Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 5/21/03:

Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers Effective, Better Tolerated than Calcium Channel Blockers in Elderly Patients - Doctor's Guide, 5/21/03 - "Valsartan and amlodipine are both highly effective in controlling blood pressure in patients with isolated systolic hypertension ... However, valsartan offers a significant tolerability advantage as it shows a reduced risk of developing adverse events"

Can a Capsule Reduce Damage From a High-Fat Meal? - HealthScout News, 5/21/03 - "The fruit-and-vegetable supplements appeared to help arteries retain much of their ability to expand in response to a sudden increase in blood flow ... Among those who took only placebos, however, the high-fat meal significantly reduced the blood vessels' ability to expand with an increase in blood flow" - One that I take are cranberry capsules.  See:

• Cranberry Juice Fights Heart Disease - WebMD, 3/24/03 - "Cranberry juice is higher in phenol antioxidants than other fruit juices with the exception of grape juice ... levels of high-density lipoprotein ("good" cholesterol) appeared to increase significantly -- by as much as 121% -- after two or three glasses of juice a day" - See iHerb or drugstore.com cranberry products.
• A Tiny Berry, A Pound Of Prevention - Intelihealth, 11/21/01 - "Compared with 19 other common fruits cranberries have the highest level of the antioxidant, phenol"

NSAIDs Cause Ulcers and Bleeding in Small Intestine - Doctor's Guide, 5/21/03 - "Research using video capsule endoscopy (VCE) shows small intestinal ulcerations, lesions, and bleeding related to the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) occur 40% more often than previously thought"

Probiotic Therapy May Be Effective for Treating Ulcerative Colitis - Doctor's Guide, 5/21/03 - "adding a probiotic with multiple strains and a high concentration of bacteria to the treatment regimen may have the potential to stop this disease in its tracks and avoid any treatment-related side effects" - See iHerb or Vitacost probiotic products.

Isolated Systolic Hypertension Carries Significant Structural And Functional Alterations - Doctor's Guide, 5/21/03 - "Alterations in arterial structure and function identified in patients with isolated systolic hypertension may be responsible for their higher morbidity and mortality compared to patients with systolic and diastolic hypertension"

Selenium May Lower Risk Of Esophageal Cancer In People With Barrett's Esophagus - Intelihealth, 5/21/03 - "Higher serum selenium levels appear to be associated with a reduced risk of progression toward esophageal cancer among people with Barrett's esophagus" - See iHerb or Vitacost selenium products.

Green Tea Boosts Antimicrobial Properties Of Toothpaste - Intelihealth, 5/21/03 - "green tea extracts (GTE) and polyphenol (PP) have an adverse effect on bacteria that cause strep throat, dental caries, and other infections"

Link Eyed Between Beef And Cancer - CBS News, 5/20/03 - "beef cattle are given growth hormones to make them fatter faster, to save money ... questions are being raised about one of the most widely-used hormones, Zeranol, a synthetic estrogen implanted in cattle. A series of tests done for the Pentagon show a possible link between breast cancer and Zeranol"

Children of Centenarians Have Delays in Age-Related Diseases - Doctor's Guide, 5/20/03 - "Fewer offspring of centenarians took prescription medicines, and they have lower weight and body mass compared to controls"

Beta-Carotene Not Always a Sure Bet Against Cancer - HealthScout News, 5/20/03 - "intestinal polyps, which can become cancerous, multiplied for those who smoked, drank and took a beta-carotene supplement. But the polyps dwindled in supplement takers without those habits" - If they are going to pay the big bucks for a study, I feel they should be using mixed carotenoids, not just beta-carotene.  The link went dead on the following but the quote is valid.  Over the years I've read several that say the same thing, yet they never address it in the studies.  It's as bad as when they do a study on severe depression with St. John's wort and claim SJW is not dose dependent as with every other anti-depressant I can think of.  Take Effexor for example.  The starting dose is 75 mg but you can go up to 375 mg, a factor of 5 (375/75).  With the SJW study, they didn't even try a factor of 2 in patients with severe depression.  And why do the use the least effective d-alpha or even worse, dl-alpha form in vitamin E studies when the delta and gamma are most effective? Or how about still using niacin in studies instead of inositol hexanicotinate when they know that most people give up on niacin because they can't take the flush? - Ben

