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LIFE EXTENSION UPDATE SEPTEMBER 8 2000
IN THIS ISSUE: LIFE EXTENSION UPDATE EXCLUSIVE: Long lasting Interferon
to be tried in hepatitis C; PROTOCOL: Hepatitis C; FEATURED PRODUCTS OF
THE WEEK: Silymarin, Hepastat; LIFE EXTENSION MAGAZINE September 2000
issue now online: Life Extension wins in the House and Senate!
LIFE EXTENSION UPDATE EXCLUSIVE
Long lasting Interferon to be tried in hepatitis C
Approximately 4 million people in the United States may have hepatitis C,
which is an inflammation of the liver that can lead to liver cancer, and
the reason for the majority of liver transplants. The disease is often
contracted through intravenous drug use or blood transfusions. Its
symptoms often do not show up for twenty to thirty years following
exposure. More Americans are expected to die from hepatits C in the coming
decades than from HIV.
The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania will be one
of the seven sites in Pennsylvania to conduct clinical trials on a new,
longer lasting form of Interferon with Hepatitis C patients. Patients
admitted to the study must have failed previous treatments. Thomas J.
McGarrity, M.D., professor of medicine at Penn State's College of Medicine
and a gastroenterologist at The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
commented, "The standard treatment for hepatitis C is three injections per
week with Interferon and, by mouth, the drug Ribavirin. This new
investigational drug is essentially a long-lasting form of Interferon that
will require only one injection per week. We think the virus might
actually have a chance to recover with several shots per week. With this
long-lasting therapy, there will be fewer peaks and valleys and hopefully
no time for the virus to recover. The treatment will last for one year."
Two hundred patients will be enrolled in the phase III clinical trial. Six
months following completion of the study, patients will be tested for the
virus. If they are free of the virus, Dr McGarrity feels that is unlikely
that it would return. For information about enrollment, contact the Life
Extension Foundation at the email address below.
PROTOCOL
Hepatitis C
The CDC has estimated that 20 to 50% of infected hepatitis C patients will
develop liver cirrhosis, and 20 to 30% of those will go on to develop
liver cancer or liver failure requiring a liver transplant. Hepatitis C
infection contributes to the deaths of 8,000 to 10,000 Americans every
year. Hepatitis C used to be called non-A/non-B hepatitis and was not
considered a significant health risk. The growing awareness of this new
viral epidemic has resulted in more research being conducted on hepatitis
C than on any other cause of liver disease.
People are diagnosed with hepatitis C when a blood test reveals a positive
reading for the hepatitis C antibody. While the hepatitis C antibody test
can diagnose whether one may have the disease, the blood test that
identifies and measures the overall viral load is the polymerase chain
reaction test (PCR). Standard tests to measure hepatitis C activity
include the liver function tests SGOT, SGPT, GGTP, and alkaline
phosphatase. Hepatitis C antibody tests can accurately diagnose hepatitis
C infection, but they are not always precise in evaluating the success of
treatments.
The Life Extension Foundation's protocol for hepatitis C includes:
1. The standard dose of alpha-interferon.
2. 1000 to 1200 mg a day of ribavirin.
3. The standard doses of Life Extension Mix and Life Extension Herbal Mix.
Please note that some hepatitis C patients encounter liver enzyme
elevations in response to the moderate doses of vitamin A, niacin, and
beta-carotene in Life Extension Mix.
4. High doses of green tea polyphenols (300 to 900 mg/day and garlic
(2000 to 4000 mg/day of a high-allicin garlic supplement) to reduce serum
and liver iron levels to a minimum.
5. Liver-protecting nutrients and immune-boosting therapies such as 200 mg
of milk thistle extract, twice a day; 500 mg of licorice extract, 3 times
a day; 800 mcg a day of selenium; 1200 mg a day of N-acetylcysteine; and
vitamin C ranging from 4000 to 10,000 mg a day.
6. S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) for the purpose of protecting and restoring
liver cell function destroyed by the hepatitis C virus.
7. Alpha-lipoic acid, 250 mg 2 times a day to boost glutathione levels in
liver cells.
8. L-glutathione, 500 mg, 3 times a day.
9. Whey protein concentrate/isolate powder, 30 to 60 grams a day.
10. Grape-seed extract (85 to 95% proanthocyanidin) 100 mg, 2 to 3 times a
day.
11. Make sure serum iron levels are at the lowest possible tolerable
levels.
12. Melatonin, 500 mcg to 6 mg.
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FEATURED PRODUCTS OF THE WEEK
Silymarin
Milk thistle extract, known scientifically as silymarin, is a member of
the compositae or daisy family. It is considered a flavanolignin, which is
a unique type of bioflavonoid. Silymarin can be taken on a daily basis by
anyone who who wants to help protect their liver. Take silymarin with a
meal for best absorption.
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Hepastat
This product, from BotanicLab, has been used for generations in Chinese
medicine and may be a useful adjuvant treatment for such conditions as
hepatitis C and cirrhosis of the liver. A capsule contains 300 mg of a
mixture of burpleurum Chinese DC, scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, paeonia
lactiflora Pall, Isatis indigotica Fort, Astragalus membranaceus, Silybum
marianum Gaertn, royal jelly, Glycyrrhiza glabra L.
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LIFE EXTENSION MAGAZINE September 2000 issue now online!
Life Extension Wins in the House and Senate
In a startling setback to the FDA and the drug cartel, a bill that enables
Americans to legally obtain lower cost prescription drugs from other
countries passed the House of Representatives on June 29, 2000. This is
great news for consumers who have been paying inflated prices for their
medications because the FDA inappropriately blocked the importation of
less expensive drugs from other countries.
The pharmaceutical industry's panicked response has been to run full-page
newspaper ads stating that prescription drugs from Mexico and Canada are
somehow "counterfeit" and cannot be trusted. This is a truly remarkable
allegation when one considers that the lower priced drugs from Canada and
Mexico are often manufactured by these very same pharmaceutical companies.
The drug industry is using scare tactics that have no basis in fact to
block Americans from gaining access to lower-cost prescription
medications, and the FDA wholeheartedly supports the drug companies.
American citizens, on the other hand, are revolting against outrageously
high drug prices.
On July 20, 2000, the Senate passed a similar bill-by a vote of 74-21-that
allows pharmacists and wholesalers to import US-approved drugs available
at lower prices overseas. The House bill, on the other hand, lets
individuals buy drugs abroad, so a compromise measure is now being crafted.
Some people still think the FDA protects us against dangerous drugs. As
you will read in this month's issue, when humanitarian FDA employees tried
to alert the public about a dangerous drug, the FDA launched an internal
affairs investigation and threatened these honorable people with
imprisonment. This shocking fact was exposed by the Los Angeles Times and
we have reprinted this report in its entirety in a story entitled, "The
Rise and Fall of the Killer Drug Rezulin."
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If you have any questions concerning this week's ezine or other life
extension topics, please email me at ddye@lifeextension.com
For longer life,
Dayna Dye
Life Extension Foundation
www.lef.org
ddye@lifeextension.com
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