Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 10/24/01:

Not much anti-aging info in the news this week.  Anthrax and Cipro took up most of the news.

Blood Pressure Reduced When Dietary Protein, Fiber Increased - Medscape, 10/25/01, user=benhess, pwd=asdfgh - "Protein was supplemented with 66 grams of soy per day, to provide a total of 25% energy as protein. Additional psyllium resulted in an additional 12 grams of soluble fiber per day ... The subjects who consume the high-fiber, high-protein diet experienced the greatest decreases in blood pressure, with 24-hour mean systolic blood pressure dropping by 10.5 mm Hg relative to control subjects"

No evidence estrogen prevents strokes - CNN, 10/25/01 - "the latest study found no evidence that it does any good in those at high risk because of earlier strokes"

Pulse Pressure Increases With Age Despite Antihypertensives - Doctor's Guide, 10/24/01 - "SBP and pulse pressure increased, and DBP declined, with advancing age. These changes were irrespective of antihypertensive treatment"

Estrogen Replacement Therapy May Not Prevent Decline in Cognitive Functioning - Medscape, 10/23/01, user=benhess, pwd=asdfgh - "Despite encouraging findings from animal studies, estrogen replacement therapy appears not to retard a decline in cognitive functioning in postmenopausal women"

Chocolate Is Good for the Heart - WebMD, 10/23/01 - "chocolate ... has loads of antioxidants in the form of flavonoids, which are known to reduce cardiovascular risk ... certain cocoas and chocolates -- taken in small, regular doses -- seem to raise HDL, or the "good" cholesterol, while lowering the "bad" variety called LDL, which can clog the arteries ... half the group ate a "typical American diet" that was purposely low in flavonoids. The other half ate the "experimental diet," which essentially was the typical American diet plus cocoa powder (3/4 of an ounce) and dark chocolate (half an ounce) ... They found that LDL cholesterol was oxidized 8% more slowly -- and that HDL cholesterol increased by 4% -- after the people ate chocolate"

Passionflower: An Herbal Alternative For Anxiety? - Intelihealth, 10/18/01 - "researchers randomly assigned 32 people with GAD to receive either passionflower or oxazepam (an anti-anxiety drug) for 4 weeks. Both groups demonstrated significant improvement in anxiety symptoms after 4 weeks of treatment and those who took the herbal remedy had less impairment on job performance"

Herbal Prostate Supplement [PC-SPES] May Cause Bleeding - Medscape, 10/19/01, user=benhess, pwd=asdfgh - "Doctors in Seattle report a case of severe bleeding that developed in a man who was taking twice the recommended daily dose ... patients should only use PC-SPES under the supervision of a medical professional ... 62-year-old man with hormone-refractory prostate cancer ... physicians were able to successfully treat the man's bleeding with blood transfusions and vitamin K"

Researchers Explore New Meds for Mood Disorders - Clinical Psychiatry News, 10/01, user=benhess, pwd=asdfgh - "The dopamine system is an "underresearched area," ... Another approach being developed for patients with high levels of circulating cortisol involves the abortion pill mifepristone ... The findings, to be published this month in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, suggest that a rapid antidepressant response (approximately 7 days) may occur in some patients"