Anti-Aging: State of the Art

We still cannot treat many well understood diseases, including tuberous sclerosis, allergies, asthma, etc. We don't know the exact cause of multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, type 2 diabetes, etc, despite studying those diseases for decades. We can't help you keep the color of your hair or regrow your missing teeth, despite tons of money dedicated to such therapies by the industry.

And articles like these talk about combating aging - a combination of development, damage, and likely an evolutionary mechanism, within 10-15 years. I cannot help but be skeptical.

My main questions are "what should I be doing right now to stop my own body from aging?" and "when will more stuff be available for me to do that is not currently?"

The article didn't help much in this regard. As far as I can tell, there are a number of clinical trials I should watch to see if those drugs work in humans? But nothing actually confirmed yet? I sure hope they do pan out, but given how many treatments in general medical science cross the mice/primate-to-human barrier, I'm not feeling optimistic.

Note that in the article itself, the first comment and its replies get into this a bit, and the author does advise taking certain drugs right now. Maybe I'll try to convince my doctor to prescribe metformin...

A minor improvement in slowing aging would save more years of life than curing cancer, and it's unfortunate that a lot of the most exciting discoveries and research are under-reported on (meanwhile, some of the least-exciting or relevant findings get significant hype by media outlets on occasion, die to seemingly random clickbait-ification algorithms).

When the science is real and we’re talking about professional, legitimate deployment of a medically revolutionary technology, it won’t show up as fractious riff-raff biotech startups built on the back of post-docs and super cheap labor hoodwinked by idealism. Rather it will be companies or non-profits that actually pay high compensation to get results.

There is too much to say..but short version: Cryonics was not just bad science. It was considered by many of us then as bad science fiction...at its best. At its worst, no more useful than the Egyptian mummification attempts to become immortal. In the end, the Egyptian mummies ended to as fertilizer anyways.

Alcor that went by Life Extension then got into a right royal soup later when Ted Williams frozen body was separated from his head that went missing and was kicked around by a rogue employee. Several of his DNA samples went missing.

It was GNARLY. I slowly became disenchanted but I have to admit that reading this now, great strides have certainly been made..not so much as getting closer to anti-ageing, but more in terms of clarity of purpose.

On a slightly related(nostalgic) note: ‘neural link’ was always the reachable and desirable goal. And I think that’s where we will end up eventually. Neural links and clones/bionic/prosthetic aided clones.

Re: Ted Williams and Alcor .. https://connectingdirectors.com/53931-ted-williams

[..]But the worst was yet to come. Fast forward seven years to 2009, when a book by a former employee of Alcor hit the shelves containing explosive allegations of Alcor’s abusive treatment of Williams’ frozen head. Author Larry Johnson wrote that an empty tuna can was used as a pedestal to support the slugger’s head while experiments (which subsequently cracked his frozen brain) were conducted. When the tuna can became stuck to the head, an Alcor employee allegedly tried to dislodge it by swinging at it with a monkey wrench, in the process missing the can and connecting with Williams’ head instead. Johnson wrote that the impact sprayed “bits of frozen head” around the room.[..]

That leads to this thought: if anti-aging can't simply remove sickness but just stretches out the existing healthy/sick profile to say 120 years, one way to achieve what I want would be to accept the anti-aging drugs and enjoy good health, then kill myself at 90.

Lots of people will be horrified by the thought, but it is still an absolutely better outcome than not taking drugs and following the usual course of events. Also, my approach circumvents many (but not all) of the negative consequences that would occur if the anti-aging technology works and everyone uses it.

The most obvious implementation would be for old, rich people to pay for the blood of young poor people. That could conceivably work, but it's also more than a little dystopian.

Some follow-up questions if this actually works are: how much blood are we talking about here? and is there a way to grow/manufacture blood in a lab, perhaps by growing human bone marrow outside the body?

Having said that, I have translated tamil and Sanskrit texts. I distinctly remember a verse that describes a preparation made with heavy metals ..I believe there was arsenic. And my fav ingredient there was Mercury. That would fix ani-ageing.

I always keep an open mind. One never knows. If only we knew what the ‘Soma’ creeper is and where it can be found..

Random google search result:

http://ayurveda-sedona.com/knowledge-center/anti-aging-rejuv...

[..] First of all, one is sequestered for about 90 days. The patient is to remain in a “Kuti” a specially built closed cottage or hut, where light does not enter. During those three months, they remain in the darkness, shielded from sunlight and outside visitors. There, they begin complete purification of the body through Pancha Karma detoxification techniques. Certain herbal pastes are rubbed onto the body to exfoliate, and than allowed to dry, drawing out toxins. Medicinal plants, leeches, sweating and vomiting therapies are used for further detoxification of every organ system. During this time, diet is very minimal, perhaps eating only once a day, or even fasting on liquids. Some yogis drank only warm cow’s milk, considered sacred by Hindu’s, during the whole process. Specialized salts were ingested to preserve the body.

After weeks of cleaning the body of all built up impurities, it is time to re-nourish tissues at the deepest levels. Abhyangha massages, mineral baths, shiro dhara, sacred essential oils and precious gems were used to anoint the body. At this time, the immune boosting rasayana herbs and fresh juices were administered. These tonics are full of antioxidants, fighting free radical damage. There are legends of rare, specialized rasyanas, such as the elusive “Soma” plant, found in the mountains of India. It is not quite clear where this creeper was exactly located, but apparently it was the secret ingredient necessary in the magical elixir of youth.

After their morning spa therapies, patients spent the majority of their time performing tapas, meditating, reciting mantras, and practicing yogic breath. This time of hibernation not only cleansed their physical body but transformed their subtle and emotional bodies as well. They release all stuck emotions, anger and grief. They clear karmas of past lives through inward reflection. They often had visions of God, bestowing blessings upon them, and filling them with light. Universal knowledge is revealed to them from the cosmos. They cultivate inner peace.

After the “Kuti-pravesika” (living in the dark cottage, sequestered for 90 days) the person emerges completely transformed. The old grey hair falls out and is replaced by black hair. Old teeth fell out, replaced by new teeth. Complexion becomes fair, wrinkles smooth out and skin’s elasticity is restored. Eyesight and hearing drastically improve. Age related joint/body pain is gone. Memory and concentration is sharp, and there is spiritual clarity. The normal gross, dense vibrations of the physical body are sped up to a lighter, subtler frequency.[..]