Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 1/13/10.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Dementia linked to high blood pressure years earlier - Science Daily, 1/12/10 - "Women who, at the start of the study, were hypertensive, meaning a blood pressure of 140/90 or higher, had significantly more white matter lesions on their MRI scans eight years later than participants with normal blood pressure. Lesions were more common in the frontal lobe, the brain's emotional control center and home to personality, than in the occipital, parietal or temporal lobes"

Toxic goo tracked from parking lots into homes - MSNBC, 1/11/10 - "Chemicals in a cancer-causing substance used to seal pavement, parking lots and driveways across the U.S. are showing up at alarming levels in dust in homes, prompting concerns about the potential health effects of long-term exposure" - Note:  Another good reason to be a no shoes house.

How one form of natural vitamin E protects brain after stroke - Science Daily, 1/11/10 - "Our research suggests that the different forms of natural vitamin E have distinct functions. The relatively poorly studied tocotrienol form of natural vitamin E targets specific pathways to protect against neural cell death and rescues the brain after stroke injury ... Vitamin E occurs naturally in eight different forms. The best-known form of vitamin E belongs to a variety called tocopherols. The form of vitamin E in this study, tocotrienol or TCT, is not abundant in the American diet but is available as a nutritional supplement. It is a common component of a typical Southeast Asian diet" - See Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family) at iHerb.

Mango effective in preventing, stopping certain colon, breast cancer cells, food scientists find - Science Daily, 1/11/10 - "It has about four to five times less antioxidant capacity than an average wine grape, and it still holds up fairly well in anticancer activity. If you look at it from the physiological and nutritional standpoint, taking everything together, it would be a high-ranking super food"

Metformin is safe for patients with advanced heart failure and diabetes mellitus, study shows - Science Daily, 1/7/10 - "The study results suggest that, in patients with both advanced heart failure and diabetes, use of metformin is safe, and may be associated with better heart failure survival"

Airport full-body scanners expose passengers to less harmful radiation than most flights, experts say - Science Daily, 1/7/10 - "An airline passenger flying cross-country is exposed to more radiation from the flight than from screening by one of these devices"

Low Vitamin D Has a Role in Heart Risk - WebMD, 1/7/10 - "Darker-skinned people produce less vitamin D from the sun than those with lighter skin, and studies show that blacks are far more likely to have lower levels of the vitamin than whites ... Several recent studies also suggest that low levels of vitamin D are associated with an increased risk for heart attack and stroke ... Compared to everyone else in the study, the quarter with the lowest vitamin D levels had a 40% higher risk of dying from heart attacks, strokes, and other heart-related events ... Blacks were 38% more likely to die of cardiovascular causes than non-Hispanic whites, and the researchers concluded that most of this excess was related to their lower vitamin D levels" - See vitamin D products at iHerb.

Hypertension Linked to White-Matter Disease Progression: Study - Medscape, 1/7/10 - "Long-standing hypertension is strongly associated with progression of white-matter hyperintensity (WMH), which is known to be associated with new or worsening cognitive impairment and dementia"

Krill oil – hope or hype for the omega-3 market? - Nutra USA, 1/7/10 - It's a four minute audio. - See Krill Oil products at iHerb.

Dietary Fiber May Help Prevent Body Weight, Waist Circumference Gain - Medscape, 1/6/10 - "There was an inverse association of total fiber intake with subsequent change in weight and in waist circumference. For each 10-g/day increase in total fiber intake, the pooled estimate was –39 g/year (95% confidence interval [CI], –71 to –7 g/year) for weight change and –0.08 cm/year (95% CI, –0.11 to –0.05 cm/year) for waist circumference change ... For each 10-g/day increase in fiber intake from cereals, there was a weight change of –77 g/year (95% CI, –127 to –26 g/year) and change in waist circumference of –0.10 cm/year (95% CI, –0.18 to –0.02 cm/year). Fruit and vegetable fiber was not associated with weight change. However, the association of fruit and vegetable fiber intake with change in waist circumference was similar to that seen for intake of total dietary fiber and cereal fiber"

Review supports omega-3 for liver health - Nutra USA, 1/6/10 - "A review of four human studies found that the fatty acids could improve liver health and function, and increase insulin sensitivity in people suffering from fatty liver, a condition that is usually symptomless but said to increase the risk for liver inflammation, and ultimately results in liver failure" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.