• Looking For Supplements That Aid Vision - OnHealth.com, 5/2/00 - "There are over 600 carotenoids in the food we eat," says Dr. Donald S. Fong, a California ophthalmologist who has done research at the National Institutes of Health on the importance of nutrients in retinal diseases. "So if you supplement with high doses of any single one, you block the absorption of other carotenoids you may need. And, in addition, you might increase the risk of disease in other parts of the body."

Can Tea Bag Bad Breath? - HealthScout News, 5/20/03 - "Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago found the popular beverage contains compounds, called polyphenols, which halt the growth of odor-causing bacteria" - See iHerb or Vitacost green tea products.

Saw palmetto review - ConsumerLab.com, 5/20/03 - "ConsumerLab.com purchased 14 saw palmetto products ... four products failed to meet requirements of the review and were immediately excluded from testing ... Among the 10 remaining products that were tested, one was found contain an unusually high amount of fatty acids and sterols, suggesting that undisclosed oils may have been added and that the product was mislabeled. The other nine products met the requirements of this review" - So 5/14 = 36% failed. - Ben

Depression Can Forewarn of Alzheimer's Disease - HealthScout News, 5/19/03 - "it confirms the need to find out why ... Overall, people with a history of depression symptoms were twice as likely to have Alzheimer's ... taking antidepressants, vitamin E or statins -- cholesterol-lowering drugs -- appears to reduce the risk" - I'm not a doctor but my theory in layman's terms is that depression is associated with high cortisol and high cortisol fries the brain.  See:

• Study Supports Role Of Anticort In Treating Alzheimer's, HIV - Doctor's Guide, 4/17/98 - "Cortisol's role as a cause of disease is most recently confirmed in a study to be published in the May issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience. Authored by Dr. Sonia Lupien of McGill University, the study reports that high levels of cortisol play a key role in Alzheimer's, memory loss, shrinkage of the brain and aging. Dr. Lupien also states that such illnesses might be prevented with medications to reduce elevated cortisol levels."
• A Supplement to Prevent Alzheimer’s - Dr. Weil, 8/20/02 - "In theory, PS works by strengthening cell membranes thus protecting them and their contents from damage, particularly from the stress hormone cortisol"
• Apolipoprotein E May Modulate Cortisol Production - Clinical Psychiatry News, 4/02 - "In Alzheimer's disease, increased cortisol levels may lower the threshold for damage or death of hippocampal neurons"
• NIMH Links Depression to Bone Loss - Doctor's Guide, 10/16/96 - "Excess cortisol secretion, a common feature of some forms of depression, is known to cause bone loss"

Men in Depression Denial? - Physician's Weekly, 5/19/03 - "A National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) survey found that 32% of women receive treatment for depression as opposed to just 22% of men ... the disorder is often unrecognized and consistently under-treated"

Prescription Arthritis Painkillers Not Worth Price - HealthScout News, 5/19/03 - "The main benefit those [cox-2 inhibiting] medications provide is that they're safer on the stomach ... They appear to cause fewer ulcer complications, including ulcer bleeds, painful ulcers, and, very rarely, ulcer perforations ... They cost about $2.70 a tablet, and patients usually take one or two a day. Naproxen, by contrast, costs only about 18 cents a tablet, and ibuprofen is even cheaper ... doctors would need to treat 125 patients with the cox-2 drugs before one would benefit by not having gastrointestinal problems" - See drugstore.com ibuprofen products.

