What is "life-extension science"? How
does this relate to health, disease prevention, and medicine? What role
does the control of ageing play? Where do we stand now with this technology,
where do we need to go, and how do we plan to get there? This Synopsis
is a introduction to The Foundation and The Life-Extension Program, explaining
some of the basic principles of life-extension science, the program objectives,
target audience, and how to participate. If you do nothing more than
print and read this Synopsis (it is about 13 printed pages), then
you will be way ahead. For additonal background, slide presentations
are also given on the history of life-extension
science as well as comparitive survival
curves and life-expectancy over the last 100 years. Also, there
is a review of philosophical considerations.
Dear Reader:
Our main effort centers around the Life-Extension
& Control of Ageing Program. This Program is a systematic approach
to long-range health - one that is based on the emerging discipline of
life-extension science. It integrates health maintenance, disease prevention,
clinical medicine, and a research strategy for the control of biological
ageing. The reason for the latter (the control of ageing) is simply because
without that only marginal gains can be ever made in all of the other aspects.
Indeed, recent research seems to be confirming that biological ageing is
the cause of (not just consequent to) cancer and the other chronic diseases.
In this regard, there are some radical developments on the horizon.
This Synopsis is a review of the basic concepts
upon which our program is based. It is hoped that those who are interested
in this subject will become involved at some level. A Registrant
receives periodic notices, free of charge; this builds our communication
network. A Subscriber receives full
program materials and web-site functions; and for a Participant,
we offer a comprehensive program of personal applications, the details
of which are explained in the Subscriber materials.
Our program is directed mostly toward individuals
who have a serious interest in personal health, who can appreciate a more
rigorous scientific method, who understand the need for a long-range strategy,
and who are philosophically oriented toward self improvement, human progress,
and the betterment of the human condition. We want to adhere closely to
evidence-based practices and avoid the misdirections that commonly permeate
much of the business of health and medicine. Further, it is important to
acknowledge that life-extension entails a broad spectrum of psychological,
social, and ecological issues and many philosophical considerations - thus
the motto "science and philosophy in a unified system of thought".
Indeed, in many ways, life-extension is as much a philosophy as it is a
technology; and it is truly a philanthropic enterprise because it is for
the benefit of oneself as well as for the benefit of others and society,
in general - both present and future generations. Many people first become
interested in personal health and sensitized to the need for new approaches
because of a medical problem. That is a valid point-of-entry into the broader
system; and for those, special attention is directed to what we call the
"life-extension approach to medicine", which we believe is a
significant contribution to conventional practices. It is important to
emphasize that life-extension science is about Health
and is not, as commonly assumed, about geriatrics; and Health is most fundamentally
about Biological Vitality. This basic
idea and its implications require a fair amount of explanation to understand
properly; and the discussion, below, will be a good introduction. We welcome
and appreciate your interest. The Internet community is potentially very
powerful and could play a significant role in advancing both the clinical
and research objectives of life-extension science. Feel free to ask questions
and/or send comments - cae@fis.org.
Best wishes, C. A. Everone.
As a kind of mantra, we will keep reiterating
the following maxim.
The central issue of Life-extension Science
is physical health - its maintenance, improvement, and restoration. There
is one, and really only one, true approach to Health;
and that approach is dictated by the laws of human biology. Health is a
property of Biological Vitality; and
Biological Vitality is a product of Cell Number,
the Rate of Cellular Operations, and
the Quality of Cellular Components
and Products (i.e., Health = Cell Number, Rate, & Quality). This applies
to all Tissues, regardless of type.
Irrespective of the particular agent that might be the cause, Disease is any significant decline in Cell
Number, Rate, and Quality of particular Tissues. And Ageing
is now the single most consequential disease, it being the underlying cause
of senile conditions as well as all of the chronic diseases. If we were
able to develop a technology which could restore and maintain Biological
Vitality (Number, Rate, & Quality) to a level that was comparable to
what you had at about age 20, then your functioning would be optimal; disease
would be minimal; if disease did occur, medicine would be highly effective
and recovery would be rapid; ageing would not occur, and your potential
life-span would be open-ended. That, of course, will seem like science
fiction; and, indeed, it is science fiction at this point in time. But
then, a hundred years ago, so were most of the inventions which are now
part of your daily existence and which you take for granted. Toward accomplishing
this feat, most of the basic science is already in place and developments
are much further along than most people realize, including scientists.
