Category Archives: David Sinclair

In one way or another, we are all concerned about how well we are aging, whether that is physically, mentally, or visually in the way we look! Living a healthier lifestyle is something many of us focus on as we age; we all want to live well and experience the most out of life! If you have been looking into ways to improve your overall health and promote healthy aging, you may have heard of metformin. Metformin is becoming an increasingly popular topic when it comes to anti-aging, thanks to the several studies that have been published about the incredible benefits for overall health, mortality, and anti-aging. Metformin is derived from natural compounds in the French Lilac plant and has been used to treat diabetes since the Middle Ages. Used for over 60 years, this medication has an outstanding safety record, and is a safe and cost effective.

Leading Harvard scientist, Dr. David Sinclair, wrote a blog on the benefits of metformin anti aging, titled This cheap pill might help you live a longer, healthier life. Dr. Sinclair outlined numerous studies that proved the beneficial effects metformin can have, and we have compiled 6 of the top benefits backed by science.

As we age, we are more likely to face complicated health challenges, like cancer. However, research has shown metformin to have anti-cancer properties that reduce the likelihood of being diagnosed with numerous forms of cancer. In 2009, a promising study was carried out in the UK, with over 62,000 participants. The study revealed that using metformin was associated with a lowered risk of cancer in the colon and pancreas. The study divided participants into four separate groups, based on where they were receiving monotherapy with metformin, or sulfonylurea, combined therapy (metformin plus sulfonylurea), or insulin. Those using metformin monotherapy had the lowest risk of colon and pancreas cancer. Whereas those on insulin, or insulin secretagogues were more likely to develop cancers.

Additionally, a study conducted by the Mayo Clinic revealed that diabetic women who took metformin had a better survival rate than those who did not. This research is extremely significant because ovarian cancer is the 5th most common cancer in women and has a mortality rate of 65%. The benefits of metformin are impressive and women around the world are taking note.

When taking a closer look at the overall mortality rate of cancer patients with Diabetes, a study of 1,300 participants in the Netherlands revealed that metformin use was associated with lower cancer mortality compared with non-users.

Further, metformin users with diabetes were shown to have a reduced risk of colorectal cancer than non-users. A comprehensive study that took place in the United States, included over 460,000 participants over the course of several years. The results revealed an 8% reduction in the likelihood of a colorectal cancer diagnosis among those who used metformin.

Scientists compared 78,000 people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and compared them to a control group of 78,000 people without diabetic controls. Patients with type 2 diabetes who were taking metformin had a longer survival rate than the non-diabetic control group, over a 5-year period. There have been multiple studies on the use of metformin that confirm the positive effects on overall health and longevity.

In a comprehensive, multi-year study, metformin was shown to reduce the risk of developing diabetes by 31%. This study showed the effect of metformin was equally effective for both men and women. As we see the rates of diabetes on the rise, and the associated health issues related to diabetes can be serious and life-threatening, these results were very positive and have significant potential for those at risk of developing diabetes.

A 2009 study of 390 patients in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial showed that metformin reduced the risk of macrovascular disease. This study included a 4.3-year follow-up period and demonstrated that metformin can significantly reduce cardiovascular mortality. Additionally, the study showed that metformin can reduce the incidence of cardiovascular events in both diabetic, and non-diabetic patients with coronary heart disease. As such, the benefits of metformin are effective for anti-aging purposes, due to the fact cardiovascular health typically declines with age.

A study of 67,731 participants who were non-demented, non-diabetic, and over 65 years of age, were studied from January 2004 to December 2009: The study revealed that diabetes is associated with an increased risk of dementia. When provided with sulfonylureas or metformin, rather than thiazolidinediones for a longer period the risk was reduced. More specifically, the study determined that metformin use showed a significant inverse association with cognitive impairment. This large scale study controlled for age, education, diabetes duration, fasting blood glucose, vascular and non-vascular risk factors. This is a significant finding proving the anti-aging effects of metformin.