Vitamin D May Augment Breast Cancer Treatments - Physician's Weekly, 5/19/03 - "treatment with vitamin D was three times more effective in preventing new tumor growth when compared to radiation therapy alone"

Can Statins Do More Than Cut Cholesterol? - ABC News, 5/19/03 - "Although much more research is needed, there is some preliminary evidence that suggests that statins may benefit people with conditions other than high cholesterol, such as those with high blood pressure, Alzheimer's disease, osteoporosis and multiple sclerosis" - Note:  Red yeast rice is a non-prescription statin.  See iHerb and Vitacost red yeast products.

DASH Diet Works Like Hypertension Drug - WebMD, 5/19/03 - "the DASH diet -- created to fight high blood pressure -- works just like water pills ... If people eat the DASH diet with low salt intake -- especially older people -- their blood pressure goes down 15 points"

Valsartan Appears to Improve Sexual Function in Men and Women with Hypertension - Doctor's Guide, 5/18/03 - "Men and women being treated with the angiotensin II receptor blocker valsartan for mild-to-moderate hypertension appear to show improvements in sexual function and desire" - Related ARB articles:

• Impotent Patients on Valsartan Find Increased Interest in Sex; Use Sildenafil More Often - Doctor's Guide, 5/19/02 - "Because the use of sildenafil significantly increased with the use of valsartan, it suggests that angiotensin II antagonism induces an increase in sexual desire in impotent hypertensive men ... It could be related to the reactive stimulation of angiotensin cascade due to AT1 receptors blockade"
• Blood pressure drug reverses sexual dysfunction and... - Life Extension Magazine, 7/01 - "the active ingredient in Cozaar and Hyaar (losartan) can significantly improve sex lives of men who suffer from sexual dysfunction"
• Newest Hypertension Drug, Losartan, May Improve Sexual Function - Doctor's Guide, 5/1/01
• Carvedilol Reduces But Valsartan May Increase Sexual Activity In Hypertensive Men - Doctor's Guide, 2/1/01 - "carvedilol induces a chronic reduction of sexual activity whereas valsartan, an angiotensin II antagonist, not only does not significantly reduce sexual activity but may even increase it."

Levothyroxine Decreases Risk of Atherosclerosis in Women with Subclinical Hypothyroidism - Doctor's Guide, 5/18/03 - "Compared to controls, the hypothyroid women had significantly elevated levels of fibrinogen, plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1), and factor VII (P<0.0001). They also had lower levels of antithrombin III activity (P<0.05). When the hypothyroid women were treated with levothyroxine, they had significant decreases in both PAI-1 and factor VII ... These findings show that subclinical hypothyroidism may play an important role in promoting both hypofibrinolytic and hypercoagulable states, and therefore leading to the development of atherosclerosis in female patients" - Related article:

• Treatment of Subclinical Hypothyroidism Advocated - Doctor's Guide, 4/7/03 - "Adverse effects fall into four general categories, according to Dr. Gardner -- neuropsychiatric symptoms, abnormal lipids, altered myocardial function, and greater risk of atherosclerotic heart disease ... Adding to the controversy, he added, is growing evidence that the upper limit of normal serum TSH concentration should be less than 2.5-3.0 U/mL and not the current levels of 5.0-5.5 U/mL"

Hormone Replacement Normalises Cholesterol in African-American Women - Doctor's Guide, 5/18/03 - "randomised to daily combination HRT consisting of 0.625 of conjugated oestrogen and 2.5 mg of medroxyprogesterone ... Overall, the women had an 8% increase in total HDL cholesterol ... They found an 8% reduction in the ratio of LDL to HDL ... LDL composition measurements were not changed"

Diuretic Use Linked to End-Stage Renal Disease [ESRD] - Medscape, 5/16/03 - "We're concerned that there could be a long time lag between use of thiazide diuretics and ESRD, even as long as 10 to 15 years"

Green Tea Gives Skin Healthy Glow - HealthScout News, 5/15/03 - "Green tea contains compounds called polyphenols, which help eliminate free radicals. These free radicals can cause cancer by altering DNA. Polyphenols also protect healthy cells while promoting the death of cancer cells ... Cells that migrate toward the surface of the skin normally live about 28 days, and by day 20 they basically sit on the upper layer of the skin getting ready to die. But EGCG reactivates them ... EGCG may offer potential benefits for skin conditions including psoriasis, rosacea, wrinkles and wounds" - See iHerb or Vitacost green tea extracts.

