Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 5/7/03:

SARS Proves Deadlier than First Thought - WebMD, 5/7/03 - "The death rate is estimated to be less than 1% among people under 24, 6% among people 25-44, 15% in people 45-64, and greater than 50% in people over 65"

Dietary Omega-3 Fatty Acids May Reduce Risk of AMD - Medscape, 5/6/03 - "Dietary omega-3 fatty acids but not beta-carotene supplementation is associated with a reduced risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) ... omega-3 fatty acids may also reduce the risk of dry eye syndrome in women" - See TwinEPA at iHerb or Vitacost.

Renin Substrate Levels Decrease with Transdermal Hormone Therapy and Increase with Oral Hormone Therapy - Doctor's Guide, 5/6/03 - "Oral Prempro (conjugated equine estrogen/medroxyprogesterone) appears to increase plasma levels of renin substrate (angiotensinogen) to a significantly greater extent than CombiPatch (estradiol/norethindrone) ... The problem is that increases in the renin substrate (RS) can trigger activity in [renin-angiogenesis-aldosterone system] that can lead, in turn, to higher blood pressure and, possibly, hypertension" - Related article:

• Transdermal Hormones Better than Oral for Improving Women's Sexual Quality of Life - Doctor's Guide, 5/2/03 - "At end point (20 weeks), 33% of 81 women on CombiPatch reported improvement in Quality of Life scores compared to 17% of 84 on Prempro"

Femhrt Increases Endothelial Dysfunction in Postmenopausal Non-Smokers - Doctor's Guide, 5/6/03 - "Femhrt subjects showed a statistically significant mean increase in vasodilation versus placebo in healthy women who never smoked ... Prempro and Evista showed no such endothelial benefits for this subgroup or the smoker group"

Fruit Juice a Two-Edged Sword for Kids - HealthScout News, 5/5/03 - "Parents tend to think that because fruit juice is fat-free and comes from nature, it's OK. But what they often don't realize is that it is a very concentrated source of calories that generally does not fill you up, just out" - That's what I was commenting on a couple weeks ago regarding the study on drinking 12 ounces of Concord grape juice [206 calories] per day to reduce blood pressure.  If kids can't burn off those extra calories, it's even worse for adults.

Steeped In Health - Time, 5/5/05 - "The researchers found that drinking 20 oz. of tea every day for at least two weeks doubled or tripled the immune system's output of an infection-fighting substance called interferon gamma. The coffee drinkers, by contrast, registered no difference in interferon-gamma production. Apparently the body metabolizes the tea into molecules that mimic the surface proteins of bacteria, jump-starting the immune system so that when real bugs show up, they can more easily be dispatched ... Green tea has more of the chemically simpler antioxidants called catechins, whereas black tea contains more complex antioxidants called theaflavins and thearubigins"

SARS Can Live on Common Surfaces - Washington Post, 5/4/03 - "The SARS virus apparently can survive on common surfaces at room temperature for hours or even days ... German scientists found a common detergent failed to kill the virus, indicating that some efforts to sterilize contaminated areas may be ineffective. An experiment conducted in Japan concluded that the virus could live for extended periods in the cold, suggesting it could survive the winter"

Low Folate Concentrations Associated With Depression - Doctor's Guide, 5/2/03 - "Physically healthy people who are depressed have detectably lower folate status than those who are not depressed" - See iHerb folic acid products.

Garlic seems to ward off cancer - MSNBC, 5/2/03 - "less than a clove of garlic a day was enough to cut men’s risk of prostate cancer in half compared to men who ate none ... Studies also tie garlic consumption to the prevention of colon, stomach and possibly breast cancers ... The results from studies involving garlic that has been processed into supplements, however, have been inconsistent. This may be due to the wide variations that exist between different garlic products. It’s also possible that the many different compounds in garlic offer the best protection when they occur in whole garlic, where they can interact with each other in complex ways we do not yet understand"

Not All Sunscreens Are Created Equal - HealthScout News, 5/2/03 - "The burning rays of the sun, called ultraviolet B (UVB) rays, are the primary cause of skin cancer ... But new research shows that ultraviolet A (UVA) rays could also increase your risk for skin cancer ... people should seek out sunscreens that protect against UVA as well as UVB rays ... A sunscreen's sun protection factor (SPF) only measures protection from UVB rays, not UVA rays, so it's hard to know what you're getting"

Erectile Dysfunction Linked to Heart Disease - HealthScout News, 5/2/03 - "cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes, smoking, high blood pressure and low HDL cholesterol were more common among those who had erectile dysfunction" - The best thing I've found to increase HDL is inositol hexanicotinate.  Related Articles:

• Erectile Dysfunction / Impotence - Prostate Health Guide - U. of Maryland Medicine - "Direct risk factors for erectile dysfunction may include the following: ... low levels of HDL (high-density lipoprotein)"
• Laboratory Investigations of Erectile Dysfunction - WebMD - "men with erectile dysfunction frequently have low levels of high-density lipoproteins, the good form of cholesterol."

