The Latest in Anti-Aging: Rejuvenative Strategy TA-65®

Until now, the pursuit of anti-aging medicine was to slow the aging process, let alone halt it. But earlier this year, a groundbreaking study published in the journal Nature showed that it’s possible to reverse the infirmities associated with aging and regenerate deteriorating tissues and organs by rebuilding particular portions of DNA at the ends of chromosomes, known as telomeres. This unprecedented finding is supported by a growing body of research demonstrating that ensuring the integrity of telomeres, these small segments of repeating DNA which would otherwise decay over time, wreaking havoc on multiple tissues and organs, may hold the key to longevity. TA-65®, an innovative product developed by biotech company Geron Corporation, has been shown, through many years of development and testing, to maintain the structure of telomeres in animal and human cells.  Previously prescribed only by medical professionals, this cutting-edge product is now available from International Antiaging Systems.

Eroding telomeres and the Ticking Clock of Aging

In the 1960’s geneticist Leonard Hayflick made a discovery crucial to our understanding of the mechanics of aging: human cells cultured in his laboratory divided only a finite number of times. Why was this observation relevant to aging? Because cell division ─ a fundamental process that enables a cell to copy its DNA and chromosomes and duplicate itself ─ is not only necessary to growth and development, but also to the repair and maintenance of tissues throughout our lifetime. Once cells stop dividing, they malfunction and die, leading to tissue and organ degeneration, aging and age-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, cancer, and atherosclerosis. It took about another decade before scientists were able to determine why cells stop dividing after they reach their quota of divisions ─ and evidence pointed to a DNA replication problem involving telomeres. During cell division, the DNA at the telomeric ends of chromosomes can’t always completely copy itself (comparable to the way a tape recorder can’t record sound at the very ends of the tape), resulting in a progressive loss of DNA and shortening of the telomere with each repeated cell division. Once telomeres reach a critical length or shortness, cells stop dividing, which, as we have seen, sets the stage for the deterioration of the body’s systems of defense, repair and maintenance, leading to organ decline and disease. What’s fascinating is that this progressive shrinking of telomeres ─ this genetically programmed, ticking clock of aging ─ is observed in somatic (body) cells and stem cells, but not in reproductive cells, which have the capacity to divide indefinitely and maintain telomere length with each cell division. What factor operates to maintain telomere length and cellular immortality in reproductive cells that is turned off in somatic cells? The activation of a specific gene that turns on the production of the “immortalizing” enzyme telomerase, enabling the entire strand of DNA, including the ends, to be replicated during cell division, so that telomeres maintain their length, providing for unlimited cell division potential. And can this gene be turned on in somatic cells otherwise subject to a finite life span? Miraculously, research has confirmed that the answer is yes.

TA-65®: Rewinding the Ticking Clock of Aging

Studies demonstrate that telomerase activator TA-65® turns on the gene to stimulate telomerase production and lengthen telomeres in animal and human cells. TA-65® is a natural product, a purified extract of the root of Astragalus membranaceus, traditionally used in Chinese medicine. Harvested from select farms in a small area of China, the active ingredient is extracted, concentrated and purified at an FDA-certified laboratory to produce a product at least 95% pure in TA-65®.  As mentioned, the product was originally developed at Geron and then licensed to its current manufacturer, T.A. Sciences in New York in 2002 where it underwent five further years of research.

In vivo studies in animals and humans shows that TA-65®, rather than increasing average telomere length, preferentially elongates the shortest telomeres. In other words, TA-65® rescues those telomeres which are critically short and most at risk for causing impending cellular decay and mortality. In addition, TA-65® exhibits a positive, age-reversing effect on the immune system, producing more youthful levels of tumor-destroying and virus-targeting white blood cells. TA-65® also improves age-related indicators, such as glucose tolerance, skin quality and sexual function. In addition, the product is safe – not one adverse effect has been reported in the hundreds of people who have taken it at the recommended dosage, nor was any ill effect observed in animal studies (quite the opposite: a rejuvenating effect was produced in the vast majority of cases).

Conclusion

We’ve seen that the effects of diminished telomerase production are drastic, resulting in shortened telomeres, arrested cell division, and its consequences: aging and age-related diseases. For the first time, a proven regenerative strategy that acts at the DNA level is commercially available from International Antiaging Systems. TA65® is the only product on the market that has been researched and demonstrated to activate the gene for telomerase production and lengthen telomeres. When it comes to anti-aging regimens, TA-65® is the state of the art in restoring and rejuvenating cellular function, and ameliorating, even possibly preventing, the functional decline associated with growing older.

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