Telomeres are repetitive DNA sequences that protect chromosomes in the body from sticking together. As telomeres shorten with age and ongoing cell division, the cells are eventually unable to divide and will die.
Maintaining and rebuilding telomeres in the body helps cells to remain healthy and slow down the aging process on a cellular level. TA65® capsules are a dietary supplement containing astragalus extract, which is known to stimulate telomerase activity. This stimulation can compensate for telomere shortening.
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Antiaging Supplements DNA Support Longevity Enhancement RNA TelomeresProduct Description
US based Geron Corporation (one of the world’s key DNA and aging research facilities) discovered during past studies that the Chinese herb astalagus could act as a “telomerase activator” – to help lengthen and rebuild telomeres. The astralagus extract used is a highly purified and concentrated substance which has since been patented and produced by TA Sciences under the name of TA65®.
The use of telomerase activators has caused both controversy and excitement in the antiaging and medical fields, so is it as important as we all think?
Imagine telomeres are like aglets (the little pieces of metal or plastic wrapped around the end of a shoelace to stop it unravelling). They wrap around the ends of chromosomes to protect them and stop them from fraying or becoming damaged.
As our cells go through the normal dividing process, these telomeres shorten fractionally each time. Eventually, as we age, they become too short to protect the chromosomes, and the cells die. As such, taking supplements to maintain and even rebuild telomere length helps to keep the cells healthier for longer.
Further Recommended Reading
Telomerase Activation: Is it a key to unlocking the aging puzzle? – Phil Micans, MS PharmB
This slideshow by Phil Micans gives an overview of the importance of telomere length and how TA65 impacts this. Phil Micans has been actively involved in the antiaging field of medicine and treatments for over 40 years; he is a founding member and Vice President of International Antiaging Systems (IAS) and has contributed to many pieces of antiaging literature and research.
FAQ: Is TA65® classed as a drug?
A: TA-65® is a nutritional dietary supplement, not a drug. We make no claims that it prevents or treats any disease. TA65® is proven to activate telomerase which keeps cells functioning healthily as we age.
There are a number of “theories of aging” available to read which look at telomere length and how this impacts aging. Two of these, the DNA Theory and the Hayflick Theory, look in particular at telomere shortening and how this contributes to cell death.
There is no doubt that there has been a lot of excitement about the possibility of improving telomeres, ergo life and longevity in humans, following on from how much promise has been shown in animal studies. In particular, stem cell research – we all know how important stem cells are and many people are now choosing to freeze their stem cells to be injected back in at a later date should they be needed, but this doesn’t apply to older individuals born before this technology was available. Taking supplements to rejuvenate and lengthen telomeres could in theory solve this problem, as they can be used at any point in an individual’s lifetime to improve cell health. In this way, telomerase activation is being heralded as “regenerative medicine”.
Further Recommended Reading
Theories of Aging – including the DNA Theory of Aging, which proposes that damaged DNA hastens cell death. This piece also covers the Hayflick theory of aging, in which Professor Leonard Hayflick proposes that a cell can only divide itself by about 50 times before it could no longer function. Does telomere shortening and eventual loss cause this “countdown” loss of functionality?
FAQ: Is there a minimum age limit for using TA65®?
A: The minimum age currently recommended is 40 this is because it is believed that people under the age of 40 wouldn’t see much of a difference in their daily lives and they normally don’t have short telomeres. If someone under the age of 40 has a telomere test and the results show they are unduly short, then TA65® would be suitable. Please note that TA65® is not recommended for children, pregnant or nursing mothers.
Past experiments with telomerase activation to improve telomere length include:
Further Recommended Reading
FAQ: I’ve read that as cancer cells have long telomeres that long telomeres may be associated with cancer and that some of the animal trials that used telomerase activators appear to have induced cancer- can you comment on that in regard to TA65?
A: It’s a complicated question to address but we will try. Firstly, let’s state that there are many more published papers that don’t suspect telomeres of being involved with cancer formation and only a handful that do. The papers that do actually used a process of whereby telomerase enzyme was injected specifically into the cells in question and that some scientists have suggested that this direct injection method was more likely the trigger for cancer rather than the telomerase enzyme (and long telomeres) themselves. It is true however that cancer cells do have long telomeres, as it is well known that cancer cells are virulent and not easily destroyed cells and, in some cases, have proven themselves to be ‘immortal’ or at least very long lived, (samples of cancer cells are still living in test tubes decades after their ‘owners’ have died). It is believed that cancer cells make use of telomerase and desire long telomeres to protect themselves to go on living etc. Meanwhile TA65® has not to date shown any carcinogenic properties despite having been used by hundreds of people regularly for a number of years and despite a number of clinical and published trials with it- all of which have reported no such cancer related findings. Taken in normal (Patton regime) doses to date there have no reported side effects or contraindications, but to err on the side of caution, if a patient has a pre-existing cancer condition, then we would advise TA65® use only under the close guidance of a physician.
TA Sciences, creator of TA65® capsules, have conducted a number of clinical experiments to test their potency and efficacy, the most pivotal of which was published in the Journal of Rejuvenation Research.