Caffeine consumption associated with less severe liver fibrosis - Science Daily, 1/6/10 - "patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) who consumed more than 308 mg of caffeine daily had milder liver fibrosis. The daily amount of caffeine intake found to be beneficial is equivalent to 2.25 cups of regular coffee. Other sources of caffeine beyond coffee did not have the same therapeutic effect"

Celebrex May Slow, Prevent Skin Cancers - WebMD, 1/5/10 - "There is mounting evidence that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may help prevent or slow the growth of non- melanoma skin cancers ... the Cox-2 arthritis drug Celebrex was found to reduce the growth of basal cell skin cancers by 50% in some patients with a rare genetic condition that makes them highly susceptible to the tumors"

Abstracts from this week's Doctor's Guide Nutrition/Dietetics plus abstracts from my RSS feeds (Click here for the journals, the PubMed ones at the top):

Low testosterone levels and SHBG levels and high estradiol levels are independent predictors of type 2 diabetes in men - Eur J Endocrinol. 2010 Jan 8 - "There was a significantly lowered multi-adjusted risk for later diabetes with higher normal total testosterone levels, both linearly per SD increase (HR 0.71, CI 0.54-0.92) and in the higher quartiles of total testosterone compared to the lowest (HR 0.53, CI 0.33-0.84). A reduced multi-adjusted risk for incident diabetes was also found for men with higher SHBG levels, both linearly per SD increase (HR 0.55, CI 0.39-0.79) and when comparing the third (HR 0.38, CI 0.18-0.81) and the fourth quartile (HR 0.37, 0.17-0.82) to the lowest. The associations with total testosterone and SHBG were no longer significant after inclusion of waist circumference to the multivariate models. Estradiol was positively associated with incident diabetes after multivariate adjustments including waist circumference, when comparing the second (HR 0.49, CI 0.26-0.93) and the third (HR 0.51, CI 0.27-0.96) quartile to the highest Conclusion. Men with higher estradiol levels had an increased risk of later diabetes independent of obesity, while men with lower total testosterone and SHBG had an increased risk of diabetes that appeared dependent of obesity"

Effect of age and race/ethnicity on HbA1c levels in people without known diabetes mellitus: Implications for the diagnosis of diabetes - Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2010 Jan 8 - "Over 90% of all race/ethnicity groups would have diabetes with HbA1c levels >/=7.0% ... we recommend an HbA1c level of >/=7.0% to diagnose diabetes"

Flavonoid intake and disability-adjusted life years due to Alzheimer's and related dementias: a population-based study involving twenty-three developed countries - Public Health Nutr. 2010 Jan 11:1-7 - "Flavonols and combined flavonoids (all five combined) intakes were the only two parameters with significant (P < 0.05) negative dementia correlations. Multiple linear regression models confirmed this relationship, and excluded confounding from some other dietary and non-dietary factors. Similar analyses with non-dementia, neurological/psychiatric diseases did not yield significant correlations. CONCLUSIONS: At a global level, and in the context of different genetic backgrounds, our results suggest that higher consumption of dietary flavonoids, especially flavonols, is associated with lower population rates of dementia in these countries"

Review article: omega-3 fatty acids - a promising novel therapy for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease - Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2009 Dec 30 - "Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects 10-35% of the adult population worldwide; there is no consensus on its treatment ... Omega-3 fatty acids are important regulators of hepatic gene transcription. Animal studies demonstrate they reduce hepatic steatosis, improve insulin sensitivity and reduce markers of inflammation. Clinical trials in human subjects generally confirm these findings but have significant design inadequacies. Conclusions Omega-3 fatty acids are a promising treatment for NAFLD which require to be tested in randomised placebo controlled trials" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.

Association of vitamin D deficiency with cognitive impairment in older women: cross-sectional study - Neurology. 2010 Jan 5;74(1):27-32 - "Cognitive impairment was defined as a Pfeiffer Short Portable Mental State Questionnaire (SPMSQ) score <8 ... Compared with women with serum 25(OH)D concentrations > or =10 ng/mL (n = 623), the women with 25(OH)D deficiency (n = 129) had a lower mean SPMSQ score (p < 0.001) and more often had an SPMSQ score <8 (p = 0.006). There was no significant linear association between serum 25(OH)D concentration and SPMSQ score (beta = -0.003, 95% confidence interval -0.012 to 0.006, p = 0.512). However, serum 25(OH)D deficiency was associated with cognitive impairment (crude odds ratio [OR] = 2.08 with p = 0.007; adjusted OR = 1.99 with p = 0.017 for full model; and adjusted OR = 2.03 with p = 0.012 for stepwise backward model). CONCLUSIONS: 25-Hydroxyvitamin D deficiency was associated with cognitive impairment in this cohort of community-dwelling older women" - See vitamin D products at iHerb.