Weight-loss is something on many peoples minds as they age, and not just for superficial reasons! Weight gain can affect mobility, can negatively impact cardiovascular health, and can result in a wide array of other health challenges. As we age, it often becomes more difficult to lose weight. A 2012 study of 154 patients was conducted over a 6 month period in Germany. The purpose of the study was to determine the efficacy of metformin for the treatment of obesity. The results were impressive and demonstrated that metformin is an effective drug to reduce weight in a naturalistic outpatient setting in insulin sensitive and insulin resistant overweight and obese patients.

The anti-aging benefits of metformin have been experienced by thousands of patients around the world. Not only can it reduce mortality, but it can improve longevity, overall health, and quality of life as one ages. The studies on metformin have been extensive, and the results truly do speak for themselves. In addition to the listed benefits of above, studies have shown metformin slows down the rate of DNA damage. Though access to metformin has not always been easy, there are telehealth subscription services available that have improved access to buy metformin. AgelessRx.com is an American based company that provides high-quality metformin through their telehealth subscription service.

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6 Anti Aging Benefits of Metformin - The Shepherd of the Hills Gazette

In the hours after Pfizers momentous vaccine news emerged on Monday #pfizerproud popped up on my social media feeds again and again from the firms employees, both past and present.

Ive been an avid observer of pharma social media for some time and this is somewhat unusual. Not for the pharma employees to be proud of the work they do, but such a spontaneous and widespread demonstration of pride in our industry is not normally seen, though it is thoroughly deserved here.

Interim analysis of the COVID-19 vaccine candidate Pfizer has been working on with BioNTech found it to be more than 90% effective at countering the disease, and the company said it expected to be in a position to file BNT162b2 for FDA approval in the third week of November.

The phase 3 trial results are a huge advance in the fight against the global coronavirus pandemic. The study, which only began at the end of July, has enrolled 43,538 patients to date and has shown that protection against COVID-19 is achieved 28 days after the initiation of the two-dose vaccination.

As Pfizers CEO Albert Bourla said: Today is a great day for science and humanity. We are a significant step closer to providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help bring an end to this global health crisis.

The work to date certainly justifies Bourlas insistence on pushing his vaccine research and manufacturing leadership to think differently about the issue and move quicker that they would have thought possible.

The scientists have done their job

Think in different terms, he told them back in March, according to Forbes, when the COVID-19 pandemic was beginning to overwhelm countries like Italy and Spain in Western Europe.

Think you have an open chequebook, you dont need to worry about such things. Think that we will do things in parallel, not sequential. Think you need to build manufacturing of a vaccine before you know whats working. If it doesnt, let me worry about it and we will write it off and throw it out.

His approach is certainly in keeping with the transformative nature of 2020 and the innovations and adaptations that the year has so far forced on us all. It was, after all, shortly after the outbreak began in January that scientists from China published details of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Of course, the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is just one of many in development and study is still ongoing and collecting additional safety and efficacy data.

Its final vaccine efficacy percentage may vary from the headline grabbing results released this week, as the companies themselves have noted, and many wider questions remain for policymakers and politicians. Theres the ongoing issue of public attitudes to vaccines and trust, deliberations on how to best distribute Pfizers, or any other companys, COVID-19 vaccine, and the financial returns of any vaccines will be sure to be scrutinised.

Having a vaccine which works is just the starting point, acknowledged David Sinclair, director of UK charity and thinktank the International Longevity Centre commented. But he added: That we are one step closer to a vaccine against Covid-19 is brilliant news. The scientists have done their job.

Its a sentiment that can be applied to all of those across the industry who have been working, directly or indirectly, on COVID-19 and all the healthcare outcomes affected by the pandemic.

So, although I started this article focusing on #pfizerproud, the industry should also be #gileadproud, #astrazenecaproud, #lillyproud and so on.

