Life Extension Society 990 N. Powhatan St. Arlington VA 22205 703-534-7277 1994 VOL. III LIFE EXTENSION SOCIETY NEWS JULY, 1994 ALCOR Completes Move Readers of the ALCOR Phoenix and Cryonics magazine know that ALCOR Life Extension Foundation Board members and employees are pretty upbeat. At last, ALCOR and its 25 frozen patients have completed the move to the new facility in Scottsdale. No patients were lost, the new building is a decided improvement, and local officials appear cooperative. Congratulations, ALCOR. CryoCare Passes 50 Member Mark The CryoCare Foundation reports that 50 people have signed up for eventual cryogenic preservation with CryoCare since it opened for business in late 1993. CryoCare expects that close to another 50 people will complete the sign-up process by the end of 1994. Congratulations, CryoCare. The Life Extension Society is a not-for-profit Maryland corporation. Membership dues for the remainder of 1994 are $30. Donations are welcome. Society Explores Biostasis Options Precious time is lost when a cryonics patient dies suddenly without a mobile cryonic suspension team nearby. The Life Extension Society is one of the many organizations across the country seeking to back up the teams with local, rapid-response biostabilization capabilities. The benefits of these capabilities -- improved quality of suspension services, improved availability of services, and reduced standby (variable) costs -- are widely perceived to outweigh the increase in readiness (fixed) costs. We have defined our equipment and supply needs: portable ice bath; heart-lung resuscitator; stabilizing perfusate; pump for the perfusate; and medications and supplies. We also need training and replacement medications, supplies, and perfusate. We have yet to determine the financial and organizational arrangements to make this local capability a reality. Members are urged to contribute their ideas. Please attend a monthly meeting or call Mark Mugler at 703-534-7277. Society's Fall Meetings Set Upcoming meetings are as follows: July 31; September 18; October 16; and November 13. For meeting times and directions, call Mark Mugler at 703-534-7277. Anti-Aging Conference Planned The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) will hold its Second Annual Biomedical Conference on Anti-Aging Medicine in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 4, 5, and 6, 1994. Sessions will include Prevention of Age- Related Diseases, Realities of Practicing Anti-Aging Medicine, Prospects for Life Extension, Technological Approaches to Staying Alive Longer, Biotechnology and Anti-Aging Medicine, and Approaches to Staying Alive Longer. At least one Life Extension Society member will participate and will brief us in early 1995 on the advances discussed in Las Vegas. Saving $$ on Life Extension For the dedicated life extensionist, maintaining a regimen of life extension vitamins and nutrients is expensive and time-consuming. Prices vary widely, and suppliers are hard to find. This article discusses where and how to obtain vitamins and nutrients at a reasonable price. It neither makes a judgment as to quality, nor does it recommend a particular supplier. Domestic mail-order suppliers of vitamins and nutrients include the well-known Life Extension Foundation (LEF), Prolongevity, Ltd., Life Services Supplements (seller of Durk & Sandy products), NutriGuard, and Vitamin Research Products. LEF is a good bet because members, who pay an annual fee, obtain a 25% discount. LEF's products include Life Extension Mix and LEF Herbal Mix. LEF purchases these formulas in bulk from Prolongevity, Ltd., which also has its own retail line. Nutriguard also offers a number of vitamins and nutrients at very good prices. Local sources include numerous health food stores, supermarkets, and the Apothecary Nutritional Pharmacy, in Bethesda. It really pays to compare prices among health food stores because their suppliers' prices differ greatly. Your supermarket may well offer the more common vitamins and minerals in quantity for a reasonable price. The Apothecary offers a variety of multiple formulations. Its Green Vibrance is virtually identical in composition and price to LEF's Herbal Mix. Domestic mail order suppliers of prescription drugs include College