as a baseline for future exams.

After the CTs and blood tests are completed, you can expect a very detailed and unrushed physical from a senior staffer instead of the usual Cliffs Notes version offered by your GP. Every aspect of your medical history will be checkedyou will be asked to send copies of all available reports in advanceand any issues, aches, or pains considered. I then had a challenging cardiovascular stress test and gym session with senior exercise physiologist Chris Volgraf. A highly educated trainer and professional strength coach, he completely changed my perspective on my own workout regimen and showed me a series of warm-ups and exercises designed to make my gym time safer, more efficient, and more effective.

Lunch was followed by a vision and hearing test, a bone density and body composition scan, and a meeting with a nutritionist, who evaluated the three-day food log I had been asked to keep.

When all the tests were done, the biggest difference between a full day at one of the clinics and a quick routine maintenance check became clear: A senior doctor sits down with you and reviews the results of every test in detail and their implications. Seeing rotating, 3-D, full-color computer images of your internal organs can be disquieting. Dr. David Fein, medical director and founder of the PLC, told me that one of the most effective tools in convincing patients to modify their unhealthy lifestyle is showing them their blocked arteries or the vascular fat wrapped around their vital organs in high-definition splendor. You can point to it and say Thats a picture of your heart attack, or your type 2 diabetes diagnosis in five years. Pushing the predictive envelope, the Duke Executive Health Program will soon offer a cutting-edge genomic DNAbased assessment that screens for certain genetic risks.

I left the PLC with a hefty binder, complete with test results and a disc containing copies of my scans, to give to my personal physician. In my opinion anyone who can afford it, or whose employer or insurer will pay, should immediately sign up for a visit to one of the top clinics and return at reasonable intervals. The Mayo Clinic quotes studies showing that companies can save as much as 20 percent in additional medical claims and 45 percent in extra sick days taken by executives who have regularly undergone thorough physicals. Its unlikely you have ever gotten so complete and detailed a review of not just the results but also the meaning of routine medical tests, as well as specific and practical advice on diet and exercise. While affiliation with a hospital or a major medical clinic is obviously a plus, the most important thing a diagnostic center can do for you is get you in the door. So if traveling makes you less likely to go, pick a center nearby.

centerforpartnershipmedicine.com Location: Chicago, IL Program:1 day Approx. Cost: $3,000$6,000

clevelandclinic.org; executivehealthprogram.com Location: Cleveland, OH; Weston, FL; Toronto; Canyon Ranch (AZ, MA) Program:13 days Approx. Cost: from $3,000

cooperaerobics.com/clinic Location: Dallas and McKinney, TX Program:1 day Approx. Cost: $1,800$4,000

dukeexechealth.org Location: Durham, NC Program:1 day Approx. Cost: $2,800

execmd.com Location: Menlo Park, CA Program:1/2 day Approx. Cost: $2,000$2,600

hopkinsmedicine.org/gim/clinical/executive_health Location: Baltimore, MD Program:1 day Approx. Cost: $1,800$2,200

mayoclinic.org/executive-health Location: Rochester, MN; Scottsdale, AZ; Jacksonville, FL Program:12 days Approx. Cost: $1,500$6,000

theplc.net Location: Princeton, NJ Program:1 day Approx. Cost: $3,250

exechealth.ucla.edu Location: Los Angeles, CA Program:1 day Approx. Cost: from $2,400

Original post: The Big Physical: Where to Go, What to Get | Departures

Posted in Longevity| Posted by jos | Comments Off

By Dr. Mercola

Many have studied the reasons for longevity. Why do some people live longer than others? Is it genetics? Is it culture, or perhaps lifestyle?

James Smith, a health economist at the RAND Corporation, delved into the prevailing mystery of why some groups of people live longer than others. What he found you might find surprising. I certainly did. The number one social factor that correlated with long life was not geographic region or health or socioeconomic status, but education.

Among the most important things you can do to help lengthen your childrens lives is to keep them in school, according to Dr. Smith. And hes not the only one who has come to this conclusion, as you will discover in this New York Times article.1

The National Institute on Aging finds education is the most important social factor for longevity in study after study, dominating other factors such as income, race and health insurance. Columbia University graduate student Adriana Lleras-Muney found that your life expectancy at age 35 is extended by one and a half years simply by going to school for one extra year.

These findings imply that sinking our precious national dollars into health insurance programs will never give us as much bang for our buck as directing those funds toward education.

Dr. Smith suggests education may teach people how to delay gratification and think ahead. Education may teach you how to plan for your future, as opposed to simply living for the moment. Besides education, what other social factors may extend your life?