Hope from medicines, vaccines and health tech

Pharma has always existed at close intersection to mainstream society. Its an industry that touches all of our lives with its vital role in our healthcare, but this year has, unfortunately, given it even more resonance.

At a time when the public is obsessing over infection rates, the R number and COVID-19s deadly toll, like many in the industry Ive been having really quite detailed conversations with non-pharma friends about clinical trials, vaccines and public health.

The upshot of those conversations, in addition to a burning desire for rapid progress, is that we need pharma now more than ever.

As ABPI chief executive Richard Torbett said earlier this week when talking about the importance of vaccines: Millions of people all over the world are living under some form of restrictions.The organisations who research, develop and manufacture medicines, vaccines and health tech are our best hope of treating, preventing or one day even eradicating the virus.

Much as Joe Bidens win in the US presidential election provides a sense of a weight having been lifted from the minds of many, in the US and far around the world, Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial results brings a similar sense of relief.

In neither case are we out of the woods yet, and its not even that things wont get worse before they get better but the last week has provided some very welcome news indeed.

So, for now, lets celebrate a major step towards the emergence of a COVID-19 vaccine and be #pharmaproud about the huge contribution the industry had made, and is making, during this global health emergency.

About the author

Dominic Tyer is a journalist and editor specialising in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. He is currently pharmaphorums interim managing editor and is also creative and editorial director at the companys specialist healthcare content consultancy pharmaphorum connect.

Connect with Dominic on LinkedIn or Twitter

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We should allow ourselves to be #pharmaproud - - pharmaphorum

We recently came across this article on Mind BodyGreen that was written by their senior health editor, Kristine Thomason, that we thought was well worth the share as it ties in with similar articles that we have published.

By now, you're very familiar with the daily COVID-prevention checklist: Wash your hands, don't touch your face, wear your mask in public, and socially distance from others. And repeat. Each of these precautions aligns with guidelines the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, to help mitigate viral transmission.

What the CDC (or any of the powers that be, for that matter) doesn't address quite so clearlymuch to many experts' dismayis the fact that nutrition is also a non-negotiable in the fight against COVID-19.

As for the CDC guidelines, there is a mention tucked into their "Food and Coronavirus" guidelines, where they advise: Reduce pandemic-related stress through good nutrition; incorporate vitamins C and D, plus zinc, into your diet for possible immune system support; read labels on any canned foods you buy, and seek out the healthiest options; and prioritize fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains. They also point toward resources at the USDA Nutrition Assistance Program if you need help securing nutritious foods.

Of course, all that information is important and usefulas are the other COVID-19 guidelines the CDC has laid out. But, unfortunately, there's not a single mention of nutrition as a preventive measureit's entirely left out of the conversation on their "Prevent Getting Sick" section. The way we see it, leaving nutrition as a side note is a huge miss. After all, we've had nutrition top of mind since day one of the pandemicwhether it's featuring an immunologist's COVID dietary advice or discussing top immune-supporting nutrients with a longevity expert.

One expert who has been particularly outspoken about this topic is preventive medicine specialist David Katz, M.D. He already gave a compelling COVID reality check on the mindbodygreen podcast, and now, he's sharing his thoughts on the importance of nutrition as a tool to keep you healthynow and always. But especially now.

Why nutrition needs to be a priority, not an afterthought.

"The greatest single influence of whether you develop a bad chronic disease or die prematurely is your diet quality," says Katz. "Diet is constantly, universally important. Literature showing that it is the single leading predictor of all-cause mortality is incontrovertible."

So, why exactly don't we hear more about diet in relation to disease prevention? To start, other factors that affect health and mortality are often much more straightforward. For example: You're either a smoker or a nonsmoker; you either do physical activity or you don't; your blood pressure is either high or normal. "But diet is an infinite array of intermingled variables," says Katz. "There are many ways to get it right. There are many more ways to get it wrong."