Association of vitamin D status with serum androgen levels in men - Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2009 Dec 29 - "Men with sufficient 25(OH)D levels (>/=30 mug/l) had significantly higher levels of testosterone and FAI and significantly lower levels of SHBG when compared to 25(OH)D insufficient (20-29.9 mug/l) and 25(OH)D deficient (<20 mug/l) men (p<0.05 for all). In linear regression analyses adjusted for possible confounders, we found significant associations of 25(OH)D levels with testosterone, FAI, and SHBG levels (p<0.05 for all). 25(OH)D, testosterone, and FAI levels followed a similar seasonal pattern with a nadir in March (12.2 mug/l, 15.9 nmol/l, and 40.8, respectively) and peak levels in August (23.4 mug/l, 18.7 nmol/l, and 49.7, respectively) (p<0.05 for all). Conclusion: Androgen levels and 25(OH)D levels are associated in men and reveal a concordant seasonal variation" - See vitamin D products at iHerb.

Elevated serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate level correlates with increased risk for metabolic syndrome in the elderly men - Eur J Clin Invest. 2009 Dec 30 - "The highest DHEA-S quartile group had increased risk for metabolic syndrome (odds ratio = 2.68, 95% confidence interval: 1.44-5.01, P < 0.01) compared with the lowest quartile group. The mean serum DHEA-S level increased with increasing number of metabolic syndrome components. Conclusions The prevalence of metabolic syndrome increases with elevated DHEA-S levels among elderly Taiwanese men. Thus, elevated serum DHEA-S level should be treated as an important risk factor for metabolic syndrome in elderly men"

Alpha-lipoic acid improves vascular endothelial function in patients with type 2 diabetes: a placebo-controlled randomized trial - Eur J Clin Invest. 2009 Dec 27 - "600 mg alpha-lipoic acid or placebo. Results FBF responses were comparable at baseline. After treatment, FBF reactivity to ACh and GTN was unchanged in subjects receiving placebo. By contrast, ALA treatment increased endothelium-dependent vasodilatation to ACh (P < 0.05) but not to GTN compared with baseline. Conclusions Intravenous ALA treatment improves endothelium-dependent vasodilatation in patients with type 2 diabetes, in the absence of effects on forearm vasomotor function. If this salutary action translates into vascular risk reduction remains to be established" - See alpha lipoic acid products at iHerb.

Oral health and risk for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: the Carolina Head and Neck Cancer Study - Cancer Causes Control. 2010 Jan 5 - "squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck (SCCHN) ... Routine dental visits were associated with 30% risk reduction (OR: 0.68, 95% CI: 0.53, 0.87). CONCLUSIONS: These data provide support for a possible modest association of periodontal disease, as measured by self-reported tooth loss indicators, but not tooth loss per se, with SCCHN risk" - Interesting because I survived neck cancer with about a 1 in 10 chance of survival (it will be 5 years next month, click here).  I've been getting my teeth cleaned every three months for about twelve years.

Blueberry Supplementation Improves Memory in Older Adults (dagger) - J Agric Food Chem. 2010 Jan 4 - "Blueberries contain polyphenolic compounds, most prominently anthocyanins, which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. In addition, anthocyanins have been associated with increased neuronal signaling in brain centers, mediating memory function as well as improved glucose disposal, benefits that would be expected to mitigate neurodegeneration ... At 12 weeks, improved paired associate learning (p = 0.009) and word list recall (p = 0.04) were observed. In addition, there were trends suggesting reduced depressive symptoms (p = 0.08) and lower glucose levels (p = 0.10). We also compared the memory performances of the blueberry subjects with a demographically matched sample who consumed a berry placebo beverage in a companion trial of identical design and observed comparable results for paired associate learning. The findings of this preliminary study suggest that moderate-term blueberry supplementation can confer neurocognitive benefit and establish a basis for more comprehensive human trials to study preventive potential and neuronal mechanisms" - See blueberry extracts at iHerb.