2 Studies Contradict Earlier Research Showing No Benefit of Fiber on Colon Cancer Risk - WebMD, 5/1/03 - "What's more consistent is the two newest findings, both published in the May 3 issue of The Lancet ... those eating a high-fiber diet -- upwards of 36 grams of fiber each day -- were 25% less likely to develop polyps than those eating fewer than 12 grams ... The other study, conducted on 520,000 people in 10 European countries and called the largest study ever, also initially found a 25% reduced rate in colorectal cancer in those eating high-fiber diets of about 35 grams daily compared with those eating less than 15 ... the protective effect was greatest on the left side of the colon, where most cancers originate ... Fiber is believed to help reduce risk in two ways: It keeps you regular to remove toxins from the intestines, and bacteria living in the gut feeds on it -- producing beneficial byproducts to keep the colon healthy" - See Drugstore.com/GNC fiber products.

Fatty Acids Added To Infant Formula May Cut Later Heart Disease Risks - Doctor's Guide, 5/1/03 - "Several studies have reported lower blood pressure in adults whose diet was supplemented with omega 3 fatty acids, but no published studies have looked at the effect of LCPUFA supplementation on blood pressure in children ... The LCPUFA group had significantly lower mean blood pressure: mean difference -3.0 mm Hg, and mean difference of -3.5 mm Hg diastolic"

Chemical helps aging brains feel younger - MSNBC, 5/1/03 - "in old primates, both human and monkey, there is a decline in the levels of GABA, a chemical that inhibits neuron signals in the brain. Without enough of that control, he said, the brain is distracted and overwhelmed by stray signals, in the same way the ear is overwhelmed when trying to hear a whisper at a rock concert ... When minute quantities of GABA were injected directly into neurons, the brains of the older monkeys responded just like those of the young animals ... Added GABA appeared to have no effect on the young" - See iHerb or Vitacost GABA products.

Pesticides Linked with Prostate Cancer in Farmers - Yahoo, 5/1/03 - "The risk of developing prostate cancer was 14 percent greater for the pesticide applicators compared to the general population"

Supplemental Testosterone Enhances Hypogonadal Men's Sildenafil Response - Doctor's Guide, 5/1/03 - "testosterone gel was associated with a significant response in to sildenafil on the erectile function (P=0.037), orgasmic function (P=0.019) and overall satisfaction (P=0.046) domains of the IIEF questionnaire. Testosterone-treated men also had a significantly higher total score ... this treatment may be considered for men with low to normal testosterone who have not experienced success with sildenafil"

Vitamin D Effective Treatment for Chronic Low Back Pain - New Hope Natural Media, 5/1/03 - "new study in Spine (2003;28:177–9) ... All participants with vitamin D deficiency reported improvement in their back pain after taking vitamin D, whereas 69% of those with normal vitamin D levels improved"

N-Acetyl Cysteine Prevents Kidney Damage from Coronary Procedure - New Hope Natural Media, 5/1/03 - "Up to 15% of people undergoing coronary angiography may experience kidney damage from the contrast dye ... randomly assigned to receive either 600 mg of oral NAC twice a day on the day before and the day of the procedure or a similar looking placebo ... Only 4% of those taking NAC, compared with 12% of those taking the placebo, experienced a 25% increase in blood creatinine within 48 hours of receiving the contrast dye" - See iHerb or Vitacost NAC products.

Anti-Inflammatory Diet Plus Fish Oil Effective for Rheumatoid Arthritis - New Hope Natural Media, 5/1/03 - "An anti-inflammatory diet and fish oil supplements are both helpful for people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but combining them has an even greater effect ... The anti-inflammatory diet improved joint pain, swelling, and overall ability to function by 14%, while the Western diet did not improve symptoms or functioning. Benefits were observed with the addition of fish oil, bringing total improvement to 17% in those eating a Western diet and 37% in those eating the anti-inflammatory diet. Furthermore, the need for anti-inflammatory medications was significantly reduced for those receiving fish oil on both diets, although the group eating the anti-inflammatory diet had greater medication reduction. Medication usage increased for those on the Western diet plus placebo" - See iHerb and Vitacost fish oil supplements.