Pharmacy, the Apothecary, and the Mail Order Pharmacy. For many exotic nutrients and substances such as "smart drugs" and natural hormones, drug companies have not sought or obtained Food and Drug Administration approval to market for prescription or over-the- counter use in the United States. There are four reasons: FDA defines anything that affects the body (other than food) as a drug; it takes $250 million to obtain FDA approval for a new substance as a prescription or over-the-counter drug; to be approved, a new drug must be shown to be safe and "effective" against a disease; and aging does not qualify as a disease. These substances are called "unapproved substances." Many life extensionists import unapproved substances from Europe for personal use. Due to budget constraints, FDA personnel only monitor (inspect a sample of) mail importations. It is prudent to order unapproved substances from abroad with a prescription for a three month supply or less so that your mail can pass muster if inspected. This is particularly true of substances that might be classified as "controlled substances" under Drug Enforcement Administration regulations at 21 CFR 1308.1 European suppliers include Interlab, Baxamed Medical Center, the Alzheimers Buyer's Club, the Life Extension Buyer's Club (operated by LEF), In-Home Health Services, and A. Werner and Co. Interlab offers the lowest prices overall for its products. If you order multiple products from one supplier to save on shipping and handling, Interlab is hard to beat. Domestic pharmacies may "compound" unapproved substances with a prescription if they have a source that manufactures the substance. Domestic pharmacies with good sources include College Pharmacy in Colorado, the Apothecary in Bethesda, and the Mail Order Pharmacy. It pays to shop around. Please call Mark Mugler at 703-534-7277 if you have additional tips for future newsletters. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION NUTRITION Alzheimers Buyer's Club P.O. Box 7006 San Jose 1000, Costa Rica Apothecary Nutritional Pharmacy 5415 Cedar Lane Bethesda, MD 20814 301-530-0800 Baxamed Medical Center Realpstrasse 83 4054 Basel Switzerland College Pharmacy 833 N. Tejon St. Colorado Springs, CO 80903 800-888-9358 In-Home Health Services P.O. Box 3112-CH-2800 Delemont Switzerland Interlab, Inc. Suite #20 16 Gradaro 46100 Mantova, Italy Life Extension Foundation P.O. Box 221920 Hollywood, FL 33022-9120 800-841-LIFE Life Services Supplements 3535 Highway 66, Bldg. 2 Neptune, NJ 07753 800-542-3230 Mail Order Pharmacy 3170 North Federal Hwy. Suite 104B Lighthouse Point, FL 33064 800-822-5388 NutriGuard Research P.O. Box 865 Encinitas, CA 92023 619-942-3223 Prolongevity, Ltd. 10 Alden Rd., Unit 6 Markham, Ontario L3R2S1 Canada 800-544-4440 Vitamin Research Products 3579 Highway 50 East Carson City, NV 89701 800-877-2447 A. Werner and Co. P.O. Box 615 111 21 Prague 1 Czech Republic ANTI-AGING MEDICINE American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine P.O. Box 146571 Chicago, IL 60614 312-528-1000 Wash. D.C. Gerontological Research Group 1550 Clarendon Blvd. #709 Arlington, VA 22209-2772 703-351-2740 DEATH AND DYING Hospice Council of Metropolitan Washington 1377 K St. NW #666 Washington, DC 20005 Choice in Dying (formerly Concern for Dying/Society for the Right to Die) 200 Varick St. New York, NY 10014 212-366-5540 Washington Ethical Society 7750 16th St. NW Washington, DC 20012 202-882-6650 FUTURE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY Foresight Institute Box 61058 Palo Alto, CA 94306 415-324-2490 World Future Society 7910 Woodmont Ave. #450 Bethesda, MD 20814 301-656-8274 CRYONIC SUSPENSION ORGANIZATIONS ALCOR Life Extension Foundation 7895 E. Acoma Drive #110 Scottsdale, AZ 85260-6916 800-367-2228 American Cryonics Society P.O. Box 1509 Cupertino, CA 95015 800-523-2001 CryoCare Foundation 10627 Youngworth Rd. Culver City, CA 90230 800-TOP-CARE Cryonics Institute/Immortalist Society 24443 Roanoke Oak Park, MI 48237 313-548-9549 OTHER CRYONICS ORGANIZATIONS Extropy Institute 45 High St. #428 New Haven, CT 06510 Society for Venturism 10444 N. Cave Creek Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85020 Life Extension Society 990 N. Powhatan St. Arlington VA 22205 703-534-7277