At this time, with well established
practices that are available now, which are relatively easy to implement
and which cost only a modest amount of money, individual health can be
improved significantly, such that a good 20-30% increase can be gain in
healthy life-expectancy in most individuals. This is accomplished mostly
by a healthy life-style, good disease prevention technology, and state-of-the-art
medical management - what we call Phase I Applications. During
the next 5-10 years, significant innovations in disease prevention
and medical management will occur and some means to slow ageing will be
verified, thus resulting in additional increments in healthy life-span.
And in the foreseeable future, methods
for biological regeneration will be invented, thus putting us solidly on
the path toward the ultimate goal. There are only a few areas of biology
where that can be accomplished. We track events in all of them and keep
our people posted on significant developments. In terms of our
Research Strategy, we believe that the most direct and fundamental
approach is in the area of stem cell proliferation, directed migration,
and tissue-specific differentiation using transcription factors or what
we call "eumitotic agents". Persons who have been participating
in personal life-extension (or just staying in touch with developments)
will be in the best position to take advantage of and benefit from incremental
advances and fundamental breakthroughs.
All of this requires a fair amount of explanation;
however, in as compressed a manner as possible, those are the precepts
of life-extension science; and they constitute the basic frame-work upon
which our Program is constructed.
Before expanding on the practical aspects of life-extension
science, I want to interject some broader perspectives.
Consider the following. The single, most fundamental
purpose of life is Survival - self survival. This is a perennial truth
- an existential constant! By extrapolation, one strives to survive in
the immediate present and on into the proximate and more distant future;
and ultimately, one aspires to "Immortality" or "Infinite
Survival". That highest of all philosophical abstractions is, essentially,
the ultimate expression of the most basic, biological instinct. In very
literal terms, infinite survival is manifest in the genetic continuity
via your reproduction; and the emotional bond to family corresponds to
that. Life on this planet is some 4 billion years old, having been initiated
by a common progenitor; and you personally are a direct ascendant of that
first form, which makes you, essentially, 4 billion years old. In more
figurative terms, the subconscious desire for infinite survival is the
well-spring from which the religions draw their inspiration and authority.
And it is sublimated in an array of undertakings - e.g., the pursuit of
fortune and fame, the creation of art, adherence to social movements, donations
to philanthropies, the resonance with historical heroes, and the common
adulation of royalty and pop stars. Obviously, infinite survival is not
a thing. Rather it is a process, an unending pursuit that finds different
expressions according to changing historical and personal circumstances.
After having remained somewhat dormant for the last several centuries,
the idea of immortality or infinite survival, as an active philosophical
principle, is about to be resuscitated and reconfigured by science and
advanced technology - i.e., bio-technology.
Considering our historical development, human
evolution can be characterized as having progressed through three stages.
First, we (our earliest ancestors) survived like the other animals, wild
and naked, adapting ourselves into Nature. From the archaeological record,
we know that this epoch lasted for some 125,000 years; and in fact, there
are still vestiges of such people which remain in remote places on the
planet. Then, about 20,000 years ago, we began adapting Nature to ourselves
by means of animal husbandry and agriculture and, more recently, by industrialization
and advanced technologies. We are now entering the third stage in which
we have the capability (indeed, the necessity) to adapt ourselves to our
own design. That aspect takes various directions: e.g., controlling birth
and preventing birth defects (a practice that became technically possible
about 40 years ago and is now in wide-spread distribution); genetic screening
so that particular individuals may avoid certain environmental conditions
that might evoke disease (something that is technically possible but is
not yet in wide practice); and the increase of intelligence in order to
enhance the neurological capacity for advanced learning and adaptation
to increasing complexity (still on the drafting board). Of all the potential
applications, life-extension science is the hall-mark of this third stage
in our evolution because therein lies the conquest of biological ageing
- an intrinsic, genetic defect which imposed on the individual a relatively
short life-span and the condition of gradual senility. It has been said
that "if we want to improve the human condition then we must first
improve human nature". This is absolutely true; and the control of
ageing is the single most important application in that respect.