There are also numerous other factors at play (think cultural, socioeconomic, the list goes on) that can interfere with your access and understanding of optimal nutrition. Not to mention, as survival-driven humans, our instincts are programmed to be more attuned to immediate threats rather than long-term ones, Katz explains. "One of the reasons we neglect our diet is it doesn't fly at the speed of a bullet," he says. "If I eat a doughnut today, it won't affect me tomorrow. The cause and effect are separated by time, so it's hard to see. We are pretty blas about the massive association between diet and adverse health outcomes in general." That is, until we're faced with a pressing threat. Enter: COVID-19.

Why focusing on diet amid COVID-19 is both a necessity and an opportunity.

It's no secret that individuals with underlying health conditions like heart disease, asthma, diabetes, and chronic lung disease are at a higher risk of adverse COVID outcomes. "To ignore that is absurd, and to ignore that diet is the greatest single driver of all of that is also absurd," says Katz.

For that reason, Katz sees the current COVID-19 climate not only as a reason to prioritize diet more than ever but also an ideal time for people to make lasting change.

"It's a massive opportunity to address the acute and the chronic," he says. "We should have done it anyway, but that's the problem with dietit's a slow-motion threat; it doesn't trigger our anxiety. COVID does, so I say, let's catch the wave."

So, what can you do...today?

"There's never been a better time to have the 'let's get healthy, America' conversation," says Katz. That's because, even small, conscious changes can affect your health and immunity.

As for a healthy diet, Katz believes there's a basic theme to eating optimally, but there isn't a narrow prescription every person needs to adopt. To get you started on your own path, he shares a few tips for taking positive, dietary steps forwardand they're backed by other experts in the field, too:

1. Start with one healthy meal...but know the benefits get better over time.

"You can alter your immune response with a single meal," Katz says, "the magnitude of benefit will accrue over time, you certainly won't get the full measure from one good meal, but you can start the party." He notes that there is evidence in studies that observe how harvest cells in the immune system react to different stimuli. "They react in a way that's more likely to protect you following a high-quality meal, as opposed to a low-quality meal."

2. Opt for wholesome, natural foods.

"Essentially the closer you get to foods that come directly from nature, the better," says Katz. "So you want to avoid ultra-processed stuff and eat as much real, minimally or unprocessed foods as possible." Simple steps in the right direction might mean sipping water instead of soda or choosing whole grains instead of refined ones. "And if the ingredient list runs off the box, it's probably a bad idea."

And when it comes to choosing those foods...amid a pandemic, experts and the CDC agree that foods rich in vitamin C, vitamin D, and zinc may be particularly beneficial. "There's no disagreement between scientists and doctors that vitamin D is important for the immune system," David Sinclair, Ph.D., said during a recent mbg podcast episode. While Amy Shah, M.D., notes that vitamin C is such an important nutrient for immune support.

Supplements are also an option, but Katz points out these should be used as "supplemental to, not substitutes for a high-quality diet."

3. Swap in plants when you can.

"Since our diets tend to be heavy on animal foods, and most people consume too few fruits and vegetables, the more you can shift to plant foods the better," says Katz. That includes an array of fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans, lentils, nuts, and seeds. "Basically, any time you can eat a plant instead of an animal, do."

Other experts agree with this sentiment, including Jeffrey Bland, Ph.D. "If we go back to the cultures that have respected longevity and ask what they ate, we find that they're eating very hearty plants," he shared in a recent mbg podcast episode.

Of course, there are other measures you can takebut a healthy diet doesn't need to be overly complex, by any means. As Katz puts it, "It's just that simple; it's just that powerful. It's actionable, it's immediate, and there's never been a better time."

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Why Aren't We Talking More About Nutrition Amid COVID-19? - Anti Aging News

Boss Ricky Waddell believes the pressure has eased on his Caledonian Braves stars after their first win of the Lowland League season.

Jack Smith, David Winters and David Sinclair earned The Braves the three points against Dalbeattie Star, with Steven Degnan's strike for the visitors proving to be a consolation for the hosts.

