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Old 11-30-2015, 05:49 PM   #41
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Buying drugs that have been on the market and raising the price by 20X or more is not uncommon. Examples are Daraprim and Cycloserine. Pricing in the US drug market is based on value, not cost. How much would people pay for this drug?
But those are situations where only one company is producing the drug. When you have 45 companies producing the drug, seems less likely.
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Old 11-30-2015, 05:51 PM   #42
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My apologies but when I google "dropping dead with AAA" I get some weird references to the American Automobile Association which I would guess is not what you meant?
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Old 11-30-2015, 05:51 PM   #43
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My dad dropped dead with a AAA...

2 years ago we visited a 92 year old uncle of DW while we were in the UK, and he was still super fit, living in his own house, sharp as a tack and very active still in his local dance club. 9 months later he dropped dead with a AAA.
My first thought was to be happy I'm not a member of Triple A, then I realized you were actually referring to abdominal aortic aneurysm...
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Old 11-30-2015, 05:56 PM   #44
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My first thought was to be happy I'm not a member of Triple A, then I realized you were actually referring to abdominal aortic aneurysm...
That's it exactly, and definitely the way I would choose to go. My grandmother died of that also. She was talking on the phone to my aunt and the line went dead. When my aunt went around to check on her she was dead in the chair.

No symptoms but when it bursts you are often dead in seconds.
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Old 11-30-2015, 06:17 PM   #45
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For example they gave the drug to old mice who were poor performers running on a treadmill and other tests, and they quickly started performing as well as much younger mice.
But I'm an old mouse that doesn't want to go back on the treadmill.

They need to do a study to see if the these old mice were suddenly able to stay out all night drinking and not feel it the next day, play scratch golf, and chase the spouse mouse around the mouse house all day. Why don't our tax dollars go toward meaningful research?
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Old 11-30-2015, 06:36 PM   #46
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But I'm an old mouse that doesn't want to go back on the treadmill.

They need to do a study to see if the these old mice were suddenly able to stay out all night drinking and not feel it the next day, play scratch golf, and chase the spouse mouse around the mouse house all day. Why don't our tax dollars go toward meaningful research?
I think they did do that research, but NatGeo documentaries only have a G rating
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Old 11-30-2015, 07:29 PM   #47
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We already have a miracle drug that would could increase our lifespan to 120: Want to live to 120? Exercise more, eat healthily and take statins, say panel of experts | Daily Mail Online

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Old 11-30-2015, 09:38 PM   #48
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We are only a few decades from being able to download your entire brain pattern into a computer, so might as well just wait for that. Unlimited lifespan as long as you pay your power bill. Probably will eventually be able to reload into a lab grown brain/body but I don't see the point if enough sensory input is provided to the digital brain.
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Old 11-30-2015, 10:52 PM   #49
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We already have a miracle drug that would could increase our lifespan to 120: Want to live to 120? Exercise more, eat healthily and take statins, say panel of experts | Daily Mail Online

Alas, all that hard work does not really guarantee you will live to 120. Only a few lucky ones will. The average person will extend his life a mere 4 years.
The group, which independently monitors evidence that explain changes in life expectancy and advises policymakers, found doing so took the average lifespan from 80 to 84.

The 'What is ageing? And how do we delay it?' report states that at present few people live to around 110 - but by making these adjustments they predict that the healthiest individuals could live to 120.
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Old 11-30-2015, 10:59 PM   #50
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We are only a few decades from being able to download your entire brain pattern into a computer, so might as well just wait for that. Unlimited lifespan as long as you pay your power bill. Probably will eventually be able to reload into a lab grown brain/body but I don't see the point if enough sensory input is provided to the digital brain.
I hope the computer hosting my brain thoughts will have a better OS than those in use now.

Else, a hiccup of the software or an infection by a virus may cause my thoughts to enter an endless loop or reach an indeterminate state worse than it is already.

Round like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel
Like a snowball down a mountain, or a carnival balloon
Like a carousel that's turning running rings around the moon
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face
And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind!
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Old 11-30-2015, 11:20 PM   #51
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If a new use is found will Metformin be placed back on patent and acquire a government protected ounce of gold new price tag?
The company that puts in all the research and clinical trials will rebrand the drug as Longevitia, make it in weird strengths or time released tablets that are not currently available (instead of 500mg it will be 567mg) and they will cost $65 per pill, taken twice a day. Or only $3,900 a month, not covered by insurance of course.

