Protandim controversy
Protandim is an anti-aging supplement produced and sold by LifeVantage Corporation.[1]
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[edit] Company history
A blog on fightaging.org says that:
"What makes me a little more skeptical than normal when it comes to pills and anti-aging claims is the history of this particular company."[2]
A thread on longecity.org about Protandim and "misleading advertising".
The company relies on Multi-level marketing schemes to sell it's products.
[edit] Product claims (stated or implied)
"PROTANDIM is the only supplement clinically proven to reduce oxidative stress by an average 40%, slowing down the cell aging process to the level of a 20 year-old."[1]
"[Protandim] helps your body produce its own antioxidants with thousands of times more antioxidant power than any food or conventional supplement."[1]
Protandim boosts the body’s own production of two antioxidant enzymes, SOD (superoxide dismutase) and CAT (catalase). It is implied that these enzymes play a major role in neutralizing the cell-damaging free radicals associated with aging and a variety of health conditions.[1]
[edit] Problems with the claim
There is no evidence that Protandim will enhance the body's production of free-radical scavengers.[3]
A paper published by Scientific American by over 50 antioxidant/anti-aging researchers stated that "No effective therapy exists to combat age-related oxidative stress."[3]
The ingredients of Protandim can be bought separately as 5 different supplements and put together in the same ratio. There is no evidence that Protandim composition is significantly different or more effective than taking the supplements separately in the same ratio.
[edit] Published scientific studies
The following are some published studies available from the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health.
- One study conducted by Joddar B, McCord JM, et. al. showed that Protandim attenuates intimal hyperplasia in human saphenous veins cultured ex vivo via a catalase-dependent pathway.[4]
- One mouse study conducted by Qureshi MM, McCord JM, et. al. showed that Protandim improves markers of oxidative stress in muscular dystrophy mice.[5]
- One skin study conducted by Robbins D, McCord JM, et. al. showed that Protandim has chemopreventive effects.[6]
- One mouse study conducted by Liu J, McCord JM, et. al. showed that Protandim had a chemopreventative effect.[7]
- One heme oxygenase-1 study by Velmurugan K, McCord JM, et. al. showed that Protandim had a synergistic induction of heme oxygenase-1.[8]
Every one of these studies has involvement by Joe McCord. Joe McCord, Ph.D who is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado, Denver, who played a role in conducting these studies is also a co-inventor of the product and financially connected to LifeVantage Inc.
[edit] Dr. Joe McCord's Role in Protandim
From protandimscams.com:
A look into the company's SEC files shows that Dr. Joe McCord’s Financial Interest In LifeVantage/Protandim is significant which included a 10% ownership in the company when he signed on in 2004, worth millions. Since then he's been granted over a million stock options meaning that he can gain millions more if the company performs well.[9]
[edit] Human clinical trials
[edit] Marketing strategies
Since the product may not have any immediate effect, the producers infer that it's benefits are only recognized after a lifetime of using the product. Since this takes a lifetime to disprove, it relies on customers to take it just in case it actually works - bringing in big dollars.
LifeVantage Inc uses a multi-level marketing scheme (which some people say is a legalized pyramid scheme) to sell it's products.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 http://www.protandim.com/
- ↑ http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2005/06/yet-more-on-lifeline-protandim.php
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://quackfiles.blogspot.com/2005/07/protandim-claims-debunked.html
- ↑ Joddar B, Reen RK, Firstenberg MS, Varadharaj S, McCord JM, Zweier JL, Gooch KJ. Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21167278
- ↑ The Dietary Supplement Protandim Decreases Plasma Osteopontin and Improves Markers of Oxidative Stress in Muscular Dystrophy Mdx Mice. Qureshi MM, McClure WC, Arevalo NL, Rabon RE, Mohr B, Bose SK, McCord JM, Tseng BS. Department of Pediatrics, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, El Paso, TX. Earlier, he was associated with Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20740052
- ↑ The chemopreventive effects of Protandim: modulation of p53 mitochondrial translocation and apoptosis during skin carcinogenesis. Robbins D, Gu X, Shi R, Liu J, Wang F, Ponville J, McCord JM, Zhao Y. Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Neuroscience, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, Louisiana, United States of America. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20689586
- ↑ Protandim, a fundamentally new antioxidant approach in chemoprevention using mouse two-stage skin carcinogenesis as a model. Liu J, Gu X, Robbins D, Li G, Shi R, McCord JM, Zhao Y. Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology & Neuroscience, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, Louisiana, United States of America. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19384424
- ↑ Synergistic induction of heme oxygenase-1 by the components of the antioxidant supplement Protandim. Velmurugan K, Alam J, McCord JM, Pugazhenthi S. Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, CO 80045, USA. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19056485
- ↑ http://www.protandimscams.com/dr-joe-mccords-role-at-lifevantage/
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