With a huge clash with current league champions Kelty Hearts this weekend, Waddell believes it was crucial to get off the mark last night after an impressive display.

He told Lanarkshire Live Sport : "We really set the tone of the game early on that was important for us.

"We had a couple of sticky moments but I felt we were comfortable at half-time going in at 2-0.

"We didn't give away many chances and rode the storm after they got their goal before David's free-kick wraps things up for us.

Gallery: Predicted XI: Celtic v Rangers (H) (Read Sport)

"It gives us a bit of breathing space after a tough start to the season.

"We are getting bodies back, hopefully, in time for Saturday and we are getting back to where we were before the injuries in pre-season.

"If we go into Kelty off the back of four defeats you are starting to think it's going to be a tough task.

"I feel the boys can breathe a bit easier. Dalbeattie Star is a dangerous game, they take points off people and always come with a plan.

"The win takes away the thought that it has been a really bad start to the season.

"What has happened is that we have improved every game and it gives the players and myself a bit of a lift going into the Kelty game.

"I've been at clubs where you're struggling for a win and that becomes a habit. That's broken right away for us and we can concentrate on progressing."

Follow Lanarkshire Live Sport on Twitter via @LanLiveSport, like us on Facebook or find us on Instagram for the latest sports news, pictures and video.

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Caledonian Braves can 'breathe a bit easier' after first win says boss Ricky Waddell - MSN UK

Forget the point black hat and long nose, there was only one witch every 90s teenager wanted to be - Sabrina.

With one quick point, she could have the perfect outfit, fix her homework or embarrass her school enemy.

Sabrina the Teenage Witch first aired in 1996 and ran for seven years, following Sabrina Spellman, her cat Salem, aunts Zelda and Hilda, on/off flame Harvey and many more memorable characters.

But what became of the family, the teachers and the boys after the show came to an end in 2003?

Let's take a trip through the closet to the Other Realm and find out what they've all been up to...

As the star of the show, it's not surprising that Melissa Joan Hart enjoyed a successful TV career post Sabrina.

The former Clarissa Explains It All actress became a household name thanks to her magical role.

After Sabrina wrapped in 2003 Melissa starred in Nine Dead and Robot Chicken and starred in Melissa and Joey, which ran for five years.

Over the years she's spoken openly about her past drug issues, but the mum-of-three has been enjoying a new lease of life after losing weight and loving her time with hubby Mark Wilkerson.

On her Twitter, she says her "favourite role" has been being mum to her boys Mason, Brady and Tucker.

Whimsical Aunt Hilda was a definite favourite on the show - and her love story with Will the train conductor was heartbreaking stuff.

Actress Caroline Rhea took on a lesser role when Sabrina went to college, so the actress had time to host a talk show.

She went on to star in Christmas with the Kranks, The Perfect Man and Love N' Dancing.

She also voiced Linda Flynn-Fletcher on Disney's animated comedy Phineas and Ferb for more than 100 episodes

Caroline has also starred in a series of TV movies including A Christmas in Tennessee and she's currently filming Sydney to the Max.

The other - slightly more sensible - half of the sibling duo, we all remember Aunt Zelda well.

Beth had already starred in The Bonfire of the Vanitie, Hearts Afire and The 5 Mrs Buchanans before starring as Zelda.

As well as parts on Under the Dome and Lost, Beth Broderick has taken on stage roles.

She was reunited with Melissa Joan Hart in 2014 when she made two guest appearances as Dr. Ellen Radier in Melissa & Joey.

She also went on to star in Timber Falls and episodes of Cold Case and Castle.

Beth has two things in the pipeline, Something About Her and Law of Attraction.

Harvey, Harvey, Harvey. How could we forget.

Now a musician, Nate surprised fans when she shared a photo of himself in 2015.

Gone is the windswept, chiselled and clean-shaven look that captured Sabrina Spellman's heart, now sporting a pair of glasses and slight stubble - and not quite as much hair.