Neat Tech Stuff :

 

Supplement Focus (Alpha Lipoic Acid):

News & Research:

• Alpha lipoic acid products at iHerb
• Lipoic Acid, The Unique Antioxidant - Ray Sahelian, M.D.
• I have noticed more and more articles on the benefits of lipoic acid. What is your opinion of it? - Dr. Murray
• Is there any advantage to taking a timed-release alpha-lipoic acid supplement over an immediate release capsule? - Dr. Murray
• Alpha-Lipoic Acid - thenutritionreporter.com
• Insulin Resistance - Dr. Weil - "Supplements: ... Coenzyme Q10 ... Alpha-lipoic acid ... Magnesium ... Chromium"
• New Approach Discovered To Lowering Triglycerides - Science Daily, 3/30/09 - "In the lab animals, supplements of lipoic acid lowered triglyceride levels up to 60 percent ... supplements of lipoic acid appeared to affect triglyceride levels through two pathways. After eating, lipoic acid supplementation increased the rate of disappearance of triglycerides in the bloodstream. And supplements also reduced the genetic expression of enzymes in the liver that synthesize triglycerides ... Lipoic acid supplements have in various studies been shown to be an appetite suppressant ... The amount of lipoic acid supplementation used in these laboratory experiments would equate to about two grams per day for a 150-pound person"
• Lipoic acid and carnitine combo show diabetes potential - Nutra USA, 2/18/08 - [Abstract] - "the combination of LA and LCAR increased the mass, oxygen consumption, mitochondrial DNA expression, and fatty acid oxidation in the fat cells ... However, the treatments with LA or ALC alone at the same concentrations showed little effect on mitochondrial function and biogenesis ... Lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine have become very hot after our reports on the complementary effects on improving memory and ambulatory activity in old rats"
• Lipoic Acid Could Reduce Atherosclerosis, Weight Gain - Science Daily, 1/14/08 - "lipoic acid supplements reduced atherosclerotic lesion formation in two types of mice that are widely used to study cardiovascular disease, by 55 percent and 40 percent, respectively. The supplements were also associated with almost 40 percent less body weight gain, and lower levels of triglycerides in very low-density lipoproteins" - See Doctor's Best, Best Stabilized R-Lipoic Acid Na-RALA at iHerb.
• Lipoic Acid Explored As Anti-aging Compound - Science Daily, 5/17/07 - "mice supplemented with lipoic acid have a cognitive ability, behavior, and genetic expression of almost 100 detoxification and antioxidant genes that are comparable to that of young animals"
• Alpha-Lipoic Acid Supplements review - ConsumerLab.com, 5/16/07 - "two alpha lipoic acid supplements contained significantly less of this ingredient than promised on their labels"
• Four powerhouse nutrients - Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals, 4/05 - "L-carnitine shuttles fuel into cells to be burned as energy; coenzyme Q10 sparks the energy within the cells; ribose is a component of adenosine triphosphate (ATP); and alpha-lipoic acid increases ATP levels"
• R-Dihydro-Lipoic Acid - The Optimal Form of Lipoic Acid - Life Extension Magazine, 2/05
• Testing of Alpha-Lipoic Acid Supplements By Consumerlab.com Finds Most Meet Label Claims :: Natural and Nutritional Products Industry Center :: News - NPI Center, 12/21/04 - "one of 21 alpha-lipoic acid supplements recently tested contained only 15% of the alpha-lipoic acid that it claimed ... There is fairly good evidence that alpha-lipoic acid can be help people with diabetes"
• The Advantage of Single Daily Dosages of Herbal Medicines - Dr. Murray's Natural Facts, 9/15/04 - "Based upon the clinical research over the last 30 years and the pharmacokinetics of immediate-release alpha-lipoic acid, it appears to be obviously superior to the timed-release product"
• Antioxidant [alpha]-Lipoic Acid Provides Relief for Diabetic Polyneuropathy - Doctor's Guide, 6/20/03 - "After 3 weeks, alpha-lipoic acid had a 24.1% improvement over placebo ... for TSS [Total Symptom Score] and 16.0% for NIS [Neuropathy Impairment Score]"
• Alpha-Lipoic Acid Effective Against Burning Mouth Syndrome - New Hope Natural Media, 5/15/03
• Alpha Lipoic Acid Helping the Fight against Diabetes - Physician's Weekly, 5/12/03 - "the over-the-counter antioxidant supplement alpha lipoic acid has been effective against the burning, numbness and pain that often is associated with diabetic neuropathy. The antioxidant works mainly as a pain medication and was clinically shown to have few side effects"
• Antioxidant Soothes Diabetic Neuropathy - WebMD, 4/11/03 - "Alpha lipoic acid seems to actually change the metabolism of the nerve or blood supply to the nerve ... It is a very strong antioxidant and it is assumed that oxidation plays a role in the development of diabetes ... This means the substance -- produced in very small amounts by the body and also found in foods such as potatoes and red meat -- protects against damage by cell-ravaging "free radicals." This oxidation process is implicated in various diseases, including heart disease, cancer, and neurologic conditions including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's ... alpha lipoic acid improves the function of cell "transporters" that carry and distribute glucose. "This helps insulin do its role,"" - See iHerb or Vitacost alpha lipoic acid products.
