Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 9/17/03:

Exercise: What A Little Can Do - Time Magazine, 9/22/03 - "Even 30 minutes a day of moderate exercise, such as walking, led to a weight loss of 14 lbs. over a year. Women who worked out vigorously for an hour a day lost only 6 lbs. more. The second study, part of the Women's Health Initiative, showed that women who exercised moderately for 75 to 150 minutes a week were 18% less likely than inactive women to develop breast cancer. The more the women exercised, the more their risk declined, but once again the incremental difference was small"

Study finds caffeine cuts muscle pain - Medline, 9/17/03 - "caffeine reduced thigh-muscle pain during cycling exercise"

Selection of Antihypertensive Therapy Depends on Category of High-Risk Hypertensive Patient - Doctor's Guide, 9/16/03 - "Blood pressure (BP) goal for diabetics is less than 130/80 mm Hg, which may require 3 antihypertensive agents. Studies suggest that an acceptable regimen should include an ACE inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) (in those intolerant of ACE inhibitors) plus a thiazide diuretic, calcium channel blocker, (CCB) or beta-blocker ... For patients with renal disease, ARBs have proven effective in slowing renal disease in patients with diabetic nephropathy"

Crestor (Rosuvastatin Calcium) Available in US For Treatment of Elevated Cholesterol - Doctor's Guide, 9/16/03 - "Crestor is available in 5 to 40 mg doses in pharmacies nationwide ... In clinical trials, Crestor lowered LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol or "bad" cholesterol by 45 to 63 percent (7 percent for placebo) and increased HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol or "good" cholesterol by 8 to 14 percent (3 percent for placebo)" - See Crestor (rosuvastatin) at drugstore.com.

• FDA approves controversial statin - MSNBC, 8/12/03 - "Rare cases of a potentially fatal, muscle-destroying condition called rhabdomyolysis occurred in patients taking higher-than-recommended doses of Crestor ... The 80-mg Crestor dose also was linked to a few puzzling cases of kidney abnormalities, including protein and blood leaking into urine ... Like all statins, patients also need regular monitoring for signs of another rare problem, liver damage"

Heart Protection Study Implications for Lipid Management Guidelines and Practices - Doctor's Guide, 9/16/03 - "While Heart Protection Study (HPS) findings support aggressive lowering of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels and suggest optimal levels well below current recommendations, failure to achieve current goals for LDL cholesterol is common ... HPS findings demonstrated that a reduction of major vascular events extended even to CAD patients with initial LDL cholesterol levels <100 mg/dL using simvastatin 40 mg, suggesting that the optimal LDL cholesterol level is below target levels established in current guidelines ...  rosuvastatin is more effective than other statins in reducing LDL cholesterol" - See Zocor (simvastatin) or Crestor (rosuvastatin) at drugstore.com.

Beware The Air You Breathe At Home - CBS News, 9/16/03 - "A study of 120 homes in Cape Code, Mass., reported in the Los Angeles Times, found 67 contaminants ... Little is known about the chemicals that have been shown to alter hormones in laboratory tests, including what effects they have on humans or at what levels they pose a risk"

“Grape Expectations”: Lengthen Lifetime with Red Wine? - Physician's Weekly, 9/15/03 - "Resveratrol, a molecule that exists naturally in grapes and red wine, was shown to extend the life span of yeast cells (polyphenols) by up to 80%. The researchers plan to examine resveratrol's effect in multi-cellular organisms such as worms, fruit flies, and eventually humans" - See iHerb or Vitacost resveratrol products.

Drugs Blocking the Renin-Angiotensin System Offer Advantages Beyond Lowering Blood Pressure - Doctor's Guide, 9/15/03 - "According to the authors, ACE inhibitors and ARBs, at least in higher- or moderate-risk individuals, "show advantages that are additional to the reduction in blood pressure that they achieve"

Sleep Problems, Anxiety May Be Connected - WebMD, 9/12/03 - "both sleep and mood problems may result from a lack of the same brain chemical ... The brain chemical -- gamma-aminobutryric acid, or GABA -- is involved in regulating brain activity ... Specifically, GABA deficiencies interfere with the most important stage of sleep -- the "deep" delta sleep" - See iHerb or Vitacost GABA products.  Related article:

• 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"
• Anxiety and Stress - References for Protocol - Life Extension Foundation - "The production of GABA, the brain chemical known for its calming effect, is increased after taking theanine"

