Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 8/20/03:

FDA Approves Levitra (Vardenafil HCl) For Treatment Of Erectile Dysfunction - Doctor's Guide, 8/20/03 - "LEVITRA® (vardenafil HCl) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of erectile dysfunction"

• Two erectile dysfunction medications, touted to last longer, await FDA nod - HealthDay, 2/27/03 - "All three work by inhibiting an enzyme known as phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE-5) ... the big difference is how long they remain active in the bloodstream ... Cialis remains active for a full 24 hours, with 59 percent of men reporting effects for up to 36 hours. Levitra has a similar time profile"

Iron-Clad Solutions to Anemia - ABC News, 8/20/03 - "Repeated high levels of exercise cause the red cells to break apart at an earlier age than they normally would. Most of our red cells will stay in circulation for about 120 days. With highly trained athletes — and it seems to be not dependent on sport — the red cell lifespan may decrease by as much as 20 percent or 30 percent. Instead of red cells being around for 120 days, they're really maybe only around for 95 or 100 days" - See iHerb or Vitacost iron products.

• Iron Supplements May Help Fatigued Women - Doctor's Guide, 5/22/03 - "Women who experience unexplained fatigue, but who are not anaemic may benefit from iron supplementation ...The level of fatigue after one month decreased by - 1.82/6.37 points (29%) in the iron group, compared with - 0.85/6.46 points (13%) in the placebo group"

Fish Oil Helps Treat Depression - ABC News, 8/19/03 - "We've been very impressed by the response rates we've observed ... omega-3 fatty acids, when fed to piglets, had the same effect on the brain as the antidepressant Prozac: They raised levels of a critical neurotransmitter, serotonin ... After only 18 days, those animals that were fed the enriched formula had double the level of serotonin in their frontal cortex, in the part of the brain that regulates depression and impulsivity ... gave omega-3 fatty acids to 70 depressed patients who had not been helped by drugs such as Prozac. After 12 weeks, 69 percent of the patients showed marked improvement compared with 25 percent given placebos" - See Mega Twin EPA at Vitacost or iHerb.

Statins tied to lower risk of macular degeneration - HealthDay, 8/18/03 - "In certain groups of people, however, antioxidants can slow the progression of the disease ... People with ARM turned out to be 50 percent less likely to have received and filled a prescription for statins relative to the control group"

Doctors Ignore Diabetes Guidelines - WebMD, 8/18/03 - "Do you have diabetes? There's a one-in-three chance that if you do, you don't know ... Testing should be considered at a younger age -- and done more frequently -- in certain people: ... Anyone with high blood pressure (140/90 or higher) ... Anyone with an HDL "good" cholesterol of 35 or under and/or triglyceride levels of 250 or more ... Anyone with a fasting blood sugar level of 100 to 125"

Alzheimer's Cases Expected to Triple - HealthDay, 8/18/03 - "four out of five older patients experiencing early symptoms of Alzheimer's or other cognitive disorders are not getting diagnosed or treated by their primary care doctors ... A crisis is actually already here ... Twenty-three percent of the patients studied also showed symptoms of depression, another common condition among the elderly, but less than one-quarter were diagnosed"

People Over 40 Need Frequent Exercise To Prevent Or Treat Type 2 Diabetes - Doctor's Guide, 8/18/03 - "middle-aged and older people don't sustain the increased insulin sensitivity that aerobic exercise produces ... Younger people, on the other hand, were found to maintain higher insulin sensitivity even four days after their last workout ... With a decrease in insulin sensitivity, blood glucose levels increase. High blood glucose levels, typical in diabetes, can damage virtually every organ in the body"

Glycaemic Control Important in Controlling Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes Risk - Doctor's Guide, 8/14/03 - "insulin resistance in the pre-diabetic state is associated with the presence of additional cardiovascular risk factors and increased incidence of CVD ... chronic sub-clinical inflammation as measured by C-reactive protein (CRP) and other markers is associated with insulin resistance, increased risk of type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular events ... insulin-sensitising agents such as glitazones may be useful in decreasing sub-clinical inflammation, and statin therapy may lower both cholesterol and CRP"

Hormone Replacement Therapy Beneficial in Post-Menopausal Women with Rheumatoid Arthritis - Doctor's Guide, 8/14/03 - "Women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who are receiving hormone replacement therapy (HRT) show greater improvements in disease activity, inflammation, bone mineral density, and radiological progression than women not receiving HRT ... Treatment with HRT also led to better control of inflammation"

Regular Phytoestrogen Consumption Reduces Endometrial Cancer Risk - Medscape, 8/14/03 - "The top quartiles of consumption of total isoflavones and of total lignans were associated with a 41% and 32% reduced risk, respectively, of endometrial cancer, compared with the lowest quartiles of consumption"

Creatine May Boost Brain Performance - WebMD, 8/13/03 - "Forty-five vegetarian young adults received either 5 grams of creatine or a placebo powder for six weeks, followed by six weeks of no supplementation. The groups were then switched, and the placebo group received creatine for six weeks and vice versa ... The researchers found that creatine supplementation gave a "significant, measurable boost to brain power." In a memory test that asked participants to recall a string of numbers, people taking creatine recalled an average of 8.5 numbers vs. seven for people not taking the supplement" - See iHerb or Vitacost creatine products.

Green Tea Compound Blocks Bladder Tumors in Rats - Medline Plus, 8/13/03 - "The chemical, called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), has never been studied as an anti-cancer agent injected directly into the bladder ... Eighteen of 28 animals (64 percent) treated with EGCG were tumor free three weeks later, the researchers note. In contrast, all 12 untreated animals showed tumor growth" - See iHerb or Vitacost green tea products.

Statins Benefit Diabetics, Regardless of Cholesterol Levels - Medscape, 8/13/03 - "These results show that simvastatin therapy leads to significant risk reductions for vascular events in type 2 diabetic patients, even if they don't have diagnosed coronary disease or high cholesterol levels. The authors estimate that 5 years of treatment would prevent about 45 major vascular events per 1000 patients and suggest that statins should be offered to high-risk diabetic patients regardless of their cholesterol levels"

Anticancer Effects of Green Tea May Relate to Blockage of Hydrocarbon Receptor - Medscape, 8/8/03 - "Green tea contains compounds that impair the transcription activity of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)-a molecule known to mediate the carcinogenic effects of tobacco smoke and dioxin ... the most potent AhR antagonists were epigallocatechingallate and epigallcatechin --two of the most abundant chemicals found in green tea. The researchers found that the anti-AhR effects of the two compounds are apparent at levels typically found in a cup of green tea" - See iHerb or Vitacost green tea extracts.

Try Some Of These Natural Herbal Remedies To Ease Depression - Delicious! Online, 8/03 - "German chamomile ... Ginkgo ... Milk thistle ... Passion flower ... Scullcap ... St. John's wort"

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