He hasn't given up acting altogether, having gone on to star in Lovely & Amazing, Survival Island and episodes of The Tony Danza Show, Fantasy Island and Touched by An Angel.

However, he's had to take up other jobs to pay the bills.

Back in 2018 he tweeted: "Im currently a maintenance man, a janitor, a carpenter, and do whatever random jobs I can get to pay the bills."

He also enjoys improv and writes songs.

The bully of the show, Libby was a thorn in Sabrina's side until her exit in season four.

Since leaving the show, Jenna Leigh Green has enjoyed a successful career, even keeping it in the world of magic with a role in Wicked as it toured North America.

The star also lent her voice to Extreme Ghostbusters and starred in Dharma & Greg, ER, Cold Case, You Again, Quantico and Bones.

She also took to the stage in Tonya and Nancy: A Rock Opera.

Jenny's time on the show was short lived, but her dreams of other worlds hidden behind closets led to her accidentally going through the Spellman's secret entrance.

After she left the sitcom after just one season, she went on to make appearances on the likes of The Outer Limits and Da Vinci's Inquest.

She starred in Cold Squad in 2005 and then in Le coeur a ses raisons in 2006, which seems to have been her final acting appearance.

Michelle moved to Europe, which may explain why there's not much on record after 2006.

But it sounds like she's tried her hand at lots of different things, as her Twitter bio reads: |Mom. Cuelr. Tech. Music. Design. Fashion. Film, TV & Theater. J'actress of all trades."

Little known fact about Michelle - she starred in the 1996 Sabrina movie as Marnie Littlefield.

Valerie Birkhead was Sabrina and Harvey's best friend at high school, and she remained on the show until season four.

After leaving, she starred in the likes of Bring It On, The Other Guys and both Horrible Bosses and its sequel.

Lindsay also pops up in The West Wing, Grosses Pointe and The Stones.

She can also be seen as Emily in Matthew Perry's sitcom The Odd Couple.

Detention! Not really, but if Mr Kraft was here, it'd happen at a drop of a hat.

Veteran actor Martin Mull was the man behind the role, and he has enjoyed a career spanning six decades - including the likes of Clue, Roseanne and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.

He appeared as George Perry on Community, and has also been seen as Russell the pharmacist on Two and a Half Men. The star also starred in Arrested Development, Dads, Veep and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

OK, we're definitely #TeamHarvey, but Josh gave him a run for his money at the coffee shop.

David Lascher - who previously appeared in Nickelodeon series Hey Dude - took on the role, although his short romance with Sabrina only really came to fruition in season six.

Like Beth, he was reunited with Melissa Joan Hart during Melissa & Joey when he made a guest appearance as Charlie. He's also starred in Blossom with Joey Lawrence, who played Joey in the show.

Sarcastic and hell-bent on global domination, we couldn't get through this without bringing up the Spellman family pet.

He was voiced by Nick Bakay, who was also a writer on the show and its cartoon spin-off Sabrina, the Animated Series.

Amongst his credits are the likes of The Queen of Queens, Paul Blart: Mall Cop (and it's upcoming sequel) and The Adventures of Baxter and McGuire.

He also popped up in In Living Color and Coach as well as The Simspons.

He lives in the Hollywood Hills with his wife, Robin, who he married in 1994.

Soleil was Sabrina's roommate Roxie King. The former child star rose to fame in Punky Brewster, and following her role on Sabrina voiced The Proud Family, Bratz, Planet Sheen and Robot Chicken.

She also appeared in an episode of Friends, in which she dated Joey but kept hitting him.

In 2007 she launched The Little Seed an environmentally-conscious children's boutique but it closed in 2012 and now runs as an online business.

She's also released a number of books, including Happy Chaos: From Punky to Parenting and My Perfectly Imperfect Adventures in Between and party-planning guideLet's Get This Party Started.

Sabrina's other roommate Morgan was played by Elisa Donovan, who joined the show after starring in Clueless as Amber.

