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                                 December 29, 1990

                                     AGE6.ASC
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                                Hormones and Aging

       Dr. W. Donner Denckla, working at the National Institutes of Health,
       Harvard and at  the  National  Institute  of  Alcoholism and Alcohol
       Abuse discovered a hormone called  DECO  (decreasing  consumption of
       oxygen).

       DECO is commonly  referred  to  as  the "death hormone"  due  to  an
       apparent link with its presence and accelerated aging processes.

       Denckla removed the  pituitary  gland  from  rat brains and injected
       them with thyroid, growth and other  hormones,  he  noted  that  the
       organ systems of rats with an absence of DECO appeared  much younger
       than normal.

       Aged rat hearts  and  lungs  seemed to become rejuvenated.  However,
       when these same rats were injected  with DECO, their organs began to
       age at a much accelerated rate.

       Another contributor to  the  aging  process is the thyroid  hormone,
       Thymosin.  Dr. Allen   Goldstein  of  George  Washington  University
       Medical School, found  that thymosin  helps  the  immune  system  to
       remain strong.  Aging causes thymosin levels to drop which increases
       susceptibility to disease.

       Yet another contributor is the hormone DHEA (dehydrepiandrosterone).
       This substance is found in abundance in vegetarians  and  teens, yet
       grows scarce in later years.

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