Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 2/27/02:

Last week on both CNN and Fox News, there was a segment discussing a study where acetyl-l-carnitine and alpha lipoic acid reversed aging in rats.  However, they never put the segment on the Internet.  I did a Medline search of 'lipoic carnitine' and I believe the following article published in the February 19, 2002 Proceedings of the National Academy Sciences was the one they were talking about:

Memory loss in old rats is associated with brain mitochondrial decay and RNA/DNA oxidation: Partial reversal by feeding acetyl-L-carnitine and/or R-alpha -lipoic acid - Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2002 Feb 19;99(4):2356-2361 - "Electron microscopic studies in the hippocampus showed that ALCAR and/or LA reversed age-associated mitochondrial structural decay" - Why is this important:

• Science takes cellular approach to explore aging process - CNN, 1/3/02 - "For longer lives, then, we have to prevent the damage from occurring in the first place. "One of the things that we feel might be very important is trying to control the amount of oxygen radical toxicity that occurs from our mitochondria""

There were actually three articles regarding the acetyl-l-carnitine/alpha lipoic acid study in the 2/19/02 PNAS issue.  They want $5 to view the full text.  Here is the abstract from the third article:

Feeding acetyl-L-carnitine and lipoic acid to old rats significantly improves metabolic function while decreasing oxidative stress - Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Vol. 99, Issue 4, 1870-1875, February 19, 2002 - "Feeding ALCAR in combination with LA increased metabolism and lowered oxidative stress more than either compound alone"

I think you will find that the best deal on both acetyl-l-carnitine and alpha lipoic acid is the Jarrow brand at iHerb (discount code "qc").  Other news this week:

Bupropion SR Plus Lifestyle Intervention Results in Significant Weight Loss - Doctor's Guide, 2/27/02 - "Individuals assigned to Bupropion SR 400mg/day lost a larger percentage of initial body weight (10.1 percent) than those receiving Bupropion SR 300mg/day (7.2 percent) or those receiving placebo (5 percent)"

I saw a segment on the news last week regarding Topamax® (topiramate) for weight loss.  My main concern with Topamax is that there was 10/26/00 Medscape article titled "Topiramate Therapy Linked to Decline in Cognitive Function" but the link went dead.  I did a Medscape search to see if I could find it and came up with the following:

• Where Is Memory? - Medscape, 2/02, user=benhess, pwd=asdfgh - "Topiramate causes more dramatic problems with certain aspects of verbal memory such as list learning, but fortunately only in a minority of patients. Dr. Meador suggested that this is likely not a specific effect of the drug on memory but rather on some aspect of general cognitive processing speed, which may be more of a frontal lobe function ... it is possible that patients with pre-existing memory deficits might be more susceptible."

Signs Of Premature Aging Significantly Improved With Daily Tazarotene Cream - Doctor's Guide, 2/26/02 - "Tazarotene cream 0.1%, applied once daily, is effective in the topical treatment of signs and symptoms of premature aging of the skin due to overexposure to the sun, and it has an acceptable safety profile"

Processed Meat, Diabetes Link Found - Intelihealth, 2/26/02 - "A study shows that a diet heavy in processed meats, including hot dogs and bacon, increases the risk of type 2 diabetes by about 50 percent in men ... Eating processed meats five times or more per week is where we saw the major difference"

Managing Stress Key To Success - Intelihealth, 2/26/02 - "an overload of adrenaline and other stress hormones such as dopamine and cortisol can inhibit brain centers that control recollection of memory. That includes physical movements, from finding chords on the piano to skating triple flips" - I believe this article is wrong about dopamine being a "stress hormone".  The way I understand it dopamine causes euphoria, which is the opposite of stress.  Plus, if dopamine decreases memory, why do attention deficit medications raise dopamine?  One study on Ritalin (which increases dopamine) showed "Scores improved by an average of about 17 percent".  Most of that was most likely remembering what they studied.

