Recent Longevity News for the week ending 10/3/01:

Beta-Amyloid Levels Double When Testosterone Suppressed - Medscape, 10/3/01, user=benhess, pwd=asdfgh - "sex hormone replacement may offer protection against Alzheimer's disease ... when testosterone levels were sent through the floor, plasma levels of amyloid roughly doubled over the 6-month duration of the study ... twofold increase might be important if sustained in an individual at risk [of Alzheimer's] ... The natural but gradual decrease in testosterone as men age "may explain why Alzheimer's disease occurs in late life ... if estrogen is shown to protect women against Alzheimer's disease, it's a good bet that testosterone will be found to do the same for men"

Diet Rich in Carotenoids May Reduce Ovarian Cancer Risk - Medscape, 10/3/01, user=benhess, pwd=asdfgh - "Multivariate analysis showed that high carotene intake, especially high alpha-carotene intake, significantly reduced the risk of ovarian cancer ... High lycopene intake was also significantly associated with a reduced risk of ovarian cancer" - Note:  There are over 600 carotenoids, lycopene being one of them.  The article downplays supplements.  However, as people age they require fewer calories, fewer nutrients are absorbed plus only 1% of children get a balanced diet and I doubt if adults are much better.  I'll bet if you added up all the food sources of the nutrients you need, you would be way over your calorie limit.  As I said before, stay with supplements that contain natural sources of mixed carotenoids.  Taking mega doses of  just one of over 600 carotenoids may cause a deficiency of the others.  Ref (but the link went dead): 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." - I like Nature's Way Protectamins Multi-Carotene Antioxidant Complex.

Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Supplementation May Prevent Adult Hypertension - Medscape, 10/2/01, user=benhess, pwd=asdfgh - "These fatty acids prevent cardiac arrhythmias, type 2 diabetes, and reduce the cholesterol and triglyceride levels, he said. Polyunsaturated fatty acids also reduce the production of harmful cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor, interleukin 1beta and interleukin 6, Dr. Das added. "Perhaps polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation should be given lifelong.""

European drug may counter brain shrinkage - CNN, 10/2/01 - "Major depression makes an important part of the brain actually shrink ... a European anti-depressant [tianeptine] seems to counter the shrinkage ... tianeptine worked without lowering the amount of stress-caused cortisol ... That suggests the drug blocked cortisol's bad effects downstream"

Dry Sauna Heat Helps the Heart - WebMD, 10/1/01 - "Two weeks of daily sauna treatment didn't change the blood vessel function of the normal men -- but it helped most of the at-risk men ... only two weeks of repeated once-a-day sauna treatment significantly improved [the blood vessel] function -- about 40% -- of patients with coronary risk factors"

Activity Could Lower Cancer Risk - Intelihealth, 10/1/01 - "Women who are active on the job or doing housework have a lower risk of breast cancer, researchers say ... The busiest women had 31 percent less risk than those who did the least, their study found"

Hormone Therapy May Increase Risk of Gallstones - WebMD, 10/1/01 - "women taking HRT, consisting of the female hormones estrogen and progestin, were 30% to 40% more likely to need gallbladder surgery ... Although the chance of HRT leading to gallstones was not great, the study of more than 2,200 postmenopausal women does raise concerns ... women taking statins -- the most popular type of cholesterol-lowering drug -- had a 45% drop in the chance they would need gallbladder surgery"

Body Makes Natural Antidepressant After Moderate Exercise - WebMD, 9/27/01 - "Even moderate exercise apparently raises levels of a brain chemical that improves a person's mood ... The substance is phenylethylamine, or PEA, a natural stimulant produced by the body. It is related to amphetamines but does not have the long-lasting effects that make "speed" or "ice" such deadly drugs ... moderate exercise increases PEA levels for most people" - Note: L-Phenylalanine is a direct precursor to phenylethylamine.

Antioxidants Like Vitamin C Soothe Damaging Effects of Pollution - WebMD, 9/27/01 - "antioxidant supplements can reduce the harmful effects of ozone gas on our lungs ... Ozone gas, the main chemical in smog, affects millions of Americans daily, and previous studies have shown that this highly active gas leads to decreases in lung function ... the group taking the antioxidant supplements had higher levels of both vitamins C and E in their blood, but they also saw that this group had a 25%-30% improvement in lung function tests compared to those taking placebo"

Heart Attack-Related Protein Tied to Gum Disease - ABC News, 9/27/01 - "Patients with severe gum disease are more likely to produce an inflammatory response that may place them at elevated risk of suffering a heart attack ... Patients with severe forms of periodontal disease have elevated levels of C-reactive protein compared to patients without periodontal disease ... The researchers theorize that people living with a chronic infection such as gum disease may produce higher levels of C-reactive protein"