• Alpha-Lipoic Acid Helpful in Diabetic Neuropathy - Medscape, 3/7/03 - "Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) rapidly and significantly reduces sensory symptoms and pain of diabetic neuropathy"
• 12 Ways to Feel and Look Younger - WebMD, 10/25/02 - "In addition to the effective antioxidant vitamin C, Morris says CoQ10, vitamin E, alpha lipoic acid (another antioxidant), and perhaps some of those "mental acuity" mixtures in the health-food store should be in your medicine cabinet"
• ALC and Alpha-Lipoic Acid - Dr. Janson's Newsletter, 7/02 - "The recent studies in rats show that ALC (especially when combined with the antioxidant alpha-lipoic acid) can protect the brain from the oxidative damage related to aging, and can protect the mitochondrial membranes ... when older animals are supplemented with ALC and lipoic acid they are more physically active, have better short-term memory, and overall enhanced cognitive function. (They also have better liver function because of the same protection of the mitochondria, with increased mitochondrial metabolism and reduced oxidative damage.) ... It appears that these nutrients also help the heart, especially when taken together. While ALC helps restore cardiac carnitine levels, and improves cardiac energy, the aging heart also becomes sensitive to oxidative stress. For protection from such stress, you need to combine the ALC with alpha-lipoic acid (LA) ... It is apparent that the accelerated aging that results from lifestyle choices, stress, and oxidative exposures, can be slowed or even reversed"
• Do Anti-aging Supplements Really Work? - Life Extension Magazine, 6/02 - "The National Academy of Sciences has published three new reports showing that aging may be partially reversible with currently available supplements"
• Putting Antioxidants To Use In Functional Formulas - Functional Foods & Nutraceuticals, 5/02 - "Clinical studies have found that it can improve insulin function, helping to improve glucose tolerance in people with diabetes.15,16 Some researchers have suggested that long-term use of alpha-lipoic acid may help prevent adult-onset diabetes"
• The Wizard is Oz - Life Extension Magazine, 11/01 - "Best-selling author and nutritional guru to the rich and famous, Oz Garcia is singing the praises of the Life Extension Foundation and its products in his newest book, The Healthy High Tech Body, published in September 2001 ... Supplements at the top of Garcia's list of recommendations ... DHA ... NADH ... Alpah Lipoic Acid ... Acetyl-L-Carnitine ... An expanded list of his recommendations includes lycopene, gamma tocopherol, vinpocetine, SAMe, folic acid, carnosine, glutathione, DMAE, Huperzine A, probiotics, MSM, secretagogues, arginine pyroglutamate, IP-6, bioflavonoid formulas and grape skin/seed extracts"
• The Hard-Liver's Guide to the Liver - WebMD, 10/8/02
• The Prediabetic Epidemic - Nutrition Science News, 3/01 - "Supplements to Regulate Glucose and Insulin ... Alpha-Lipoic Acid ... Only recently have researchers understood its antioxidant actions quench free radicals responsible for many diabetic complications. It also lowers glucose levels—by 10 to 30 percent—and improves insulin function ... Vitamin E ... Vitamin C ... Chromium ... Silymarin"
• Sustain the Brain - Nutrition Science News, 2/01 - "ALA may protect the body from oxidative damage by enhancing detoxifying agents such as glutathione, which occurs in the brain and serves as an antioxidant in these tissues ... Results of animal studies demonstrate that ALA can reduce damage to neurons caused by toxic substances that are by-products of inflammatory processes.12 Another animal study showed memory improvement in aged rats given ALA ... Clinical trials conducted in Germany have shown ALA to be valuable for treating diabetic polyneuropathy, a disease involving the peripheral nerves. Supplementation was shown to improve motor and sensory nerve conduction"
• ALA Eases Diabetic Neuropathy Symptoms - Nutrition Science News, 11/00
• Some Diabetics Buck Tradition and Turn to Herbs - WebMD, 10/9/00 - "Researchers have submitted study results to the journal Diabetes Care for another natural product -- alpha lipoic acid, known by the brand name Glucotize. The product "lowers blood sugar levels, which is excellent," ... "Because that's what causes a lot of diabetic complications.""
• Lipoic Acid: The Universal Antioxidant - Nutrition Science News, 10/00
• Staying Young Forever, Putting new research findings into practice - Life Extension Foundation, 12/99 - "lipoic acid is the only antioxidant that can boost the level of intracellular glutathione, a cellular antioxidant of tremendous importance. Besides being the body's primary water-soluble antioxidant and a major detoxification agent, glutathione is absolutely essential for the functioning of the immune system"
• Alpha Lipoic Acid For Diabetes, Atherosclerosis And Aging - Life Extension Magazine, 3/96