Skipping Breakfast May Not Aid Weight Loss - ABC News, 2/26/02 - "the majority of people who are successful at losing weight and keeping it off eat breakfast every day"

High-Protein Beats High-Carbohydrate for Weight Loss in Low-Fat Diets - Doctor's Guide, 2/26/02 - "Measurements taken after a 10 hour fast and at 2.5-hour post breakfast, lunch and dinner showed that postprandial thermogenesis averaged about twofold higher on the high-protein against the high-carbohydrate diet ... Nitrogen balance on the high protein diet was found to be significantly greater than the high-carbohydrate diet"

Tea may help keep blood flowing after fatty meal - Reuters, 2/26/02 - "Results showed that forearm blood flow was strongest following the meal that included the tea, suggesting that the antioxidants in tea helped to keep blood vessels functioning properly"

Aspirin first boosts survival after heart attack - Reuters, 2/26/02 - "Heart attack patients who take a dose of aspirin before taking clot-busting drugs are more likely to survive than those who take the drugs in reverse order, researchers have found"

High blood pressure awaits 9 out of 10 Americans - Reuters, 2/26/02 - "Middle-aged and older Americans face a 90% chance of developing high blood pressure during their lives"

Study suggests docs undertreat high blood pressure - Reuters, 2/25/02 - "physicians are familiar with the guidelines for treating hypertension but do not implement this knowledge into their everyday practice ... investigators found that many doctors were "willing to accept" an elevated systolic blood pressure--the top number in blood pressure reading ... Systolic blood pressure now appears to be the better predictor of coronary artery disease, heart failure, stroke and death"

Retinol and Salicylic Acid Combination Facial Cream Improves Both Acne And Photo Aging - Doctor's Guide, 2/24/02 - "developed and tested the efficacy of a new combination facial cream containing stabilized all-trans-retinol 0.075% (vitamin A), salicylic acid 2%, pro-vitamin B5 and anti-oxidants versus placebo ... By the eighth week of treatment, dermatologists noted significant differences between women who used the test cream and placebo controls in coarse wrinkling, laxity of skin, actinic lentigines and skin texture ... Acne products can dehydrate the skin making wrinkles look worse, while some anti-aging products aggravate acne-prone skin ... women are often forced to choose products to treat their more bothersome condition, often at the detriment of the other"

Vitamin C Reduces The Odds Of Developing Early-Onset Cataract - Doctor's Guide, 2/22/02 - "A significant interaction was observed between age, vitamin C intake, and the prevalence of cataracts. For women younger than 60 years, the consumption of vitamin C >/= 362 mg/day was associated with a 57 percent lower risk of developing cortical opacities, and the use of vitamin C supplements for at least 10 years was associated with a 60 percent reduction in the risk of cataracts, when compared to no supplement use ... the incidence of posterior subcapsulary cataracts was considerably lower in women who had never smoked and who had high intakes of folate and carotenoids"

Hormone therapy may prevent leg ulcers, bed sores - Reuters, 2/22/02 - "women who had used HRT were much less likely to develop leg ulcers or pressure sores than those who had not used hormones ... Women who took HRT were "30% to 40% less likely to develop one of these wounds ... However, some studies have suggested that women who choose hormone replacement therapy tend to be better educated and more concerned about their health in general.  It's possible that such women may be at lower risk for developing bed sores or leg ulcers to begin with."

Shape up your libido - MSNBC, 2/22/02 - "Exercise often lowers LDL cholesterol, which in turn may alleviate the narrowing of arteries — including those in the genitals — which reduces the probability of sexual difficulties ... Excessive exercise actually lessens levels of testosterone, and those of estrogen in women ... Boone defines overtraining as “more than an hour of exercise at a time, more than five days a week.”

Using low-cholesterol food products - MSNBC, 2/22/02 - "More than 100 studies demonstrate that both total and LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol levels can be reduced with regular use of stanols or sterols. They occur naturally in vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, beans and vegetable oils" - My beef with stanol margarines is that they also contain trans fatty acids (hydrogenated vegetable oils).  So on the one hand they are trying to sell the public that it is healthy because they have stanols, yet the other hand they are assuming that the public doesn't understand that hydrogenated vegetable oils are trans fatty acids, which are believed to be worse than saturated fats.  The only margarine that I know of that doesn't contain trans fatty acids is Smart Balance, which does not contain stanols.

Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs May Ward Off Dementia - ABC News, 2/21/02 - "use of any cholesterol-lowering medication was associated with a nearly 75% reduction in the risk of dementia ... Animal research has suggested that statins help prevent the build-up of beta-amyloid proteins that is seen in the brains of Alzheimer's patients ... Another theory is that cholesterol-lowering drugs help prevent Alzheimer's disease by reducing inflammation in the brain" - See my statin, red yeast rice and policosanol pages.

Phytoestrogens May Reduce Heart Disease Risk In Older Women - Intelihealth, 2/21/02 - "phytoestrogen consumption was associated with a reduced risk of heart disease. Women who consumed the highest amount of isoflavones and lignans had significantly lower triglyceride (fatty material found in blood) levels than those who consumed the least amount of phytoestrogens. Similarly, those who consumed significant amounts of lignan-rich foods had less weight concentrated around their waists than those who ate little or no lignan-rich food. (Excessive weight around the waist is a risk factor for heart disease.)"

Caffeine Can Decrease Insulin Sensitivity - Doctor's Guide, 2/21/02 - "Insulin sensitivity was decreased by 15 percent (P<0.05 vs placebo). Following the administration of caffeine, plasma free fatty acids increased (P<0.05) and remained higher than during placebo. There was a fivefold increase in plasma epinephrine (P< 0.0005), while smaller increases were recorded in norepinephrine (P<0.02) and blood pressure (P<0.001). Insulin sensitivity remained unaltered by dipyridamole and only increased plasma norepinephrine"

Fish Oil Consumption May Prevent Pre-Term Birth - Doctor's Guide, 2/21/02 - "Low consumption of fish oils appears a strong risk factor for pre-term delivery and low birth weight ... A study among 8,729 pregnant Danish women indicates that long chain omega n.3 fatty acids in amounts above 2 g a day may delay spontaneous delivery and prevent recurrence of pre-term delivery"

Drink More - Get Liver Cancer - MedicineNet.com, 2/21/02 - "The researchers found that for both men and women, drinking more than 60 grams of alcohol a day, equivalent to around four to five glasses of wine, was associated with an elevated risk of developing liver cancer, while drinking between 40 and 60 grams of alcohol daily, the equivalent of three to four glasses of wine, was associated with a moderate risk"

The Skinny on Fat Drugs - WebMD, 2/20/02 - "The weight loss drug that keeps the gut from absorbing fat is called Xenical. It makes a person excrete about a third of all dietary fat in the stool. It also makes a person excrete fat-soluble vitamins, especially vitamin D"

I was doing some research on the Ze 117 extract of St. John's wort and ran across this, which I confirmed by Medline:

St. John's Wort Equivalent to World's Best-selling Antidepressant - Herb.org - "This German study was funded not by a pharmaceutical company, or by a company that manufacturers SJW extract, but by the German medical insurance system ... After six weeks of treatment, improvement in the two groups was nearly identical. Beginning with mean HAM-D scores of 19.5 and 19.65 for the fluoxetine [Prozac] and hypericum groups, respectively, at endpoint the two groups had scores of 12.2 and 11.54, respectively ... Perhaps more importantly, however, safety as measured by this study was far superior for SJW, which caused consistently fewer and less serious side effects"

Something I though was interesting was that the Ze 117 extract made by Bayer under the brand name Remotiv did not fare well with regard to hyperforin and hypericin content when compared to other German St. John's wort products.  See:  Comparison of German St. John's wort Products According to Hyperforin and Total Hypericin Content - Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association, Jul/Aug. 2001 - (Note: The Jarsin 300 is the LI 160 extract sold under the Kira brand name in the US.  I don't believe the Bayer Remotiv is available in the US.  I've always felt that the hypericum, hyperforin, hypercin, etc, still doesn't address biooavailability.  To use an extreme example, if you had wood that was .3% hypericin and flower pedals that were .3% hypericin, I think everyone would agree that the flower pedals would be more easily absorbed.  With SJW, you don't have wood but you have the roots, stems, leaves and flowers and I feel what was used will make a big difference in the results you get.)

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