The main effort of our organization focuses on
life-extension science and technology, and most of the material is directed
to practical applications in that area. In his paper entitled "A History
of Ideas about the Prolongation of Life ...." (1966), the historian,
Gerald Gruman, identified three schools of thought regarding life-extension.
1) "Meliorists" are those who seek to make life better or more
comfortable for old people. This effort consumes most of the social services
and research funding of agencies in gerontology. 2) "Incrementalists"
seek to improve life-expectancy. Conventional medicine might be in this
category; and some of the gerontological research seeks to slow ageing,
which would give incremental life-extension. And 3) "Immortalists"
seek to solve the essential problem by inventing non-ageing human beings.
Although we will give consideration to #1 and we necessarily must engage
in the practices of #2, we are most fundamentally oriented toward #3, the
Immortalist point-of-view. The reason is practical as well as aesthetic
- for it is a hard fact of reality that unless we completely solve the
problem of ageing, incremental life-extension will be only marginal and
melioration, of little value. Most of the basic science is already in place;
it is an engineering problem. Consciousness-raising of this potential and
channeling resources in the right directions are the biggest challenges
in making it happen. Intermediate technologies can provide substantial
benefits now, while the experimental work is proceeding. Members of the
"Internet Community" can play a significant role in bringing
this science to fruition and be in a position to take full advantage of
the potentials and opportunities.
We will now proceed to render this into more practical
terms.
First and foremost, because virtually everyone
is either now or will be ageing and because ageing is now the primary cause
of most disease, the cause of eventual senility, and the limiting barrier
on the maximum life-span, it stands as a Given that everyone has a personal,
vested interest in life-extension science. The initial challenge here is
to communicate this simple premise - i.e., that we all have an interest
in the development of this science for the benefit of oneself, our relations,
and society in general, both present and future generations. Once that
conceptual foundation is established, then the 
discussion can advance rapidly to the
more substantive issue of how best to proceed. Surprisingly, life-extension
and control of ageing is a rather difficult idea to convey, even though
the condition is obvious and the merit should be self-evident. It seems
that such things as psychological denial, the traditional philosophies,
and other barriers operate to shield one from the recognition of this harsh,
existential truth. But, if you are over age 50, observe the changes in
your own body. Or witness what has happened to your parents. Or visit any
geriatric ward - those are the successful ones, not having died prematurely
from the common diseases. So, again, the merit of this enterprise should
be self-evident. Beyond establishing that recognition, the next challenge
here is to motivate people to become involved in a manner and at a level
that is appropriate - the greater the participation, the more the science
can be expedited. Psychologists will say that humans are motivated (moved
to action) by fear and greed. I would prefer to think that we are moved
by over-coming obstacles and pursuing aspirations, but that is probably
just a more euphemistic way of describing the same dynamic. Either way
(ageing, as something to be feared or as a barrier to be over-come with
its solution as an expression of personal greed or high aspiration), both
positive and negative motivational forces will, no doubt, be at play in
this pursuit.
The Life-Extension Program is structured in stages
so that someone who is interested may become involved at a level that is
appropriate, from general interest (Registration) to expanded information
services (Subscription) to personal applications (Participation) and, perhaps,
on into great involvement (Contributor/Investor status).
To expand on what has already been said, life-extension
science is, most fundamentally, about physical health (its maintenance,
enhancement, or restoration) the consequence of which would be to extend
functional and healthy life-span. In other words, "life-extension"
is not a thing, per se, but rather a potential that is conveyed
by a condition of high quality. Life-extension science is not about geriatrics
or extending infirmity, as is commonly inferred. The discipline encompasses
four, bio-medical considerations: 1) health maintenance, 2) disease
prevention, 3) a special approach to clinical medicine,
and 4) the control of ageing by biological regeneration. While the
control of ageing is the most important of the four, it is the most remote;
and although health, prevention, and medicine are immediate and tangible,
they ultimately are the least significant. Thus, all four are integral
with each other and should be pursued together in a programmatic manner,
with the area of emphasis depending on the personal circumstances of a
particular individual.