She's gone on to appear in Judging Amy, NCIS, The Lake and In Gayle We Trust.

Like many of her other Sabrina co-stars, she's also had a guest role on Melissa & Joey.

Alimi appeared as the Quizmaster Albert in Sabrina The Teenage Witch.

He's known for playing FBI agent David Sinclair on Numb3rs and he's starred in Queen Sugar, Lucifer, Criminal Minds and The Catch.

His most recent big role is as Marcel Dumas on Queen of the South.

Alimi, who lives in New York, is married and has two children.

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Where Sabrina the Teenage Witch cast are now - hit TV shows and unrecognisable star - Mirror Online

When I started my medical degree in the 1970s, a diagnosis of cancer was typically a death sentence. Occasionally, if cancer was detected early, there was some hope for surgical resection. The radiotherapy and chemotherapy used back in those days was rather primitive and certainly often extremely toxic to the body.

Now in the year 2020, despite significant emphasis being appropriately placed on improved therapies and vaccines for COVID-19, the medical world is closing in on a cure for cancer. Over the past decade, the widespread use of immunotherapy and the somewhat newer CAR-T therapies & their spinoffs have revolutionised the treatments of many cancers including haematologic cancers, such as leukaemia and lymphoma but also the common solid tumours such as breast, prostate, colon, lung and melanoma, to name a few.

One of the issues with cancers is that they form a shield around individual tumour cells making them almost invisible to the immune system. Many of the newer immunotherapies help break down the shield, allowing the bodys own immune system to attack the tumour cells.

One of the best group of tumour killing cells in the immune system are T cells known as Tumour Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TILs). Although these are probably the best soldiers of the immune system, once they enter the battlefield of the tumour micro-environment they are disabled by many of the stressors present in this situation. All cells, whether they be our own naturally occurring cells or those of tumours that have formed in our body, require a supply of nutrients and oxygen to function correctly.

Thus, when a TIL enters a tumour to do its work, it is competing with the tumour for local nutrients and oxygen. The tumour being extremely greedy steals these nutrients leading to a reduction in the function of a component of all cells known as the mitochondria. Mitochondria are the fuel supply of the cell creating energy for the cell, allowing it to do its work and exist. If we deprive the mitochondria of nutrients, the mitochondria are converted into a sluggish state known as terminal exhaustion. Also, when the T cells mitochondria are starting to age, there is a natural process that breaks down the cells and replaces them with younger, healthier T cells to continue the job of trying to destroy any tumours that are present.

The function of any living cell, including T cells and tumour cells, is to survive. Cancer cells create particular antigens which stimulate a protein known as PD-1, which suppresses the T-cell response. Thus, when you have cancer, there is this constant battle being waged inside your body between your own immune system and the tumour.

Now for the good news. Scientists from the US have discovered that a commonly used supplement for anti-ageing known as NAD-riboside enhances mitochondrial function in these failing T cells and allows them to recharge themselves to enhance their attack against tumours. When NAD-riboside was added to specific immunotherapy drugs, this significantly inhibited the growth of a variety of tumours in mice.

Professor David Sinclair from Harvard University has pioneered the use of NAD-riboside for anti-ageing demonstrating that this is a safe and effective supplement, prolonging the life of laboratory animals by 20%. Prof Sinclair has also demonstrated the same anti-ageing markers in human beings. There now appears to be another feather in the cap for this safe and seemingly effective supplement, which may become standard care to be added to all new cancer therapies.

A word of caution in that this has not been trialled in humans as additional therapy but, many people, including myself, already take NAD-riboside or a related supplement e.g. NMN; NAD plus, as a potential anti-ageing therapy. I have been saying for a number of years that vitamin B3 and its variety of analogues such as NAD-riboside are a vital part of good health. This is yet more evidence to support these claims. Although we have not achieved a cure for cancer in 2020, we are certainly edging closer.

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Cancer. How close are we to winning the war? - Switzer