Harvard Professor of Public Policy Lisa Berkman cites social isolation as a significant factor in longevity. If youre socially isolated, you may experience poor health and a shorter lifespan. This may be, at least in part, because those who dont have good social networks may not be able to get assistance if they become ill.

Is there a health-wealth connection? Yes, there is, according to Dr. Smith. An analysis of Medicare beneficiaries performed by Dartmouth College found the lowest death rates are seen in the wealthiest places.

Current studies suggest getting rich does not make you healthier, but getting sick does make you poorer. Low income doesnt lead to poor health as much as poor health leads to low income, according to the latest research. This is largely due to the fact that, if you develop cancer, heart disease, diabetes or another serious disease, your medical expenses rise while your ability to work declines. For countries like England and Sweden that have universal health insurance, there is no difference in longevity between the rich and the poor.

One of the key things you can do to extend not only the quantity of your years, but also the quality, is to make a few simple changes to your lifestyle. One of the most important changes is regulating your insulin through diet and exercise. Optimizing your insulin and leptin levels have been found to be key factors in slowing down the aging process.

Consuming sugar and grains will increase your insulin level, which is the equivalent of slamming your foot on your aging accelerator. Theres simply no more potent way to accelerate aging than sticking to a diet full of sugar and grains. When consumed in excess, sugar, and fructose in particular, act as a toxin and drive multiple disease processes in your body, not the least of which is insulin resistance, a major cause of accelerated aging.

Furthermore, research by Professor Cynthia Kenyon shows that carbohydrates directly affect two key genes in your body that govern longevity and youthfulness. Previous research has shown that you can extend your lifespan by reducing your caloric intake, and Ive written about this technique in the past. The problem is that most people do not understand how to properly cut calories, because in order to remain healthy, you have to cut out calories from a specific source namely, carbohydrates.

Protein intake should be about one gram per kilogram of lean body mass or less than half a gram per pound of lean body mass. Most people are currently consuming 2-3 times this much. The key to success with this anti-aging strategy is not necessarily to reduce your calories but replace the missing carbs and protein with healthy fats such as butter, olive oil, coconut oil, avocado, the fat from pastured animals, or nuts.

Here are the rest of my top anti-aging recommendations:

For the best nutrition and health benefits, you will want to eat a good portion of your food raw. Personally, I aim to eat about 75 percent of my food raw, including raw eggs.

Topping the list of foods to avoid is fructose.

Eat plenty of natural, unprocessed salt with your food, as higher salt intake has been tied to longevity. I recommend Himalayan crystal salt. Also include liberal amounts of naturally fermented foods in your daily diet, which are important for optimal immune function.

High-intensity interval training boosts human growth hormone (HGH) production, which is essential for optimal health, strength and vigor. Ive discussed the importance of Peak Fitness for your health on numerous occasions.

During times when no UVBs are able to penetrate, and hence will not lead to vitamin D production, you can use a safe tanning bed or an oral vitamin D3 supplement. There is preliminary evidence suggesting that oral vitamin D may not provide the identical benefits, but its still better than none at all.

Making sure your doctor is properly accredited is also important when you seek medical care. According to a book about degree mills, there are well over 5,000 doctors operating with fake medical degrees in the U.S., and people have died as a result. Additionally, more than half of all PhD degrees in the U.S.are reportedly fakes.

There is no quick fix, when it comes to longevity. There is no magic pill and no fountain of youth, which makes finding a physician who is well versed in the basic principles of a healthy lifestyle all the more important. Although some people seem to be blessed with longevity in spiteof their lifestyle choices, this is the exception and not the rule. For most of us, becoming healthy Centenarians will require some effort and attention to the factors outlined above.

See original here: Surprising Secrets to Longevity

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Announcing Our Newest Location in Fairfax, Virginia Call Us for Details!

The Princeton Longevity Comprehensive Exam takes your health beyond the Annual Physical.

With the latest technology, combined with caring experts who take the time to fully evaluate your health, the Princeton Longevity Center Comprehensive Exam can detect early cancers, heart disease, aneurysms and the silent killers that are often missed in a typical physical exam or routine blood tests.

Youll get the latest diagnostic, screening and imaging technologies to assess the state of your health and the detailed information you need to optimize the quality of your future years.

The scope of your examination and the amount of useful information you come away with is dramatically more revealing than a standard physical exam or consultation. The effect on your future can be dramatic.