Health maintenance (1) is accomplished,
presently, by certain practices in nutrition, toxicology, physical conditioning,
and general life-style. The main objectives include: optimization of body
weight by moderate caloric restriction; avoidance or buffering of exposure
to toxins (e.g., smoking, drugs, industrial chemicals); certain physical
conditioning routines; and some other procedures for "fine tuning",
which would be based on biochemical individuality and personal circumstances.
This science is well established, and the effort is mostly one of building
the routines into one's daily living.
Disease prevention (2) is accomplished,
presently, by routine biological testing and evaluation for the purpose
of discovering sub-clinical disease and determine risk profiles so that
early intervention can be done, using the health practices, above, and
medicine, below. This is more complex, involves advanced technology, and
much of the science is in development.
The life-extension approach to clinical medicine
(3) is a variation on conventional practices, integrating the following
elements: a) confirmatory diagnoses and proper staging, b)
a preference for observational management and the use of health practices
as a first-line or adjuvant treatments, c) reliance on evidence-based
medical therapies, d) mitigation of adverse effects, e)
appropriate supportive care, and f) the enrollment in experimental
trials. In all aspects, a high degree of patient involvement is essential,
and personal values must be regarded. In the life-extension approach to
clinical medicine, a major emphasis is to treat in such a way that quality
life-span is retained and to avoid remedies which have little probability
of doing benefit and which are likely to damage biological vitality such
that quality life-span is shortened. Like disease prevention, clinical
medicine is also complex and involves a great deal of technology; and how
this is orchestrated depends on individual condition and circumstances.
Although present-day, conventional medicine is based on scientific technology,
scientifically, it is still a nascent discipline particularly when it comes
to the chronic diseases that now dominate. Although life-extension seeks
to prevent disease, it is a fact that most people become awakened to the
need for health practices after experiencing a medical crisis. Thus, clinical
medicine is a major component of the Life-Extension Program and a route
into the more comprehensive system.
The control of ageing (4) entails
research strategies in biological regeneration. Most people will easily
understand and accept items 1, 2, and 3 (health maintenance, disease prevention,
and curative medicine). Item 4, the control of ageing, is not yet part
of common understanding either among the general public or the medical
and health professions; however, the reason that it is integral to the
mix is straight-forward - without the control of ageing only moderate
gains can be made in the other 3 aspects. Unless ageing is controlled,
the maximum life-span will remain fixed at about 100, and senescing will
be inevitable. There are only a few areas of basic biology wherein the
solution resides; and we monitor those developments. However, we and a
growing body of other experts believe that the ultimate breakthroughs will
come from the science which is involved in tissue regeneration by advanced
procedures such as the induction of the proliferation, directed migration,
and differentiation of stem cells, using transcription factors and "eumitotic"
agents. Although this may sound like science fiction, now, it is much
closer to realization than most scientists either realize or will say publicly.
To properly understand these scenarios requires
some instruction and training, which is amply provided in the program materials
that are conveyed with Subscription and Participation. To paraphrase and
restate what has already been said, the essential ideas of our approach
are the following.
Health maintenance, disease prevention,
medicine, and control of ageing, the four components above,
would usually be considered to be separate subjects; but, in fact, they
are not. Rather, they are integral to each other and are different aspects
of one condition, and that condition is biological vitality. Fundamentally,
health is a property of biological vitality and biological vitality is
a function of three aspects: cell number, the rate of cell
activity, and the quality of cellular components. Disease,
all disease, is anything which causes a significant decline in any of the
parameters of biological vitality (i.e., cell number, rate, and quality),
with ageing now being the single most important disease. When you compare
a photograph of your self at about age 20 with your current image in the
mirror, the difference is in cell number, rate of functioning, and quality
of components. Health and life-extension science count in a particular
individual; thus, life-extension programs must be individually tailored.