Rheumatoid Arthritis and Birth Weight - Doctor's Guide, 5/15/03 - "The study found babies who had a birth weight of more than 8.82 pounds were more than three times as likely to have rheumatoid arthritis later in life"

One Glass of Wine Per Day Improves Arterial Elasticity - Doctor's Guide, 5/15/02 - "Modest alcohol intake was defined as no more than one glass of wine or beer, or less than 30 mL of hard alcohol daily ... All drinkers, particularly wine drinkers, demonstrated increased elasticity in both small and large arteries, as well as lower heart rates, compared with nondrinkers ... The only negative effect associated with moderate drinking was a slight increase in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Beer drinkers showed the highest blood-pressure elevations ... moderate wine drinking is associated with higher arterial elasticity, lower pulse rate, and higher stroke volume"

Aging May Shortcircuit Body's Ability to Ward Off Diabetes - HealthScout News, 5/15/03 - "About 25 percent of Americans over the age of 60 suffer from type 2 diabetes ... At least in the elderly, it looks like it's mitochondrial dysfunction that leads to the accumulation of fat inside the cells of muscle and livers ... That then leads to insulin resistance through pathways we've described previously ... Some good news is that researchers have already shown that exercise can increase the number of mitochondria. Until new medications are developed, this study is yet another argument to get moving"

Ginkgo Improves Some Glaucoma - New Hope Natural Media, 5/16/03 - "27 people with normal tension glaucoma and visual field losses were randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group received 40 mg of Ginkgo biloba extract three times per day for four weeks, followed by eight weeks with no treatment and finally four weeks of placebo. The other group received placebo for four weeks, followed by the same eight weeks with no treatment and ending with four weeks of Ginkgo biloba. Both groups experienced significant improvement (approximately 24%) in indices used to evaluate visual fields after treatment with Ginkgo biloba. There were no improvements for either group during placebo phases ... Ginkgo biloba extract has several properties that might have contributed to the beneficial effects observed in this trial. Its antioxidant activity might have protected the optic nerve from oxidative damage, and its ability to increase blood flow and oxygen utilization might have protected the optic nerve from damage due to lack of oxygen" - See iHerb or Vitacost Ginkgo products.

Dr. Murray's Natural Facts - Dr. Murray, 5/21/03 - "Three clinical studies have shown Anti-ACE Peptides exert significant blood pressure lowering effects in people with high blood pressure (hypertension).4-6 The material appears to be effective in about two thirds of people with high blood pressure - about the same percentage as many prescription drugs. (NOTE: People who do not respond to Anti-ACE Peptides after a two month trial should try Celery Seed Extract). The degree of blood pressure reduction in these studies was quite significant, typically reducing the systolic by at least 10 mm Hg and the diastolic by 7 mm Hg in people with prehypertension and Stage 1 hypertension. Greater reductions will be seen in people with higher initial blood pressure readings" - See Anti-Ace Peptides™ or celery seed at iHerb.

Abstracts from this week's Doctor's Guide Nutrition/Dietetics and the 5/21/03 JAMA:

Combination Therapy With Hormone Replacement and Alendronate for Prevention of Bone Loss in Elderly Women - JAMA, Vol. 289 No. 19, May 21, 2003 - "Participants were randomly assigned in a 2 x 2 factorial design to receive hormone replacement (conjugated equine estrogen, 0.625 mg/d, with or without medroxyprogesterone, 2.5 mg/d) and alendronate, 10 mg daily ... Bone mineral density at 3 years was significantly greater at all femoral and vertebral sites in women treated with combination therapy than with monotherapy"

