Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 3/13/02:

Breakfast Benefits Give Food For Thought - Intelihealth, 3/13/02 - "researchers analyzed tons of data to conclude that cereal is the most nutritious and cheapest breakfast food ... earlier studies have shown that people who eat breakfast have healthier body weights, as well as better cognitive functioning ... The fast-food breakfasts had nearly four times more calories and fat than cereal; cereal was higher in carbohydrates, fiber, protein and vitamins and minerals"

Flu Shots for Stroke Prevention? - JAMA, 3/13/02 - "Getting an annual flu shot may offer significant protection against stroke in older individuals ... The researchers had hypothesized that influenza vaccination might be protective against stroke because of prior research that showed that infections are associated with heart attack and strokes, perhaps by destabilizing atherosclerotic plaque"

Streams Contaminated with Drugs - WebMD, 3/13/02 - "What they found in America's streams is like a snapshot of our national medicine cabinet: aspirin, Tylenol, prescription medicines for heart problems and high blood pressure, and female sex hormones used in hormone replacement therapy and birth control pills ... In addition to medications, the most commonly found compounds included caffeine, cotinine (a product created by the breakdown of nicotine), the insect repellant DEET, triclosan (the active ingredient in antibacterial soaps and detergents), a flame retardant, and steroids that indicate fecal matter contamination"

Painkillers May Prevent Prostate Cancer: Study - ABC News, 3/12/02 - "Regular use of aspirin, ibuprofen and other common painkillers appear to protect against prostate cancer among older men ... Men over age 60 who took a daily dose of one of the drugs known collectively as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were half as likely to develop the disease, which is the second-leading cancer killer among US men with more than 30,000 deaths expected this year"

Obesity Increases Health Costs More Than Smoking - Intelihealth, 3/12/02 - "Obese Americans spend more for health care and medications than smokers, largely because the extra weight causes the same jump in chronic health problems as does 20 years of aging"

Post-Exercise Blood Pressure Reduction Clinically Relevant In Elderly Hypertensive Patients - Doctor's Guide, 3/12/02 - "They also experienced a 22-hour post-exercise blood pressure reduction. This result shows that low-intensity exercise is clinically relevant in elderly patients with hypertension"

Estradiol Via Matrix Patch Reverses Bone Loss - Doctor's Guide, 3/12/02 - "Transdermal estradiol delivered by matrix patch reversed bone loss in hysterectomized, post-menopausal women and produced few side effects"

Estrogen Slows Development of Atherosclerosis in Women - Doctor's Guide, 3/12/02 - "women who take estrogen may decrease their risk of developing atherosclerosis -- the progressive narrowing and hardening of the arteries ... This finding suggests that estrogen may slow the progress of coronary calcification and plaque formation"

Hormone Battle: Prempro vs. Activella - WebMD, 3/12/02 - "A new hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for menopause causes less bleeding than Prempro, the most-prescribed HRT ... A report in the current issue of the journal Menopause shows that women who took Activella had less bleeding than women who took Prempro"

The State of the Air Many Breathe Is a Sorry State - WebMD, 3/12/02 - "It's not just L.A. any more. Three out of every four Americans now breathe air so dirty it threatens the health of children, the elderly, and even outdoor joggers ... The American Lung Association's annual State of the Air report card gave an F in air quality to nearly 400 U.S. counties -- a 15% increase since the previous report"

Study: Top Blood Pressure Number Best - Intelihealth, 3/11/02 - "the top number in blood pressure readings is better than the lower number at predicting heart disease risk, even in middle-age patients" - Related articles:

• Pycnogenol - Functional Foods & Nutraceuticals, 3/02 - "Subjects taking pycnogenol experienced a significant decrease in systolic blood pressure, although there was no statistical significance in diastolic blood pressure when compared to placebo"
• Antioxidants, At Certain Levels, May Reduce Blood Pressure - Doctor's Guide, 11/14/01 - "increasing levels of serum beta- carotene were associated with significant reductions in systolic blood pressure, while increasing levels of serum vitamin C were associated with significant reductions in diastolic pressure ... In contrast, serum levels of vitamin E were associated with significant increases in diastolic blood pressure"
• Pulse Pressure a Better Predictor of Mortality than Mean Blood Pressure - Doctor's Guide, 1/28/02

Alcohol-Women's Blood Pressure Studied - Intelihealth, 3/11/02 - "Women who have a few alcoholic drinks a week have an almost 15 percent lower chance of developing high blood pressure than teetotalers ... However, the study also found that consuming more than about one and a half drinks daily increases the high blood pressure risk by 30 percent compared with nondrinkers"

Air Pollution's Ill Effects Seen in Blood Vessels - ABC News, 3/11/02 - "Even in healthy people, breathing air contaminated with pollutants found in car and truck exhaust causes blood vessels to constrict" - I saw a segment on this on CNN and they claimed that it accounted for 60,000 deaths per year.