Our proactive approach to illness and premature aging will help you identify your risk of future disease and create a personalized program to improve your health and maintain an active lifestyle. Youll learn how simple, easy changes in nutrition, fitness, lifestyle and natural supplements can effectively prevent most Cancers and Heart Disease.

Youll receive this total, in-depth evaluation in one day and one place. Well make you comfortable and look after you every step of the way.

Best of all, youll get the peace of mind that comes from knowing that you are doing all you can to take care of your health- for yourself and for the people who care about you.

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Learn More About the Exam with Frequently Asked Questions About The Comprehensive Exam

Comprehensive Exam Components

Comprehensive Exam Options and Electives

Find out how to use your Health Savings Account or Flex Account for A Comprehensive Exam

The Road Map

Well explain the results of your evaluations, provide you with a clear understanding of your health issues and create a detailed, customized treatment plan for you. Youll walk out with a practical road map you can follow to maintain and enhance your health and fitness on a daily basis.

At the Princeton Longevity Center, we are your partners in long-term health care. When you walk out of our office, our involvement in your well-being does not end, and we will continue to monitor your progress through a choice of Follow-Up Options. This is not just an exam, its the start of your plan for staying well for the years to come.

The Rewards

A Comprehensive Exam lets you take control of your health. If you are worried about your risk of heart disease, cancer or other health problems, a Princeton Longevity Center Comprehensive Exam can give you the Peace of Mind that comes from knowing that all is well.

Youll know whether or not you are really at risk for heart attack, cancer, diabetes, premature aging or other significant health issues. And, you will find out what you can do about those risks. Youll learn how to prevent cancer, heart disease, diabetes and many other diseases from affecting your future.

Youll have the opportunity to anticipate and prevent illness and premature aging. Youll learn the simple, easy steps that you can take to prevent cancer, heart attacks, diabetes, lung disease, and more. We will show you how you can improve your nutrition and fitness so that your future years are healthier and more active.

The Princeton Longevity Center is focused on helping you with healthy living at the forefront of new medical knowledge and diagnostic technologies. So, you can stop worrying and know that you are doing all you can to optimize your health for today and the years to come.

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Originally posted here: Comprehensive Health Exam :: Princeton Longevity Center

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Sensation 64-Slice CT High Definition Coronary Artery Scans

I dont want to know if something is wrong. Wont the scan make me too nervous?

What type of scaner is used?

What happens during the scan?

What about the radiation exposure?

How long does a scan take?

Do I need to fast?

Do I need a referral from my physician?

Is the scan covered by my insurance?

How accurate is a Heart Scan?

My cholesterol level is normal. Should I still have a Heart Scan?

What if I already know I have heart disease?

I was told the scan cant detect soft plaque. Does that matter?

I already passed a stress test. Should I still have a scan?

How does the scan detect coronary artery disease?

What about blood tests like C-Reactive Protein and Homocysteine?

Is this the same scan that I saw on Oprah or in the newspapers?

What do I do with my test results?

What makes the Princeton Longevity Centers scans different from all the other scanning centers that I have seen or heard advertised?

Request an Appointment or More Information Back to Coronary Artery Scan Page

I dont want to know if something is wrong. Wont the scan make me too nervous?

Heart disease is extremely treatable, especially if found early. If your scan shows that you are at risk for developing coronary artery disease, we can show you how simple changes or treatments can dramatically alter your risk and lessen the chances that you will have a heart attack. Avoiding a scan will not stop the disease. Knowing what simple steps you can take will make a big difference in the quality of the rest of your life.

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What type of scanner is used?

Our scans are done with a Siemens Definition AS 64 Slice CT Scanner. This state of the art scanner uses very low radiation doses and produces exceptional detail, as small as 1/50th of an inch. The scans are also extremely fast, usually less than 10 seconds, so there is no need for prolonged breath-holds. The scanner is completely non-claustrophic.

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What happens during the scan? Is it uncomfortable?

64 Slice CT scans are quick, painless and safe. You lie on a table and hold your breath for a few seconds. There are no needles or dyes; it is not claustrophobic and you usually dont even have to remove your clothes.

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What about the radiation exposure?

There has been a lot of attention in the media surrounding the issue of radiation exposure. We keep our doses as low as possible. Our Coronary Calcium Heart Scans generally involve a dose of about 1 mSv, an amount much lower than is typically cited in the media. According to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission the risk of 1 mSv is about 1 in 25,000 or, put another way, it raises your cancer risk from 20.000% to just 20.004%. On the other hand, your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease that goes undetected and untreated is 36%. We believe that the potential benefit of early detection of cardiovascular or other diseases more than offsets the extremely small potential risk of this level of radiation exposure.

