LONGECITY

seems like good news! 

pretty sure this is the experimental therapy Liz Parrish recieved

 

 

Gene therapy vectors carrying the telomerase gene do not increase the risk of cancer

Gene therapy with telomerase was developed by CNIO in 2012 and has proved effective in mice against infarction, as well as in mouse models of aplastic anaemia and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis associated to short telomeres

CENTRO NACIONAL DE INVESTIGACIONES ONCOLÓGICAS (CNIO)

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IMAGE: THE NUCLEI ARE IN BLUE, ALVEOLAR TYPE II CELLS IN GREEN AND TELOMERES IN RED. NOTICE THAT LUNG CELLS TREATED WITH ACTIVE TELOMERASE PRESENT MORE INTENSE TELOMERES INDICATING THAT THEY... view more 

CREDIT: CNIO

 

 

 

Negative results and findings in science are perhaps less newsworthy, but they are no less important. Particularly when, as in this case, they demonstrate that a possible new therapeutic pathway against idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and other diseases associated to short telomeres is in fact safe. Researchers from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) have shown in a new study that the gene therapy with telomerase that they have developed, and which has proven to be effective in mice against diseases caused by excessive telomere shortening and ageing, does not cause cancer or increase the risk of developing it, even in a cancer-prone setting.

Yes this is rather good news, but not unexpected (to me).

aav-tert therapy does not immortalise (which would remove one of the in-built cellular barriers to cancer), it only restores telomeres to youthful length. If anything, this would likely decrease cancer incidence, as DNA repair mechanisms would be improved, as well as the immune system being enhanced.