PS you don't have to be diabetic to take metformin.
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Old 12-01-2015, 12:36 AM   #52
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My doctor prescribed Metformin for me in 2009. I couldn't tolerate that infernal drug. I could say a few more choice words about it but I'll spare you.

Fortunately there are other blood sugar medications available.

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The most common adverse effect of metformin is gastrointestinal irritation, including diarrhea, cramps, nausea, vomiting, and increased flatulence; metformin is more commonly associated with gastrointestinal side effects than most other antidiabetic drugs.
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Old 12-01-2015, 01:35 AM   #53
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Well, to live to 120 one has to give up something.
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Old 12-01-2015, 02:06 AM   #54
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The scientists on the program were saying that their research on mice did not prolong their lives very much but kept them much fitter. For example they gave the drug to old mice who were poor performers running on a treadmill and other tests, and they quickly started performing as well as much younger mice...
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But I'm an old mouse that doesn't want to go back on the treadmill.

They need to do a study to see if the these old mice were suddenly able to stay out all night drinking and not feel it the next day, play scratch golf, and chase the spouse mouse around the mouse house all day. Why don't our tax dollars go toward meaningful research?


There! I can see Congress raising SS FRA to 75 or 80, and when people complain they will just add a law giving Metformin for free to people. Heck, at 10c a day per person - and it is not even produced on a grand scale yet - it is an obvious solution to SS shortfunding problem. Gotta keep the geezers on the treadmill as long as they can. Spousal benefits, children's benefits? Hah. Get back to the treadmill!
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Old 12-01-2015, 06:56 AM   #55
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Alas, all that hard work does not really guarantee you will live to 120. Only a few lucky ones will. The average person will extend his life a mere 4 years.
The group, which independently monitors evidence that explain changes in life expectancy and advises policymakers, found doing so took the average lifespan from 80 to 84.

The 'What is ageing? And how do we delay it?' report states that at present few people live to around 110 - but by making these adjustments they predict that the healthiest individuals could live to 120.
Sure, that's what they say about statins now. They'll be saying it about metformin in a few years.
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Old 12-01-2015, 08:18 AM   #56
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so move FRA to 110 .... will there be enough jobs to employ all the people long enough? Could the world support the extra people on the earth if every country extended life?
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Sure, there's no fixed number of jobs. More people=more demand for the goods and services that require workers. If, despite this, there is a surplus of labor then wages will go down a bit and more types of work become feasible at the lower labor costs.
Yes, more people means more work. But is it any kind of jobs people want to do?

For example, given the prevalent side effects of Metformin, who wants to change the diapers of geezers that are affected?
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Old 12-01-2015, 03:37 PM   #57
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Well, to live to 120 one has to give up something.
True, but I'm not sure that sitting on the commode for the next 40 years makes it worthwhile....
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Old 12-01-2015, 05:31 PM   #58
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True, but I'm not sure that sitting on the commode for the next 40 years makes it worthwhile....
Who is sitting on the commode?

Apparently, you have not heard of Depend.

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Old 12-02-2015, 09:12 AM   #59
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Live to 120, good grief Charlie Brown. With the state of the world as it is and if we stay on the present trajectory of issues/calamities, I would have no desire to live to 120. Any how with the cost of medicare increasing YOY, I would be broke and on the street probably 25 years before I made 120.
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Old 12-03-2015, 01:48 PM   #60
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This topic is more interesting than the article linked in the OP would suggest. For anyone wishing to look closer, I suggest reading Josh Mitteldorf's column "Playing The Game For A Longer Life". Here is an interesting take on Metformin. Click on his name at the bottom of the piece to bring up his bio and front page.

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Insulin manipulation works much better in mice than in larger animals like us, but it’s the best-studied, surest way to improve your odds for a long and healthy life, and there are vitality, alertness, productivity, freedom from infectious disease–almost every aspect of your quality of life is improved with more exercise and less food.
Can Botanicals Replace Metformin? | Josh Mitteldorf
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