Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 1/9/02:

Estradiol Levels Predict Breast Cancer Risk in Postmenopausal Women - Medscape, 1/9/02, user=benhess, pwd=asdfgh - "In postmenopausal women, increased estradiol levels are associated with a high risk of developing breast cancer, suggesting that these women may benefit most from raloxifene therapy ... Women in the raloxifene group with estradiol levels above 10 pmol/L had a 76% lower rate of breast cancer compared with women in the placebo group with similar estradiol levels ... women with undetectable estradiol levels had a similar risk of developing breast cancer whether they received raloxifene or placebo"

HRT Exposure Linked to Reduced Cognitive Decline in Older Women - Medscape, 1/9/02, user=benhess, pwd=asdfgh - "lifetime HRT use was associated with better baseline scores on the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and a slower rate of cognitive decline ... The greatest improvement in global cognition was among the oldest old (85+ years). "In other words, those who stand to lose the most cognitively may gain the most from HRT exposure,""

Millions Drink Contaminated Water - Intelihealth, 1/8/02 - "Millions of Americans have been drinking tap water contaminated with chemical byproducts from chlorine that are far more than what studies suggest may be safe for pregnant women ... Chlorine is commonly used to disinfect drinking water. When it is added to water that contains organic matter such as runoff from farms or lawns, however, it can form compounds such as chloroform that can cause illness ... EPA and the Congress have forced water utilities to chlorinate water that is contaminated with animal waste, sewage, fertilizer, algae and sediment ... EPA studies showed that reducing the level of trihalomethanes might mean 2,332 fewer cases of bladder cancer per year, down from its estimate of up to 9,300 annual cases caused by trihalomethanes"

Diet, Sunlight Linked to Breast Cancer Risk - ABC News, 1/8/02 - "study of eating patterns across different countries confirms an association between breast cancer and diets heavy in animal fats--and suggests that sunlight exposure may be protective against the disease by elevating the body's vitamin D supply ... diets marked by a higher fraction of animal products such as meat are associated with a higher risk of breast cancer. Diets rich in vegetables, fruits, grains and fish, on the other hand, were correlated with a decreased breast cancer risk ... UV-B rays spur the production of vitamin D in the body, and Grant speculates that the vitamin is behind the association he found in this study. Some research suggests vitamin D may help ward off cancer"

Researchers Call Herbs Rich Source Of Healthy Antioxidants; Oregano Ranks Highest - Intelihealth, 1/7/02 - "Herbs have higher antioxidant activity than fruits, vegetables and some spices, including garlic ... Wang studied and compared the antioxidant activity of 39 commonly used herbs grown in the same location and conditions ... the herbs with the highest antioxidant activity belonged to the oregano family. In general, oregano had 3 to 20 times higher antioxidant activity than the other herbs studied ... Oregano has 42 times more antioxidant activity than apples, 30 times more than potatoes, 12 times more than oranges and 4 times more than blueberries ... herbs have emerged as a quick and easy way to get a concentrated source of antioxidants - without all the extra calories of whole foods"

Study Links Infection, Heart Disease - ABC News, 1/7/02 - "Researchers believe it is the body's inflammatory response to an infection that helps, along with a fatty diet, to clog arteries. The plaques that form these clogs are created when immune system cells latch onto fat cells in the blood and try to pull them out through the cell wall ... The fat cell is often too big and it gets caught. Over time, the trapped immune and fat cells build up in the artery wall, harden and can block blood flow or even break off into dangerous clots ... the link may not necessarily mean that infections cause heart disease ... "Our results suggested that inflammation seems to be a fundamental issue," he said, and noted that other studies indicate that aspirin and cholesterol-lowering statin drugs may prevent heart disease at least in part by reducing inflammation"

New Data Support Between Inflammation and Diabetes - Medscape, 1/8/02, user=benhess, pwd=asdfgh - "Findings from two studies reported in the January 1st issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology lend support to the hypothesis that inflammation plays a role in the development of type 2 diabetes"