Abstracts:

• Dietary lipoic acid supplementation can mimic or block the effect of dietary restriction on life span -Mech Ageing Dev. 2008 Apr 22;129(6):341-348 - "Ad libitum feeding a diet supplemented with lipoic acid can therefore act as mimetic of DR to extend survival"
• Switching from pathogenetic treatment with alpha-lipoic acid to gabapentin and other analgesics in painful diabetic neuropathy: a real-world study in outpatients - J Diabetes Complications. 2008 Apr 8 - "The daily costs for alpha-lipoic acid were considerably lower than those for gabapentin or several frequently used drug combinations. The frequency of outpatient visits was 3.8 times per 3 months during the treatment period with alpha-lipoic acid, while it increased to 7.9 per 3 months after switching to gabapentin or the other pain medications. In conclusion, switching from long-term treatment with alpha-lipoic acid to central analgesic drugs such as gabapentin in painful diabetic neuropathy was associated with considerably higher rates of side effects, frequencies of outpatient visits, and daily costs of treatment. The pathogenic treatment option represents for the practicing diabetologist an effective, safe, and cost-effective treatment option for the majority of patients with diabetic polyneuropathy" - See alpha lipoic acid products at iHerb.
• Lipoic acid supplementation and endothelial function - Br J Pharmacol. 2008 Mar 17 - "Endothelial dysfunction is caused by all the recognized cardiovascular risk factors and has been implicated in the complex processes leading to the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. Short-term treatment with lipoic acid is shown in the current issue of the British Journal of Pharmacology to improve endothelial function of aortic rings of old rats. The age-related decrease in phosphorylation of nitric oxide synthase and Akt was improved by lipoic acid supplementation. The improved phosphorylation status may have been due to reduced activity of the phosphatase PPA2, associated with decreased levels of endothelial ceramide induced by lipoic acid. Neutral sphingomyelinase activity was also reduced by lipoic acid, which was due, at least in part, to increased glutathione levels in endothelial cells"
• Lipoic acid significantly restores, in rats, the age-related decline in vasomotion - Br J Pharmacol. 2008 Feb 25 - "In old animals, endothelium-dependent relaxation in aortic rings was decreased, GSH levels and its redox state in aortic endothelia were over 30% lower and nSMase activity and endothelial ceramide levels were three-fold increased, relative to young (2-4 mo) rats. LA treatment of old animals improved relaxation in aortic rings, reversed the changes in endothelial GSH, in nSMase activities and in ceramide levels. Similar effects on GSH levels and nSMase activity in old rats were also induced by treatment with GSH monoethylester. Activation (by phosphorylation) of eNOS was decreased by about 50% in old rats and this age-related decrease was partially reversed by LA treatment" - See Doctor's Best, Best Stabilized R-Lipoic Acid Na-RALA at iHerb.
• Effect of Co-enzyme Q10 and Alpha-Lipoic Acid on Response of Rabbit Urinary Bladder to Repetitive Stimulation and In Vitro Ischemia - Urology. 2008 Feb 15 - "CoQ10 showed no protective effect. alpha-LA resulted in increased contractile responses of the control bladder and showed a moderate protective effect for all forms of stimulation. The combination, however, showed a significantly greater increase in the contraction of the control bladder and a greater protective effect than alpha-LA alone"