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Longevity Medicine

Green tea has long been associated with a number of health benefits such as cancer and stress prevention, but a recent study has found that it can enhance a person’s memory.

Green tea rose to stardom and has been well-known all over the world since it was subjected to the glaring lights of the spotlight with the numerous studies conducted regarding its health benefits.  A study conducted by researchers from Japan revealed that drinking 5 cups of green tea in a day could significantly reduce one’s risk of developing different types of cancer by 50 percent.  Furthermore, consuming 5 cups of this beverage each day has also been associated with a reduction in the levels of stress according to the results of yet another study which was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.  While this may sound like too much, it is actually not – especially when you start drinking green tea instead of what you normally drink such as water after a run or coffee in the morning.

What Makes Green Tea Special?

The power behind green tea’s knockout punch is its very potent antioxidant content. The polyphenols that it contains are commonly referred to as catechins and these help combat and neutralize the damaging effects of free radicals.  Free radicals are by-products of oxidative processes and these are said to be the cause of different forms of health conditions such as cancer, premature aging and heart disease. Because of this, the catechin content of green tea is also able to boost a person’s immune system thereby promoting overall health. Aside from polyphenols, it also contains alkaloids and L-theanine which further contributes to green tea’s health benefits.

Green Tea for Mental Alertness

A study conducted in Korea revealed that taking green tea extract supplements can actually enhance a person’s memory and promote mental alertness. The results of the study which was published in the Journal of Medicinal Foods showed that green tea extract coupled with L-theanine was linked to improvement in general memory, as well as in a person’s immediate and delayed recall ability. Funding for the said study was provided by LG Household & Health Care, Ltd., a Korean company which also manufactured the ingredient which was utilized in the study.

The study involved ninety-one participants who were already diagnosed with mild level cognitive impairment, which is an important risk factor in the development of Alzheimer’s Disease.  The 91 participants were assigned randomly to receive either a placebo supplement made of lactose plus maltodextrin or 1,680 milligrams of a combination of L-theanine and green tea extract. The supplements were given for a period of 16 weeks.  After the said period, different tests were administered to the participants in order to assess attention levels and memory.  The results of the tests revealed that the group of participants who received the green tea extract plus L-theanine supplement showed signs of improved memory.  Electroencephalogram tests (EEG) also revealed improvements in mental alertness indicators in particular areas of the brain.

The researchers wrote that the use of LGNC-07, which is actually a combination of L-theanine and green tea extract, as a nutraceutical candidate used to enhance cognitive performance should be taken into account. However, the researchers believe that there is a need to conduct more studies to further investigate the ability of LGNC-07 to improve a person’s cognitive functions in order to establish its potential health benefit.

More Reasons to go for Green Tea

Much has been said about green tea – and for good reason.  It has been the subject of worldwide studies and there are facts to support its health claims.  There are a lot of life-threatening diseases that can be prevented simply by consuming sufficient amounts of green tea.  Aside from taking green tea in beverage form, you can also take it in the form of supplements.

Aside from green tea’s capability to help prevent cancer and promote mental alertness, there are other conditions that can greatly benefit from green tea consumption:

Hypercholesterolemia. This is a condition which is characterized by high levels of bad cholesterol in the blood. Excessive LDL levels are dangerous since the fatty plaques can deposit in the walls of blood vessels.  There will be a resultant narrowing of the blood vessels and blood flow will become turbulent in the specific area. Because of this, the fatty plaques may dislodge and may travel through the bloodstream.  The clot, now called an embolus, can lodge in small arteries such as in the brain causing a stroke, or in the lungs causing pulmonary embolism. Both conditions are life-threatening and necessary steps should be taken to ensure prevention.

Studies have shown that green tea can help raise the levels of good cholesterol and reduce bad cholesterol levels in the body. A study conducted on men revealed that those who drink green tea have lower LDL levels compared to those who do not. Furthermore, a study made in animals revealed that the polyphenols in green tea blocks cholesterol absorption in the intestines and aids in its secretion.

Diabetes. The condition is associated with complications that can significantly lead to a reduction in a person’s quality of life.  Common complications include retinopathy, nephropathy, cataracts, and diabetic foot which can lead to amputation. The good news is that green tea has been found to promote healthy blood sugar levels by properly regulating and lowering high sugar levels in the blood.