With currently available procedures that take only a moderate amount of
time, effort, and money, and when conducted in a systematic program, the
healthy life-span ("health-span") can be increased by some 20-30%
in most individuals.
The chronic
diseases can be prevented or put under state-of-the-art medical management;
physical health and condition can usually be improved; and ageing can be
slowed somewhat. Those are tangible benefits which can be gained presently
at a moderate cost of time, effort, and money; and for anyone interested
in personal health, that should make the effort worthwhile, per se.
When you note your average life-expectancy in the table, below, multiply
the number of years remaining in your life-expectancy, by a factor of 30%
(i.e., 0.3), and add that product to your life-span. Such practical life-extension
is the primary and more immediate objective of our Program. However, the
real break-throughs are in the area of the control of ageing, and that
entails the advancement of The Program's research strategy. The ultimate
goal of life-extension science is to invent a technology that can restore
biological vitality (cell number, rate, and quality) to a condition that
is comparable to what one had at about age 20. Given such a level of biological
vitality, health and function would be optimal; most disease would be prevented;
if disease did occur, medicine would be highly effective and recovery would
be rapid; and the life-span potential would be open-ended.
As has been stated, there is one and only one
true approach to health and that is dictated by the laws of human biology.
The essential elements have just been cited; and they constitute the main
principles and components of life-extension science and The Life-Extension
Program.
For a more detailed consideration of what life-extension
science might mean to you personally, do the Life-expectancy
Calculation.
Some Organizational History
The Foundation was established in 1972 for the
purpose of advancing life-extension science. The idea of infinite survival
is used as a non-sectarian philosophy which works in synergy with the bio-technology.
The scientific basis of the Life-Extension Program was first published
in 1977 and peer-reviewed subsequently in various scientific and medical
venues.
Everone CA, 1977. A Systematic Approach To Life-Extension And Control
Of Ageing. Journal of Applied Nutrition, 29(3&4) p.32-47, 1977.
Everone CA, 1978. A Uniform System For The Delivery Of Life-Extension
Applications And The Advancement Of Ageing Research. Presented at XIth
International Congress of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan, August 1978.
There are three essential components in a scientific approach to life-extension:
1) a clinical program which is tailored to the aims; 2) an experimental
animal colony for evaluating life-extension agents so that they can be
applied in the clinical program; and 3) a research strategy in ageing and
biological regeneration. From 1978 to 1991, the first two components were
resolved. The Foundation, with Chadd Everone as the Principal Investigator
and various medical and scientific advisors, operated a medical clinic
along the guidelines which are explained in the program materials that
are part of Subscription. Also, an experimental animal colony was maintained
for testing life-extension therapies. In 1991, effort was directed toward
determining the strategy in basic research for the control of ageing as
well as various writing projects including the "fis.org" web-site
and the "DoctorInternet.com" computer program.
A principal objective now is to consolidate the
various components into one central clinic and research facility, which
can then be used as a template for building a network of chapter facilities.
| Principals & Some Advisors |
| Chadd Everone, Im., Ph.D., Governing Trustee and Principal
Investigator. |
Ezra T. Clark, M.D. & M.P.H. Medical Director |
| Richard Stancliff, Ph.D., Scientific Advisor, Businessman
and scientist. |
Douglas Walsh, Administrative Advisor, Senior Auditor for Kaiser Permanente. |
| William Vaughan, Ph.D., Scientific Advisor, Pres. Sport
Street. |
Mark Rosenberg, Computer Sciences Advisor, Div. Mgr. Lawrence Berkeley
Lab. |
| Bill Martin, Program Advisor. Pres. AntiAging Society, Inc. |
|
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PROMETHEUS
I took from man expectancy of death.
CHORUS
What medicine found'st thou for this malady?
PROMETHEUS
I planted blind hope in the heart of him.
CHORUS
A mighty boon thou gavest there to man.
("Prometheus Bound" by Aeschylus written circa 430
b.c.e.)
