A US startup is advertising a genetic therapy designed to lengthen lifespan—at a price

So what! The usual scaremongering!

Why not let someone with an extra $1 million to spare decide how she or he wants to be treated? We should call anyone who participates in these trials a courageous pioneer who may benefit humanity!

To treat telemeres sounds like a sound treatment to me. It has been well known for decades that telemeres are involved in the process of ageing!

If it does not work, we will probably find out very soon! If it does work as promised, the many doubters and invested interests will continue to scare us!

"a controversial $1 million-a-pop genetic treatment for aging"

"The claim: Libella Gene Therapeutics claims it is offering a gene therapy that will lengthen lifespan for $1 million a dose. It says two patients have already paid for the treatment at a clinic in Colombia.


The background: We know that telomeres—molecular timepieces on the ends of chromosomes that shorten each time a cell divides—may have something to do with how our bodies age. In some tissues, an enzyme called telomerase works to rebuild and extend the telomeres so cells can keep dividing. We don’t know whether telomerase protects any cell from aging—or whether it extends the life of entire organisms. Telomere-extending treatments in mice have yielded intriguing results, but nobody has demonstrated it in humans.


The trial: That hasn’t stopped Libella. It proposes injecting patients with viruses carrying the genetic instructions for telomerase reverse transcriptase, which is involved in the manufacture of telomerase.


Any worries?: ... This trial is for an unproven, untested treatment that might even be harmful to your health. It is occurring outside the US because it has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.  ..."



A US startup is advertising a genetic therapy designed to lengthen lifespan—at a price