Obesity. Being obese is linked to the development of conditions such as stroke, heart attack and arthritis – and these are only some of those that are brought about by obesity. Because of its dangers, a lot of people are mightily trying to win the battle of the bulge. The fight to conquer and overcome obesity is still going on and some have resorted to taking diet pills.  However, the danger lies in the safety of the product that you are using.  Weight loss products may possess harmful adverse effects that can actually do harm than good, and this is why sticking to natural alternatives is the best decision you’ll ever make.

Green tea has been known to help promote weight loss in overweight and obese people because of its ability to burn fats due to its catechin content.  Several studies have revealed that the intake of green tea can help enhance a person’s metabolic rate.

Sources
nccam.nih.gov
livestrong.com
nutraingredients.com

There's a range of research to indicate that gut bacteria are important in the relationship between metabolism and aging, though the situation in higher animals is probably far more complex than in nematode worms: "A powerful approach to understanding complex processes such as aging is to use model organisms amenable to genetic manipulation, and to seek relevant phenotypes to measure. Caenorhabditis elegans is particularly suited to studies of aging, since numerous single-gene mutations have been identified that affect its lifespan; it possesses an innate immune system employing evolutionarily conserved signaling pathways affecting longevity. As worms age, bacteria accumulate in the intestinal tract. However, quantitative relationships between worm genotype, lifespan, and intestinal lumen bacterial load have not been examined. We hypothesized that gut immunity is less efficient in older animals, leading to enhanced bacterial accumulation, reducing longevity. To address this question, we evaluated the ability of worms to control bacterial accumulation as a functional marker of intestinal immunity. ... We show that as adult worms age, several C. elegans genotypes show diminished capacity to control intestinal bacterial accumulation. We provide evidence that intestinal bacterial load, regulated by gut immunity, is an important causative factor of lifespan determination; the effects are specified by bacterial strain, worm genotype, and biologic age, all acting in concert. ... In total, these studies focus attention on the worm intestine as a locus that influences longevity in the presence of an accumulating bacterial population. Further studies defining the interplay between bacterial species and host immunity in C. elegans may provide insights into the general mechanisms of aging and age-related diseases."

Link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22452899

Source:
http://www.longevitymeme.org/newsletter/latest_rss_feed.cfm

Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) such as glucosepane are what you might think of as a sort of biological rust. They build up as an undesirable side-product of the chemistry of life and damage important molecular machinery in and around cells by sticking to molecules or sticking molecules together, making it impossible for them to do their jobs. The increase in AGE levels in the body with advancing age isn't a matter of straight accumulation over time - it's more dynamic than that, and the level of AGEs in the diet may play some role - but eventually it becomes enough to cause serious harm. Aging is little more than damage, and AGEs are one form of that damage.

The SENS Foundation is currently sponsoring research into therapies to break down glucosepane, what is probably the most important AGE in humans. I see that the UK-based research group has a few web pages devoted to their work, on one of which is offered some explanation as to why the drug industry isn't all that much help when it comes to building ways to tackle AGEs:

There are two difficulties with creating AGE-breaker drugs. Firstly, AGEs are chemical targets, not genes or proteins. Almost all of pharmaceutical research over the last 40 years has been orientated to finding drugs that interact with proteins, and with the genes that make those proteins. So we cannot call on the trillions of dollars of research and technology development that have created the modern drug industry to help us (very much - we can use some of it). Secondly, AGEs are pretty stable and tough. That is inevitable - they are in essence the physiological equivalent of the black stuff on the bottom of your baking tin - what is left after years of use and the dishwasher. (In the case of humans, 'the dishwasher' is an array of mechanisms that take care of nearly all the waste products of metabolism.) We know how to break them quite easily, but only using a process that would also dissolve every protein in your body. The trick is finding a way to cleave them and leave all the rest of you intact.

Here is a recently posted video from last year's SENS5 conference in which one of the research groups focused on AGEs discusses their work:

Advanced glycation end-products are a class of natural products that form non-enzymatically on exposed protein residues in the human body. AGEs accumulate as a result of normal metabolism and aging, and significant elevations in these molecules have also been observed in the plasma of patients with chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cancer, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and others. Our laboratory is taking an orthodox approach to studying these materials; we have initiated a synthetic program to prepare AGE- adducts on large scale and in chemically homogenous form. This talk will describe ongoing efforts along these lines, with a particular focus on exploring a class of arginine-derived AGEs. Chemical and biological insight arising from these studies will also be discussed. It is our hope that this small molecule-based strategy will serve to shed new light on the role of AGEs in both healthy and disease physiology.

