Dear Ann
I haven't read Dr. Fossel's book, it sounds interesting & hopeful. He is probably mistaken that the FIRST telomerase inhibitor were detected at Geron, although they have a screening program in place to detect such compounds. The thing to keep in mind here is that many compounds are effective against telomerase- even many in the micromolar concentration range, but whether these become effective clinically is another (and more difficult) issue.
I've talked to some prople at other large drug companies in which telomerase was considered as a target candidate, but where too many of the inhibitors they were detecting were actually inhibiting the sequenase polymerase in the amplification reaction. Geron has a good nitch in the research market, but this research has a long way to go yet.
You have to look at it from this perspective: "if an anti-telomerase agent is found, then what? How long does the patient have to wait for the effect of a treatment that is inhibiting the production of 250 base-pairs of DNA per replication cycle?" There are some theories about the answer to this, but what do you think, Ann? Think this through yourself- since all of Dr Fossel's degrees won't change the basic science (which IS very interesting).
Telomerase stimulation to reverse aging?- sounds good, but we should be careful about not displaying to much vanity.
But, what about this idea: AIDS patients may have immune cells that have been overstimulated by the constant virus attack to the point that their cells are "out-of" telomeres. Stimulation of the telomerase in these cells could be helpful.
louis mason |
