DC - LES seminar summary

John Blanco-Losada (jbl@clark.net)
Wed, 23 Apr 97 14:24:49 -0400


On Sunday, April 13th, Jon Buratti, Douglas Houts, and I attended a
seminar at the Life Extension Society in Rockville, MD. The speaker was
Tom Pafford, who hopes to release his new book, "The Super Young," this
year.

Tom describes himself as a layman who, after retiring several years ago,
decided to try to find out why some people, like himself, seem to age
less rapidly than their peers (and Tom does look good for someone in his
early 50's). After 4 years of research, and collaboration with Dr.
Walter Smith (who I believe is a member of the American Academy of
Anti-Aging Medicine), he has concluded that aging can be postponed and
lifespan extended by reducing the rate of cell turnover (i.e. the rate at
which cells die and are replaced), and that free radicals, telomere
shortening, and blood glycolization may all shorten lifespan. My
impression is that his book and program don't really break any new
ground, but instead represent more of a comprehensive snapshot of the
current thinking in life extension.

Of perhaps greater interest to those of us in the DC area is his plan to
open a clinic in Northern Virginia which will feature a program of
hormone replacement therapy, as well as lifestyle, exercise, and diet
recommendations. Tom estimates that he will need approximately $350,000
to $500,000 to open the clinic. To that end he is currently focusing on
securing a loan from the Small Business Administration, but depending on
how things go with the SBA he may turn to individual investors. Those
interested in becoming investors, or in getting additional information on
the book or clinic, are invited to contact Tom at paffor9@idt.net.

Below is some additional information on the LES from their web page
(http://www.clark.net/pub/kfl/les/). DC-area Extropians may definitely
want to consider membership.

"The mission of the Life Extension Society (LES) is to support research
and public
education in human life extension. LES published the Life Extension
Society News
and sponsors speakers and seminars on life extension topics such as
nutrition and
nutritional supplementation, anti-aging medicine, cryobiology, and
nanotechnology.

LES is a membership organization, with most members being from the
mid-Atlantic
region. LES membership dues currently are $20.00 per calendar year. New
members
are always welcome...

The first two phases of cryogenic preservation occur at the site of a
donor's
deanimation and together are called cryonic stabilization. LES is
acquiring
cryonic stabilization equipment and supplies and providing them to
cryonics
organizations for stabilizations in the mid-Atlantic region."

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John Blanco-Losada "You must be the change
jbl@clark.net you wish to see
http://www.clark.net/pub/jbl/jbl.html in the world." - M. Gandhi
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