Source:
http://www.longevitymeme.org/newsletter/latest_rss_feed.cfm

The conclusion of the researchers in this study is interesting, leaning as it does towards cognitive function rather than better implementation of health practices - though both general health and cognitive function are linked via mechanisms such as blood vessel health in the brain. Untangling the knots of many interrelated correlations in such complex things as human beings isn't easy: "Conscientious individuals tend to experience a number of health benefits, not the least of which being greater longevity. However, it remains an open question as to why this link with longevity occurs. The current study tested two possible mediators (physical health and cognitive functioning) of the link between conscientiousness and longevity. ... We tested these mediators using a 10-year longitudinal sample [of 512 people], a subset of the long-running Health and Retirement Study of aging adults. Measures included an adjective-rating measure of conscientiousness, self-reported health conditions, and three measures of cognitive functioning (word recall, delayed recall, and vocabulary) included in the 1996 wave of the HRS study. ... Our results found that conscientiousness significantly predicted greater longevity, even in a model including the two proposed mediator variables, gender, age, and years of education. Moreover, cognitive functioning appears to partially mediate this relationship. ... This study replicates previous research showing that conscientious individuals tend to lead longer lives, and provides further insight into why this effect occurs."

Link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21604882

I am looking for volunteers to undertake some light, spare-time research for Open Cures:

An open volunteer initiative that aims to speed the advent of biotechnologies that can slow down or repair aspects of the biological damage of aging and thus extend healthy human life. Our primary long-term goal is to bring together (a) promising but undeveloped biotechnologies of longevity and (b) the developers who can bring them to the clinic.

The Open Cures roadmap looks a way past the present foundational work (website, writing, organizational details, and so forth) and past the forthcoming efforts to build a repository of documentation for longevity-enhancing biotechnologies. Beyond all of that lies a process of building relationships with the medical tourism industry and developers outside the US. At present I have just as little an idea of the fine details of that process as you do - but discovery is half the challenge in building any initiative.

This is where research and volunteers come into the picture. There is a great deal of very useful information out there in various websites and publications that I would like to see assembled into one place - or at least the references to it all assembled in one place. This is light research work that any smart person with an internet connection can undertake, and it can take place in parallel to other foundational work for Open Cures - and be accomplished piecemeal by many different people. Many hands make light work.

Thus I am looking for volunteers to take on the assembly the following data, and other items that logically follow on from it, for as many different countries as make sense to look at. This may be a case of cleverly finding out that someone in the medical tourism industry has done much of this work already, but I think there's a little more to it than that. To my mind the eligible countries include much of the Asia-Pacific region, India, and a few others - but validating that list with real numbers is one of the tasks on the table.

The state of medical tourism

How many people travel to this country for medical procedures on a yearly basis, and how does that compare with historical data? Are there estimates for the market value of this medical tourism? Is there data broken down by types of procedures and institutions?

Noteworthy organizations and advocates in the field of medical tourism

Who is leading the charge in growing medical tourism to this country? Which organizations and advocates are prominent, both in the US and in the other country?

Conferences and trade shows

Where does the medical tourism industry focused on this country gather when they come together? Are there established conference series, either in the US or overseas? Are these general conferences, or focused on this particular country?

The state of investment into medical research

How much public and private investment into medical research takes place in this country? How does that break down by field of medicine?

Noteworthy developers and medical tourism destinations

Who are the leaders in offering new medical technologies for medical tourism in this country? What procedures do they specialize in? What is their background and how are they funded? For example, see Beike Biotech in China.

Existing international arrangements

Are there already examples of international cooperation between local developers in this country and developers or research groups in the US or Europe? For example, see Vescell/TheraVitae which offers stem cell treatments in Thailand, but is a Canadian and Israeli company. Countries and regions where there are existing arrangements will likely prove easier to nudge into producing new ones.

Legal environment

To what degree are developers in this country legally bound by various forms of intellectual property in the US? To what degree does that matter on a practical basis? Is there a lot of scofflaw development taking place, for example? The legal details are likely to be quite different for copyright, patents (and international patents), trademarks, and other distinct forms of intellectual property.

Other important matters

How does the country rank in safety for US tourism, local bureaucratic corruption, and items that will factor into its attractiveness as a destination?

One of the near term items on my to-do list for Open Cures is to set up a wiki to better allow people to incrementally contribute this sort of information. As data like this is assembled, it will be posted and made available as a resource to inform later decisions and relationship building exercises.

If you are interested in helping with this part of the Open Cures agenda, please sign up for the discussion group and let us know.