Life Extension Track Record
Impeccable track record of 40 years of scientific achievement
Life Extension has led the world uncovering new ways to prevent and treat the diseases of aging since 1980. We’ve unveiled innovative treatment protocols in our Life Extension Magazine® years before they were recognized by conventional medicine. Today, many of the advances we’ve championed have become standard medical practice. Below is a chronology of those advances and achievements, spanning over an incredible four decades.
To view Life Extension’s achievements over the past 41 years,
click on any of the decades below:
1980s
- Recommended the use of low-dose aspirin on a daily basis to prevent vascular disease.
- The first organization in the United States to recommend the Japanese cardiac drug coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) as an anti-aging nutrient.
- Warned against excessive iron intake.
- Recommended the drug cimetidine (Tagamet®) as an adjuvant cancer therapy.
- Recommended the broad-spectrum anti-viral drug ribavirin to treat lethal viral infections 12 years before the FDA approved it as a treatment for hepatitis C.
1990s
- Sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) because of its failure to approve tacrine to treat Alzheimer's disease.
- Introduced melatonin to the American public based on evidence that this natural hormone is an effective anti-aging therapy.
- Founded the first mail-order blood-screening service that offered state-of-the-art tests directly to the public.
- Published the first of its Disease Prevention and Treatment textbooks that integrated hormone replacement, high-dose nutrient supplementation, prescription drugs, and conventional medical treatments for preventing and treating 110 diseases.
- Revealed the crucial importance of monitoring blood levels of fibrinogen, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke.
2000s
- Recommended a drug to treat Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease called memantine 2.5 years before it received FDA approval.
- Reported that optimal glucose levels should be lower than conventional guidelines to reduce heart attack risk by 40%.
- Vindicated in its position that X-rays at any dose pose health risks to humans.
- Warned about the outrageous pricing of an FDA-approved fish oil drug priced 797% higher than supplements containing the same amount of EPA/DHA.
- Introduced a form of coenzyme Q10 (ubiquinol) with vastly better absorption into the bloodstream than commercial CoQ10 supplements.
- Compiled data showing that supplementing with higher-dose vitamin D could reduce the risk of several age-related disorders.
2010s
- Shed light on the lethal consequences of low-dose aspirin and CoQ10 censorship by the FDA.
- Reported on a 2015 discussion in the research community about initiating a human study of metformin's anti-aging properties.
- Reported on a strawberry extract called fisetin that has been shown to enhance the calorie restriction mimetic action of resveratrol.
- Introduced a compound called PQQ (pyrroloquinoline quinone) that has been shown to rejuvenate aging cells by promoting the growth of new mitochondria.
- Published a book (Pharmocracy) that exposed how inefficient and corrupt government practices stifle medical innovation and cause healthcare prices to spiral out of control.
2020s
- Provided consumers with an affordable lithium supplement (in hard-to-find 1,000 mcg doses) to support brain aging and longevity.
- Conducted a clinical trial successfully determine that a combination of melatonin, beta sitosterol, lycopene and boron could encourage healthy sleep habits and offer relief for male nighttime urination.
- Documented strong clinical evidence that a new curcumin-galactomannan fiber combination increased curcumin blood-brain-barrier absorption—a key to supplementation benefits.
- Released a vitamin K2 formulation in the clinically studied 45,000 mcg dosage shown to help maintain healthy bone density.