On Telomeres and Immune System Aging
The immune system falls apart with age in ways that are as much a matter of configuration as wear and tear - it is a machine in which the programming runs awry, leading it to do the wrong things at the wrong time, or just do nothing when it should be doing something. This activity leads to damage, which in turn accelerates aging: "Immune aging is associated with loss of critical immune functions, such as host protection from infection and malignancy. Unexpectedly, immunosenescence also renders the host susceptible to inflammation, which may translate into tissue-damaging disease as the senescent immune system loses its ability to maximize inflammatory protection while minimizing inflammatory injury. On the other hand, chronic inflammation associated with immune-mediated disease represents a profound stress factor for the immune system, affecting cellular turn-over, replication and exhaustion. Immune cell longevity is tightly connected to the functional integrity of telomeres which are regulated by cell multiplication, exposure to oxidative stress and DNA repair mechanisms. Lymphocytes are amongst the few cell types that can actively elongate telomeres through the action of telomerase. In patients with the autoimmune disease rheumatoid arthritis (RA), telomerase deficiency is associated with prematurity of immune aging. Patients with RA have other defects in DNA repair mechanisms, including the kinase Ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM), critically involved in the repair of DNA double strand breaks. ATM deficiency in RA shortens lymphocyte survival. Dynamics of telomeric length and structure are beginning to be understood and have distinct patterns in different autoimmune diseases, suggesting a multitude of molecular mechanisms defining the interface between chronic immune stimulation and progressive aging of the immune system."
This line of research will produce the most meaningful strategies to control aging. The leukocytes need to replicate quickly as a first line of defense against pathogens. The erosion of the telomeres will cause bad copies and double strands. The immune system becomes compromised and havoc and disease are likely. Activation of telomerase to repair the telomeres keeps the condition of the immune cells in a ready for action state.
Jack Lalanne lived an exemplary lifestyle by exercising, juicing and maintaining a good mental attitude. He succumbed to complications from a cold. Senescence is the real silent killer.
TA-65 is the first telomerase activator to the market. It is a bridge molecule that will maintain the telomeres until further discoveries are uncovered. Dr. Ed Park of Recharge Biomedical has posted a series on YouTube describing the results of real people who have improved their condition.