High Doses of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors and Angiotensin Receptor Blockers Required for Maximum Renoprotection - Doctor's Guide, 9/12/03 - "angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) can have significant renoprotective effects, in addition to known antihypertensive benefits ... The optimal dose and strategy for renoprotection using ACEI and ARBs should be guided by titrating to the maximum antiproteinuric effect ... For patients who maintain elevated proteinuria despite high dose monotherapy, they recommend combined use of ACE inhibitors and ARBs"

Prevent Alzheimer's With Healthy Living - WebMD, 9/12/03 - "The same risk factors linked to heart disease and stroke -- high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sedentary lifestyle, smoking, and diabetes -- also increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease ... statins, and in particular, Lipitor, help destroy the other telltale sign of Alzheimer's disease -- increased levels of amyloid, a sticky substance not unlike cholesterol that forms plaques in the brain ... Deal with depression, now ... Try to limit "free radical" damage"  - Note:  Red yeast rice is a non-prescription statin.  See iHerb or Vitacost red yeast rice products.

Plump Americans Blind to Diabetes Risk - WebMD, 9/11/03 - "Being overweight puts you at risk of type 2 diabetes ... That's news to nearly half of overweight and obese Americans"

Relora(R) Awarded Patent for Treating Weight Gain - "NPI Center, 9/11/03 - "The patented methodology, US 6,582,735, relates to the use of Relora® for weight gain associated with stress and a stress-related condition known as "metabolic syndrome""

Inflammation Syndrome a Red-Hot Topic - Natural Foods Merchandiser, 9/03 - "What are some of the key anti-inflammatory supplements? ... At the top of the list are omega-3 fish oils, gamma-linolenic acid (GLA, an omega-6 fat that behaves more like an omega-3) and vitamin E. Several studies have shown that natural vitamin E supplements lower CRP levels by 30 percent to 50 percent"

Research Explores Zinc in Prostate Cancer - Natural Foods Merchandiser, 9/03 - "A new study has found that men who take extremely high levels of supplemental zinc double their risk of prostate cancer. The study found no increased risk for men who take less than 100 mg of supplemental zinc a day"

Prostate Cancer: An Overview - US Pharmacist, exp. 8/31/05 - "Diet and dietary supplements ... Fiber ... Soy protein ... Vitamin E and selenium ... Carotenoids"

Vitamin D Supplementation and Fracture Prevention - Medscape, 9/11/03 - "Bottom line: Vitamin D supplementation is absolutely critical to bone health in the aging population. Although a number of research questions still need to be addressed, there is currently sufficient evidence to show that all women, living in areas of Northern Latitude, should be taking a vitamin D (and calcium) supplement"

Treatment Approach to Functional Constipation? - Medscape, 9/11/03 - "The clinical approach for slow-transit constipation usually consists of dietary changes, including increased fluid and fiber intake, stool softeners, and various laxatives. Some prokinetic agents may also be considered, including prostaglandin analogs (misoprostol) and serotonin-receptor agonists such as cisapride (under restricted use only) and tegaserod (recently approved for irritable bowel syndrome with constipation)"

Diet and Exercise - Medscape, 9/9/03 - "Consumption of the omega-3 fatty acids is inversely related to the incidence of atherosclerosis and the risk of sudden death[1,2] and stroke.[3] In high doses, omega-3 fatty acids may reduce blood triglyceride levels, but in dietary amounts, they have little effect on blood lipids. Even in modest amounts, however, omega-3 fatty acids reduce platelet aggregation, impairing thrombogenesis. They may also have antiarrhythmic and plaque-stabilizing properties"

Abstracts from this week's Doctor's Guide Nutrition/Dietetics:

Dietary magnesium intake and the future risk of coronary heart disease (The Honolulu Heart Program) - Am J Cardiol. 2003 Sep 15;92(6):665-9 - "When adjustments were made for age and other nutrients (singly or combined), there was a 1.7- to 2.1-fold excess in the risk of CHD in the lowest versus highest quintiles ... We conclude that the intake of dietary Mg is associated with a reduced risk of CHD"

Benefits of fish oil supplementation for hemodialysis patients - J Am Diet Assoc. 2003 Sep;103(9):1174-7 - "One study indicated that pruritus symptoms improved with fish oil supplementation, but not with supplementation with two other oils. In a study designed to determine whether fish oils could prevent vascular access graft thrombosis, graft patency rates were approximately 76% in the fish oil and approximately 15% in the placebo group (P>.03). In a pilot study, subjects given fish oil required 16% less erythropoietin and experienced a 3.6% increase in serum albumin levels"

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