Forever Young: The Protandim Surge (Part 2)

Some observers of the anti-aging movement express skepticism about Protandim and its boosters' claims. Apparently this is due to two things, mainly:

1) The belief that nutritional supplementation is a dead-end path to significant extension of human lifespans.

2) The suspicion that the company promoting Protandim is trying to pull a bait-and-switch on the public. To understand some of the history of Protandim and the skeptics' argument on this point, I turn to the Fight Aging web site and the post by the commentator called "Reason," who seems to have as good a handle on the controversy as anyone. Reason writes that, "The short version can be told as follows" (the bulleted statements are his):

• CereMedix tests a compound that could extend life span by mitigating oxidative stress. This is CMX-1152 ... .
• Lifeline is founded on the basis of a licensing deal with CereMedix; the Protandim name is later assigned to CMX-1152
• Around this time, I begin to comment on this deal, CMX-1152, Protandim and Lifeline. ...
• For reasons that remain unclear, Lifeline does not proceed with CMX-1152, but rather begins looking for a new product to market under the existing brand name of Protandim.
• For a time, Lifeline continues to use the experimental results from CMX-1152 to tout their new non-CMX-1152 product, which could charitably be described as a potpourri of existing antioxidant supplements. ... Not cricket, gentlemen.
• Now we see a more mature offering from Lifeline, at least in the marketing department. They have retained the focus on oxidative stress, but are building a brand on the work of different scientists.
• So far as it goes, it looks like Lifeline is still selling the potpourri of existing supplements.

(I've condensed Reason's remarks above somewhat; I recommend reading the full post at Fight Aging.)

As for the supposed problem with nutritional supplements vis-a-via life extension, read the commentary on the official Mprize (Methuselah Mouse) site, called "Cashing in on Protandim" as well as this post on the Longevity First web site (where I learned about something called the Gompertz Law for the first time).

All very interesting.

And yet ... I still want a magic pill as a key part of my anti-aging regime! I'll be watching the coming fortunes of Protandim with interest-- and by that I mean not just the financial fortunes of the Lifeline company, but the life-extension gains of the people who decide to take it. (But how will those gains be measured, I wonder, except by waiting a long, long time?)

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