Russian Medical Advances Show Unprecedented Anti-Aging

Worldwide Biotech, March 1, 2007

Anti-aging medical breakthroughs that have taken more than 30 years of research by some top Russian scientists will soon be making their way to the United States. A team of top government scientists headed by Prof. Eugene Mayevsky and Prof. Maria Kondrashova, both internationally recognized authorities in the field of aging and related diseases, successfully treated women in various stages of menopause by administering very small doses of a key substrate found in the human body.

"The menopause process was completely reversed in women who were in its early stages, while women who in the late stages of menopause reported vastly improved quality of life due to absence of accompanying symptoms. These are truly revolutionary results that can change lives of millions of aging women", said Professor Eugene Maevsky, Deputy Director of the Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics, which is part of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

"Prof. Kondrashova discovered over 30 years ago that the substrate, succinic acid, has hormone-like effects and can be used, among other things, to slow aging", said Prof. Mayevsky. "And the results that we have accumulated for over three decades have been quite consistent. Today, we can confidently state that we have developed a platform that can be used to create a wide rage of therapeutic treatments of next generation that can prevent and treat many age-related diseases. This platform for the first time puts neuroendocrine theory of aging to work."

In 1976, Prof. Kondrashova conducted landmark animal trials on anti-aging effects of succinates together with Prof. Vladimir Dilman, the founder of neuroendocrine theory of aging, and Prof.. Mikhail Anisimov, a world-famous scientist and current head of the Russian Gerontological society. In those trials, scientists were able to restore fertility in old rats and significantly extend their lifespan, while also achieving a decrease in spontaneously occurring tumors".

Scientists emphasize, however, that succinic acid and its derivatives that are currently available in commerce will not have similar effects. "In these trials we used signal doses of highly biological active forms of succinates that were produced micro-biologically in our lab. Very high biological activity of these succinates is determined by different molecular shape (conformation), and that gives "our" succinates vastly different therapeutic properties. At ITEB RAS we have invented both, the means of producing active conformers of succinates and the methods of studying molecular conformation of highly sensitive substances. This technology has no analogs in the world. Molecules of succinic acid are very fragile and until now it was not possible to even study their shape without altering it" said, Prof. Maevsky.

A newly formed U.S. company called Lifecore, Inc. is partnering with these Russian scientists to help bring these unique Russian medical advancements from the labs to those challenged by sickness and disease so they can benefit from these years of research. "We are honored to work with scientists who are so widely recognized for their contributions to humanity" said Donna Kasseinova, a successful US entrepreneur who obtained her MBA from USC Marshall Business School. "For me, it's humbling to be an instrument through which these important discoveries will finally become products that will improve lives of so many people in America and elsewhere in the world".

ABOUT ITEB RAS

Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics is one of Russia's premier scientific research institutions. ITEB is a division of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which is a Russian equivalent of the National Institute of Health in the US. Composed of 26 laboratories and science centers, ITEB RAS makes important discoveries that save and improve human lives. Scientific staff of ITEB RAS is comprised of 330 researchers, including 1 academician, 2 corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 45 doctors of science and 166 PhD's, organized into 8 scientific groups.

ITEB RAS is a successor of the Institute of Biophysics, which was founded in 1952. ITEB RAS traces its roots to 1919 with the creation of People's Commissariat of Health. It was the nation's first scientific organization studying biological processes and it remains the national leader in this field. Many scientific research institutes populating the science town of Pushino, are offshoots of ITEB RAS.

For more information, visit http://www.itebras.org.

About Neuroendocrine Theory Of Aging

Neuroendocrine theory of aging was originated by Prof. Vladimir Dilman in 1954.The essence of this theory is that aging is caused by a progressive loss of sensitivity by the hypothalamus and related structures in the brain to negative feedback inhibition. This loss of sensitivity not only enables us to grow and develop, but is the cause of post-maturational diseases, aging and death. The neuroendocrine theory explains the cause of the major diseases of aging which contribute to over 85% of deaths of middle-aged and elderly individuals. These diseases include: (1) obesity, (2) atherosclerosis, (3) hypertension, (4) diabetes, (5) cancer, (6) autoimmune disorders, (7) metabolic immunodepression, and (8) hyperadaptosis.