Improve Your Sex Life And Protect Against Heart Attack - Life Extension Foundation, 5/03 - "low testosterone levels were associated with several risk factors for heart attack such as high insulin levels, abnormal glucose metabolism, low levels of HDL cholesterol and high blood pressure. Moreover, he further proposed that the converse was also true: testosterone protects against heart disease in men"

Enhance Your Immunity - Dr. Janson's Newsletter, 5/03 - "Common dietary supplements that enhance immunity include vitamins C (2000 to 10,000 mg) and E (400 to 800 IU), coenzyme Q10 (100 to 200 mg), proanthocyanidins (50 to 150 mg), gammalinolenic acid (GLA, 240 mg), and zinc (30 mg) ... Standardized herbs that help include astragalus (1000 mg), echinacea (500 mg), and mushroom extracts such as maitake (1000 to 2000 mg), or beta 1,3 glucan (100 to 200 mg)"

Abstracts from this week's Doctor's Guide Nutrition/Dietetics and the May issue of the Journal Nutrition:

Essential fatty acids and the brain - Can J Psychiatry 2003 Apr;48(3):195-203 - "The ratio of membrane omega-3 to omega-6 PUFAs can be modulated by dietary intake. This ratio influences neurotransmission and prostaglandin formation, processes that are vital in the maintenance of normal brain function"

Low-Dose Growth Hormone Inhibits 11beta-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Type 1 but Has No Effect upon Fat Mass in Patients with Simple Obesity -J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2003 May;88(5):2113-8 - "Although GH treatment significantly raised IGF-I, we were unable to demonstrate significant differences in body composition or metabolic profiles between GH- and placebo-treated groups. In addition, there was no alteration in total fat mass over time in the GH-treated group ... However, in comparison with baseline values, systolic blood pressure increased (119 +/- 3 vs. 130 +/- 4 mm Hg, P < 0.05 vs. baseline) and serum F/E ratio decreased (6.1 +/- 0.5 vs. 3.9 +/- 0.5, P < 0.05 vs. baseline) in the GH-treated group only ... Treatment with low-dose GH in obesity fails to alter fat mass despite a significant elevation in IGF-I and a shift in the global set point of E to F conversion consistent with inhibition of 11beta-HSD1" - I think it's saying that it reduced the ratio of the active form to inactive form of cortisol by a third.  (6.1 - 3.9)/6.1 = 36%.  That sounds like a big plus in itself.  0.4 mg/day is about 1.2 IU.   See my 11beta-HSD1 page and the following:

• Is the "Metabolic Syndrome" a Mild Form of Cushing's Syndrome? The Curious Story of 11beta-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase - Medscape, 6/02 - "Recent investigations, both in humans and in mice, have returned it and its twin, 11beta-HSD1, to the limelight as possible players in the complex pathophysiology of the metabolic syndrome ... The 11beta-HSD1 knockout animal has a different phenotype, reflecting the fact that this enzyme normally functions as the reverse of 11beta-HSD2, converting inactive cortisone to active cortisol within cells in the liver, adipose tissue, and brain. Lacking the ability to perform this localized glucocorticoid "re-activating" biochemical conversion, the 11beta-HSD1 knockout mouse is resistant to glucose intolerance when fed a high-fat diet. It also weighs less than its wild-type littermate despite eating more, and has a higher resting metabolic rate. Interestingly, wild-type mice downregulate 11beta-HSD1 expression in adipose tissues in response to high-fat feeding, indicating that this enzyme is subject to regulatory feedback by alterations in energy balance. Together, these findings suggest that an improperly regulated increase in 11beta-HSD activity or expression in liver, fat cells, or brain might contribute to the tendency to develop several features of the metabolic syndrome, such as visceral adiposity, hypertension, and insulin resistance"
• Errant Enzyme Causes Big Bellies - WebMD, 12/11/01 - "They looked at an enzyme called 11-beta hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1. This enzyme is able to increase the level of cortisol in fat cells without raising the level of cortisol in the blood ... The researchers genetically engineered mice that overproduce this enzyme. They made sure that the level of the enzyme was equivalent to the level previously found in the fatty tissue of overweight humans. As expected, the mice produced extra amounts of cortisol in their fat cells, but not in their blood ... The next step was to compare these mice to mice that produced normal amounts of the enzyme. Even when fed a low-fat diet, the genetically-altered mice developed a pot belly while the normal mice did not. The problem was even worse when the altered mice were fed a high-fat diet ... We were surprised to find that it took only a modest increase in this enzyme to cause the mice to become ... obese"
• 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11beta HSD1) is expressed in human brain: inhibition with carbenoxolone improves cognitive function in healthy elderly men - Endocrine Abstracts 3 OC41 - "Inhibition of 11beta-HSD1 therefore provides an exciting new therapeutic target to prevent/ameliorate age-associated cognitive dysfunction in humans"