Antioxidant actions of polyphenols in humans - Int J Vitam Nutr Res 2003 Mar;73(2):112-9 - "The most consistent finding regarding antioxidative defence markers is a postprandial effect on plasma antioxidative capacity after ingestion of foods rich in catechins and complex procyanidins"

Non-nutritive bioactive food constituents of plants: tocopherols (vitamin E) - Int J Vitam Nutr Res 2003 Mar;73(2):89-94 - "in food, gamma- and delta-tocopherol are a more potent antioxidant than alpha-tocopherol. Tocopherols as a group are the key antioxidants in human cell membranes and are also important in protecting the LDL particles" - See Gamma E Tocopherol / Tocotrienols at iHerb.

Non-nutritive bioactive constituents of plants: lycopene, lutein and zeaxanthin - Int J Vitam Nutr Res 2003 Mar;73(2):95-100 - "These carotenoids are efficient antioxidants quenching singlet molecular oxygen which is formed in photooxidative processes and thus may contribute to the prevention of light-exposed tissue, skin and eyes, from light-induced damage. Increasing lycopene intake by daily consumption of tomato paste over a period of ten weeks provides protection against erythema formation following UV-irradiation. Lycopene and other carotenoids may be used as oral sun protectants and contribute to the maintenance of skin health ... These macula carotenoids are suggested to play a role in protection against light-dependent damage. Filtering of blue light and scavenging of reactive intermediates generated in photooxidation are considered to be the underlying protective mechanisms. Epidemiological studies provide evidence that an increased consumption of lutein is associated with a lowered risk for age-related macular degeneration, a disease with increasing incidence in the elderly"

Non-nutritive bioactive constituents of plants: phytosterols - Int J Vitam Nutr Res 2003 Mar;73(2):127-34 - "Addition of plant sterols, or especially of their delta-5 saturated derivatives plant stanols into diet as fat-soluble esters inhibit cholesterol absorption and lower serum cholesterol similarly in short-term studies. Long-term consumption of plant stanol esters lowers serum cholesterol to the extent expected to reduce clinical manifestation of coronary heart disease by over 20% without detectable side effects, cholesterol lowering being especially effective in combination with cholesterol synthesis inhibitors statins"

Potential risks and benefits of phytoestrogen-rich diets - Int J Vitam Nutr Res 2003 Mar;73(2):120-6 - "Phytoestrogens are strikingly similar in chemical structure to the mammalian oestrogen, oestradiol, and bind to oestrogen receptors (ER) with a preference for the more recently described ER beta ... Whether phytoestrogens have any biological activity in humans, either hormonal or non hormonal is a contentious issue and there is currently a paucity of data on human exposure ... The limited studies conducted so far in humans clearly confirm that soya isoflavones can exert hormonal effects. These effects may be of benefit in the prevention of many of the common diseases observed in Western populations (such as breast cancer, prostate cancer, menopausal symptoms, osteoporosis) where the diet is typically devoid of these biologically active naturally occurring compounds"

Influence of Vitamin C on Baroreflex Sensitivity in Chronic Heart Failure - Hypertension 2003 May 12 - "Chronic heart failure (CHF) reduces baroreflex sensitivity. Low baroreflex sensitivity, a risk factor for sudden death, could arise partly from CHF-dependent endothelial dysfunction. Vitamin C at high doses has a protective role against CHF-related endothelial damage ... In subjects with CHF, baroreflex sensitivity was significantly higher after vitamin C than after placebo infusion ... Acute administration of vitamin C at high doses improves baroreflex sensitivity and vagal sinus modulation in patients with CHF"

Oral vitamin B12 can change our practice - Postgrad Med J 2003 Apr;79(930):218-9 - "Forty patients previously maintained on vitamin B12 injections were given 1000 micro g of oral cyanocobalamin daily for up to 18 months. All the patients maintained satisfactory serum B12 levels" - See iHerb B12 products.

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