Chronic Inflammation, The Epidemic Disease of Aging - Life Extension Magazine, 1/02 - "Chronic inflammation inflicts devastating effects, especially as humans grow older. The pathological consequences of inflammation are fully documented in the medical literature. Regrettably, the dangers of systemic inflammation continue to be ignored, even though proven ways exist to reverse this process"

Boning Up On Bone Health - ABC News, 1/7/02 - "Weight-bearing exercises are great for building bone strength. The weight of the body is transmitted through the bones, working against gravity, and your bones respond to this force by growing stronger. Walking, jogging, dancing, hiking, stair climbing, and aerobic exercises are all weight bearing exercises. In a good bone strength regimen, these exercises should be performed three to five times per week, and the goal is to work up to forty-five minutes or more per session. Bike riding and swimming, although good exercises, are not weight bearing"

Swedish study : Stress makes people fat - CNN, 1/7/02 - "A body under stress creates a surplus of a hormone which stimulates a fat-gathering enzyme. This enzyme is more easily taken up by the abdomen than other parts of the body, the survey found" - The hormone that they are talking about is cortisol.  Related article:

• Single enzyme to blame for potbellies: study - MSNBC, 12/6/01 - "What they found was that a single enzyme in fat cells that raises levels of cortisol — the “fight or flight” stress hormone — triggers fat accumulation around the belly and its associated ill effects ... The researchers were drawn to the role of cortisol because patients with a rare illness known as Cushing syndrome — who have too much of the steroid hormone in their blood — develop severe obesity concentrated around their middles and become diabetic ... Since overweight people without Cushing syndrome typically don’t have too much cortisol in their bloodstreams, Flier hypothesized that they may be producing high cortisol levels solely in their fat cells — possibly because the enzyme HSD-1, which makes cortisol from an inactive molecule, is overactive ... The level of cortisol in their stomach fat tissue was 15 percent to 30 percent higher than in their non-engineered counterparts"

DHEA Suppresses Experimental Multiple Sclerosis - Medscape, 1/3/02, user=benhess, pwd=asdfgh - "These findings, Dr. Du and colleagues conclude, show that DHEA has potent anti-inflammatory effects ... Because DHEA does not possess the undesirable side effects of glucocorticoids, it has the potential to be applied to the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases in the CNS such as MS"

I3C vs DIM - Life Extension Magazine, 1/02 - "Recently, it was brought to our attention that negative statements were being made about I3C. These were being generated by a man who owns a patent on a product he wants people to buy instead of I3C. The product is DIM (3,3'-Diindolylmethane). DIM is formed naturally when I3C is broken down in the gut. Unlike I3C, there are no published human studies on DIM. In fact, there are few published studies at all. This is one of the reasons we do not recommend substituting DIM for I3C"

Check this out, this is the company doing the trials on Anticort (procaine HCL). The second site listed is mine: http://www.samaritanpharma.com/?m=41&p=21

The Life Extension Foundation's annual sale end the end of the month.  It is 10% off everything.  I took on an affiliation with Petscriptions.com.  They have really good prices on pet medications, plus they offer Advantage without a prescription.

Affiliates:

Life Extension Foundation / iHerb - use this link to receive a 5% discount (discount code "qc") plus free shipping on orders over $60 / Vitacost.com / VitaminShoppe / Gerovital / drugstore.com / GNC / Body Wise International / Gero Vita International / DermaDoctor / Dr. Whitaker / Online Prescriptions / Body by Jake / ArginMax / Love Scents Pheromones / Mass Quantities / Netrition.com / Road Runner Sports / Amazon.com / Office Depot / The Sports Authority / J & R Appliance Store / Dell Computer / Buy.com / Lands' End / Walmart / Tupperware / REI / REI Outlet / Verizon DSL Internet Service

Life Extension Foundation buyers club Life Extension "Mix

iHerb policosanol products - use this link to receive a 5% discount (discount code "qc") plus free shipping on orders over $60 - see policosanol

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