Vitamin E prevents changes in the cornea and conjunctiva due to vitamin A deficiency - Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 2003 Apr;241(4):287-97 - "The present study suggests that vitamin E has a protective effect against the corneal and conjunctival damage caused by vitamin A deficiency"

Effect of metformin and sulfonylurea on C-reactive protein level in well-controlled type 2 diabetics with metabolic syndrome - Endocrine 2003 Apr;20(3):215-8 - "CRP level was significantly lower in patients using metformin for blood glucose control compared with those using glibenclamide, 5.56 and 8.3 mg/L, respectively ... The data showed that metformin decreases the level of circulating CRP, a marker of inflammation, more than glibenclamide"

Vitamin D in preventive medicine: are we ignoring the evidence? - Br J Nutr 2003 May;89(5):552-572 - "European children and young adults often have circulating 25(OH)D levels in the insufficiency range during wintertime. Elderly subjects have mean 25(OH)D levels in the insufficiency range throughout the year. In institutionalized subjects 25(OH)D levels are often in the deficiency range. There is now general agreement that a low vitamin D status is involved in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis. Moreover, vitamin D insufficiency can lead to a disturbed muscle function. Epidemiological data also indicate a low vitamin D status in tuberculosis, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel diseases, hypertension, and specific types of cancer. Some intervention trials have demonstrated that supplementation with vitamin D or its metabolites is able: (i) to reduce blood pressure in hypertensive patients; (ii) to improve blood glucose levels in diabetics; (iii) to improve symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. The oral dose necessary to achieve adequate serum 25(OH)D levels is probably much higher than the current recommendations of 5-15 &mgr;g/d."

Betaine Supplementation Lowers Plasma Homocysteine in Healthy Men and Women - J. Nutr. 133:1291-1295, May 2003 - "Groups of twelve subjects ingested 6 g betaine, 800 µg folic acid with 6 g placebo or 6 g placebo each day for 6 wk ... Fasting plasma homocysteine decreased by 1.8 µmol/L ... in the betaine group and by 2.7 µmol/L ... in the folic acid group ... betaine suppressed the total area under the plasma homocysteine-time curve after methionine loading by 221 µmol . 24 h/L ... compared with placebo, whereas folic acid had no effect" - See iHerb or Vitacost betaine products.

Dietary (n-3)/(n-6) Fatty Acid Ratio: Possible Relationship to Premenopausal but Not Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Risk in U.S. Women - J. Nutr. 133:1409-1414, May 2003 - "These results are consistent with the hypothesis that a higher (n-3)/(n-6) PUFA ratio may reduce the risk of breast cancer, especially in premenopausal women"

Zinc-Altered Immune Function - J. Nutr. 133:1452S-1456S, May 2003 - "All kinds of immune cells show decreased function after zinc depletion ... Impaired immune functions due to zinc deficiency are shown to be reversed by an adequate zinc supplementation, which must be adapted to the actual requirements of the patient. High dosages of zinc evoke negative effects on immune cells and show alterations that are similar to those observed with zinc deficiency"

Selenium in the Immune System - J. Nutr. 133:1457S-1459S, May 2003 - "Selenium as an essential component of selenocysteine-containing protein is involved in most aspects of cell biochemistry and function. As such, there is much potential for selenium to influence the immune system"

Iron Deficiency Alters Brain Development and Functioning - J. Nutr. 133:1468S-1472S, May 2003 - "Iron deficiency anemia in early life is related to altered behavioral and neural development. Studies in human infants suggest that this is an irreversible effect that may be related to changes in chemistry of neurotransmitters, organization and morphology of neuronal networks, and neurobiology of myelination"

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