Exercise and Life Expectancy
March 11 2010   |   Permanent Link
The Wall Street Journal on the potency of exercise: "So what do boomers need to do not just to survive to 85, but to live healthy lives into old age? ... The most important strategy, according to the latest research to look at the question, is to be physically active in middle age. 'If you are fit in mid-life, you double your chance of surviving to 85.' ... Put another way: If you're not fit in your 50s, your projected life span 'is eight years shorter than if you are fit.' ... [These findings] are based on an analysis of 1,765 men and women who had physical examinations performed during the 1970s and 1980s at the Cooper Institute, the Dallas-based birthplace of the aerobics movement. They are a reminder that despite an array of effective drugs and other medical advances, the front line for most of us in the battle to prevent heart disease and survive into old age lies in adopting healthy living habits. ... The report also underscores the importance of physical activity in maintaining overall health: Fitness even trumped smoking cessation in the magnitude of benefit among participants in the study - though not by much. The combination of being physically fit, not smoking and having low blood pressure was a powerful predictor of longevity."

Reasoned Optimism on Longevity
March 11 2010   |   Permanent Link
From Singularity Hub: "The fastest growing age group in the industrialized world is the centenarian club. Pushing past 100 used to be a rare feat, but most demographic studies agree that by 2030 there will be about a million of us enjoying the three digit lifestyle. Those studies don't even count on the revolutionary longevity treatments we could develop in the next 20 years. We could hit that million mark much sooner, and we may start getting people past the 150 or even 200 mark. Either way, baby-boomers are going to become elder-boomers and before that happens we all need to take a crash course on what it means to live to be really really old. Turns out, it's not that bad. Judging by the centenarians scientists have studied all over the world, living beyond 100 isn't about slipping into decrepitude. A good portion of these elders live independent, happy lives without long suffering illnesses. ... Hopefully, the lessons that centenarians can teach will allow all of us to live longer and healthier lives. I fully expect the human lifespan to keep increasing, maybe indefinitely. In a few years, I may be rewriting this article as 'Get ready to live past 1000.' The longer you live, the more chance you have to access technologies to extend your life. It's a good reason to take care of yourself. See you in the next century."

Stem Cell Therapies in Colorado
March 10 2010   |   Permanent Link
A good article from Singularity Hub examines an entrepreneurial medical practice in Colorado that offers stem cell therapies in defiance of the FDA. More of this sort of proactive civil disobedience is needed, but it has a way of ending badly for those involved, sadly. FDA bureaucrats have have not hesitated in the past to destroy legitimate and responsible businesses for failing to toe the line. From the article: "RSI provides its patients with the Regenexx procedure, an adult stem cell transplant that uses your own cells (autologous) to treat joint injuries and bone damage. There’s no surgery needed. A needle extracts bone marrow, RSI isolates the stem cells and cultures them in your own blood, and then these cells are injected into the area where they are needed. They've treated 348+ patients with 800+ injections and show no signs of slowing down. According to RSI's own surveys, 89% of their knee patients showed marked improvement, as did 75% of their hip patients! Within months some patients can walk or run in ways they haven't been able to in years. We've seen these kinds of results from stem cell treatments before, but only in horses and dogs. That's because human stem cell therapies like this one aren't approved by the FDA. How can [RSI] flaunt the lack of federal approval? They claim that Regenexx is solely used as a part of their medical practice, only within the state of Colorado, and as such is no more regulated by the FDA than it would be by the FAA or the Department of Motor Vehicles."

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