X-Message-Number: 19959
Date: Sun, 1 Sep 2002 09:30:17 -0400
From: Thomas Donaldson <>
Subject: partial answer for Steve Jackson

Hi Steve!

It's far from certain that a single mixture of substances wil
significantly prolong your lifespan. I have been a member of LEF for
some time, and their Life Extension Mix has never attracted me. However
they do provide a larger variety of (possible) life extending drugs than
any other source I know. 

Some time ago I wrote a book, A GUIDE TO ANTIAGING DRUGS, which I have
updated whenever any new drug or substance fits my criteria. Those
criteria are basically simple: it must be shown to prolong the lifespan'
of some healthy strain of mammal. I do not accept work with flies,
worms, or clearly unhealthy animals. I also have an appendix which
discusses drugs which just might work even if the critical experiment
has not yet been done.

Because such experiments take some time, only 15 drugs pass that test.
Two such drugs passed that test after the first publication of the
book: human growth hormone (which increased the lifespan of mlce) and
a special extract of ginkgo biloba (which increased the lifespan of
rats), with experiments reported in 1997 for Human Growth Hormone and
1999 for the special extract of ginkgo biloba. The extract is made
in Germany and named Tanakan for short; I would not accept any 
arbitrary extract of ginkgo biloba (and frankly I haven't even gotten
an answer from LEF for THEIR ginkgo extract).

I am now in the middle of arranging the printing of a new edition; all
but one copies of the first edition have been sold. The one which remains
is for my own reference.

A variety of experiments have been done on other drugs, and I hope to
update my Appendix ("Drugs Waiting in the Wings") to add them. So
far, I don't know of any experiment satisfying my criteria above for
these drugs. Some other claims need to be traced down, and I hope
to do that soon, if not for the new edition. 

I am hoping that it will less expensive than the previous one, but
ultimately we'll have to see.

		Best wishes and long long life,

			Thomas Donaldson

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