These trials have highlighted that even when taken orally TA65® could alter a number of factors favorably, principally those related with the immune system as well as helping to improve skin elasticity and normalize blood pressure. Dr. Bill Andrews at Sierra Sciences has also conducted experiments with TA65®, which shows that whenwhen taken orally, these capsules can lengthen the shortest telomeres in humans.
FAQ. Can I expect anything to happen on a physical basis?
A: Some individuals have reported positive effects such as an increase in energy levels, improved vision, improved sexual drive and less gray hair etc after 90 days of continued use, but the time period and effects do vary from individual to individual.
It has been asked to whether consuming the astralagus herb in its native form would have similar effects to taking TA65® capsules. The answer to this is, sadly not. TA Sciences, creator of TA65®, tested a number of astralagus extracts taken as food supplements without the purification process in place and saw that these were missing the active element that promotes telomerase activation. The laboratory equipment used during these tests is accurate to finding one part in a million.
TA Sciences source astralagus at monitored and approved farms in China. This is then analyzed in an FDA approved laboratory and only extract over 90% purity is used. Under tight quality control conditions the extract is sent to New Jersey, USA for formulation and packaging, all according to ISO and cGMP standards.
TA65® is the only product at present that has been tested and proven to activate telomerase and induce telomere lengthening in the human body. TA Sciences have the proven clinical support of Dr Bill Andrews (Sierra Sciences) and Geron Corporation and have proof of efficacy.
Before taking TA65® capsules, we would recommend taking a telomere test which examines telomere length and identifies the shortest length (this metric is seen now to be more important than the average of all telomeres). The shorter the telomeres, the greater the dose should be. In this case, dosing has to be on an individual basis.
FAQ: Where can I order a blood test to examine telomere length?
A: Two established labs that offer this test are Spectracell Laboratory in Texas, USA www.spectracell.com and the Life Length Laboratory in Spain www.lifelength.com/. More labs are offering this, however, and the price is reducing.
If a tolemere test is not possible, we revert to the “Patton dose” – this is based on age, and can be adjusted if the individual has additional health conditions. If using this method, the dosage is as follows:
FAQ: How long do I need to take TA65® capsules before I could see and test for a measurable difference in my telomeres?
A: 6 months as a minimum, but a year’s use is recommended before testing telomeres for a second time.
FAQ: What happens if I miss a dose?
A: Nothing will happen, but it is important to not double up on dosage. Just keep taking the same dose. It is not recommended to make a habit of missing regular dosing.
FAQ: How long should I continue to use TA65® capsules and can I reduce the dose without loss of action at any time?
A: It is recommended to take the starting dose recommended by either a telomere test or the Patton test for at least 2 years. After this, ideally keep on going after that indefinitely, but if you would prefer to reduce based on availability of the capsules or your own budget, then you could reduce to a “maintenance” dosage of one capsule a day after 2 years. If you take a lab test on a yearly basis to test telomere length, this should give you an idea of the ongoing situation and you can adjust your dosage accordingly based on the shortest telomere length recorded.
FAQ: What will happen if I stop taking TA65® after the end of the minimum recommended period? How long before the improvement in my telomere length would return to what it was before I started?
A: Nothing happens immediately when you stop taking TA65®. Your telomeres will stay at whatever length they were when you stopped and then they will start to shorten again with normal aging and cell division. Of course, how fast shortening occurs would be influenced by lifestyle; if you smoke, drink regularly or don’t take any exercise then the shortening will naturally occur faster than in an individual who lives a different lifestyle.
To date, there has not been any report of a negative side effect or contraindication with using TA65® capsules. Here at IAS, we havebeen watching this product with a great deal of interest for a couple of years and in that time many hundreds of people have consumed it on a regular basis.
TA65® capsules represent the cutting-edge of commercially available antiaging medicine and until recently TA65® has only been available through a handful of antiaging clinics.Now for the first time, IAS is excited to be the first organisation to make TA65® available directly to the public.
References
1. Farzaneh-Far R, Lin J, Epel ES, Harris WS, Blackburn EH, Whooley MA. Association of marine omega-3 fatty acid levels with telomeric aging in patients with coronary heart disease. JAMA. 2010 Jan 20;303(3):250-7.
2. Shao L, Li QH, Tan Z. L-carnosine reduces telomere damage and shortening rate in cultured normal fibroblasts. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2004 Nov 12;324(2):931-6.
3. Richards JB, Valdes AM, Gardner JP, et al. Higher serum vitamin D concentrations are associated with longer leukocyte telomere length in women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Nov;86(5):1420-5.
4. Xu Q. Multivitamin use and telomere length in women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Jun;89(6):1857-63
5. Puterman E, Lin J, Blackburn E, O’Donovan A, Adler N, Epel E. The power of exercise: buffering the effect of chronic stress on telomere length. PLoS One. 2010 May 26;5(5):e10837
6. Jaskelioff M, Muller FL, Paik JH, et al. Telomerase reactivation reverses tissue degeneration in aged telomerase-deficient mice. Nature. 2011 Jan 6;469(7328):102-6.
7. Gil Atzmon, Yousin Suh et al ‘Genetic variation in human telomerase is associated with telomere length in Ashkenazi centenarians.’ PNAS, 11/ 2009
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