• R-alpha-Lipoic acid and acetyl-L: -carnitine complementarily promote mitochondrial biogenesis in murine 3T3-L1 adipocytes - Diabetologia. 2008 Jan;51(1):165-74 - "Treatments with the combination of LA and ALC at concentrations of 0.1, 1 and 10 mumol/l for 24 h significantly increased mitochondrial mass, expression of mitochondrial DNA, mitochondrial complexes, oxygen consumption and fatty acid oxidation in 3T3L1 adipocytes. These changes were accompanied by an increase in expression of Pparg, Ppara and Cpt1a mRNA, as well as increased expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) gamma coactivator 1 alpha (Ppargc1a), mitochondrial transcription factor A (Tfam) and nuclear respiratory factors 1 and 2 (Nrf1 and Nrf2). However, the treatments with LA or ALC alone at the same concentrations showed little effect on mitochondrial function and biogenesis" - See Doctor's Best, Best Stabilized R-Lipoic Acid Na-RALA at iHerb and Doctor's Best acetyl-l-carnitine at iHerb.
• The antioxidant alpha-lipoic acid improves endothelial dysfunction induced by acute hyperglycaemia during OGTT in impaired glucose tolerance - Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2007 Dec 7
• Dietary lipoic acid-dependent changes in the activity and mRNA levels of hepatic lipogenic enzymes in rats - Br J Nutr. 2007 Dec 7;:1-9 - "Lipoic acid profoundly decreased serum and liver concentrations of TAG, and also lowered serum concentrations of phospholipid and NEFA, and the concentration of cholesterol in the liver. A hypoglycaemic effect of this compound was also observed. Lipoic acid dose-dependently decreased the activity and mRNA levels of fatty acid synthase, ATP-citrate lyase, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, malic enzyme and pyruvate kinase in the liver despite that reductions were considerably attenuated in the NADPH-producing enzymes. This compound also dose-dependently lowered the mRNA levels of spot 14, adiponutrin, stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1, and Delta5- and Delta6-desaturases. In addition, lipoic acid dose-dependently lowered serum concentrations of insulin and leptin, but increased those of adiponectin. Lipoic acid appeared to reduce hepatic lipogenesis and hence decreases serum and liver lipid levels. Alterations in serum concentrations of insulin and (or) adiponectin may trigger this consequence" - See Doctor's Best, Best Stabilized R-Lipoic Acid Na-RALA at iHerb.
• The effect of alpha-lipoic acid on symptoms and skin blood flow in diabetic neuropathy - Diabet Med. 2007 May 8 - "study suggests that alpha-lipoic acid, a potent antioxidant, improves symptoms of diabetic neuropathy"
• Oral Treatment With {alpha}-Lipoic Acid Improves Symptomatic Diabetic Polyneuropathy: The SYDNEY 2 trial - Diabetes Care. 2006 Nov;29(11):2365-2370 - "Oral treatment with ALA for 5 weeks improved neuropathic symptoms and deficits in patients with DSP. An oral dose of 600 mg once daily appears to provide the optimum risk-to-benefit ratio"
• Treatment for diabetic mononeuropathy with alpha-lipoic acid - Int J Clin Pract. 2005 Jun;59(6):645-50 - "alpha-lipoic acid appears to be an effective drug in the treatment for not only peripheral and autonomic diabetic neuropathy, but also diabetic mononeuropathy of the cranial nerves leading to full recovery of the patients" - See iHerb or Vitacost alpha lipoic acid products.
• Memory loss in old rats is associated with brain mitochondrial decay and RNA/DNA oxidation: Partial reversal by feeding acetyl-L-carnitine and/or R-alpha -lipoic acid - Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2002 Feb 19;99(4):2356-2361 - "Electron microscopic studies in the hippocampus showed that ALCAR and/or LA reversed age-associated mitochondrial structural decay"

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