Parkinson's Drug Linked to Hair Loss in Women - ABC News, 3/11/02 - "Reversible hair loss has been documented in patients treated with bromocriptine, pergolide or levodopa, but not in association with other dopamine-related drugs ... the researchers describe the cases of two female Parkinson's disease patients who experienced hair loss soon after starting treatment with the drug pramipexole ... The investigators note that both women were taking the drug amantadine, and that their hair loss could be a result of this drug's interaction with the Parkinson's drugs"

Statin Use, Bone Mineral Density, and Fracture Risk: Geelong Osteoporosis Study - Archives of Internal Medicine, 3/11/02 - "The substantial 60% reduction in fracture risk associated with statin use is greater than would be expected from increases in BMD alone"

Across-the-Border Bargains on Rx Drugs - ABC News, 3/8/02 - "After carefully studying the law, he discovered it was possible to place orders over the Internet — as long as there was a prescription and a doctor in Canada willing to review it and write the same prescription. Thus "www.canadianmedsusa.com" was born" - I checked some prices and it was a lot cheaper for some items and a lot more for others.  For example, Retin A 0.1% was $18.51 for 30 grams which interpolates to $27.71 for 45 grams plus $10 shippping per package.  Drugstore.com has the generic Retin A 0.1% for $54.45 for 45 grams plus $1.49 shipping.  However, the Canadian price for deprenyl (Selegiline Hcl), 5 mg, 100 capsules is $113.61 (plus the $10 shipping) whereas drugstore.com is $46.49 plus $1.49 shipping.  However, on both Retin A and deprenyl, you can get it at IAS for about the same as the Canadian price without the prescription hassle but IAS only sells products associated with anti-aging. - Ben

Brushing, Flossing Stave Off Diabetes --Studies - ABC News, 3/8/02 - "Gum disease may even be more important than obesity or age as a factor in the onset of diabetes in adults ... Results showed blood sugar levels could be reduced and kept at a lower level most effectively with a single dose of oral antibiotic and repeated application of a topical antibiotic to the gums. The effects were equal to and independent of those induced by diabetes medication ... using antibiotics to treat gum disease decreases two markers of inflammation throughout the body ... The inflammatory markers area associated with the development of atherosclerosis and other chronic diseases"

• Strong Link Found Between Mother's Gum Disease and Premature Birth, Low Birth Weight - Doctor's Guide, 3/7/02 - "Mothers who suffer from gum disease are significantly more likely to deliver their babies prematurely than women without that illness, which also is known as periodontal disease"

Nausea Sometimes A Red Flag For Anxiety and Depression - Doctor's Guide, 3/8/02 - "People who experience nausea may be suffering from anxiety or depression, possible causes that should be investigated before aggressive treatments are begun for gastrointestinal disorders"

Few Vitamins Effectively Prevent or Reverse Skin Damage - Medscape, 3/02, user=benhess, pwd=asdfgh - "Despite advertising claims, almost all available topical formulations contain very low concentrations of antioxidants that are not well absorbed by the skin ... There are 3 antioxidants that have been proven to decrease the effect of the sun on the skin and actually prevent further damage: selenium, vitamin E, and vitamin C ... Recent animal studies have found that when selenium is taken orally or through the skin in the form of L-selenomethionine, it provided protection against both everyday and excessive UV damage ... New laboratory studies suggest vitamin E helps inactivate free radicals, making them less likely to cause damage ... Even minimal UV exposure can decrease the vitamin C levels in the skin by 30%, while exposure from the ozone of city pollution can decrease the level by 55%" - see my page on skin care

Breakfast Each Day May Help Keep Colds Away - ABC News, 3/7/02 - "Regular consumers of breakfast, especially breakfast cereal, get fewer and less severe colds than non-consumers ... This adds to the increasing body of evidence showing the health benefits--physical and mental--of breakfast consumption, and potential problems associated with skipping breakfast ... Overall, cold and flu symptoms were associated with the study participants' not eating breakfast, as well as their feelings of stress and loneliness ... Those prone to persistent anxiety also had more cold and flu symptoms"

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