Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 4/3/02:

Study Examines Whether Hormone Replacement Helps Skin - Intelihealth, 4/3/02 - "The makers of a low-dose, synthetic hormone replacement pill want to evaluate whether their product can improve the wrinkling that usually accompanies the estrogen loss associated with menopause ... "We hear this from our patients. They say, 'Gee, my skin feels better (after taking hormones,)'""

Is New Improved [Smart Balance] Margarine Good for You? - Dr. Weil, 4/3/02 - "While Smart Balance may be better than most margarine – if you adhere to the specified "balance" of fats in the rest of your diet – my views about margarine remain unchanged. It is still fat, mostly unhealthy fat, and a highly processed food. The less processed food you eat, the better."

Protein Predicts Heart Disease in Women: Study -ABC News, 4/3/02 -  "[C-reactive protein] CRP is a protein the body releases as part of its response to infection and injury, and is a known marker of inflammation. During infection, for instance, blood CRP levels temporarily soar as the immune system jumps into action. More subtle, chronic CRP elevations have been linked to an increased risk of heart disease. Inflammation is believed to play a key role in the hardening and narrowing of arteries that can lead to heart attack and stroke" - See my inflammation page for ways to reduce CRP. - Another reason to take red yeast rice.  Here are a few articles from that page:

• Lipitor (Atorvastatin Calcium) Reduces C-Reactive Protein In Acute Coronary Syndrome - Doctor's Guide, 3/19/02
• Elevated C-Reactive Protein Tied to Depression in Men - Clinical Psychiatry News, 9/01
• A Prescription for Alarm - Nutrition Science News, 9/01 - "Taking natural vitamin E supplements to reduce levels of C-reactive protein, an inflammatory compound that increases the risk of heart disease by 4.5 times.  Heart disease is increasingly viewed as a disease of blood-vessel inflammation"
• Another Study Suggests Inflammation May Trigger Diabetes - WebMD, 7/17/01 - "The immune system and inflammation may be factors causing type 2 diabetes ... women who had high levels of immune system substances called C-reactive protein or interleukin-6, or both, in their blood were more likely to develop type 2 diabetes ... Both C-reactive protein, called CRP, and interleukin-6, or IL-6, are considered indicators for inflammation"
• Cholesterol drug has wider benefit - USA Today, 6/28/01 - [in addition to lowering cholesterol] "Cholesterol-lowering drugs, called statins, apparently work by reducing levels of a chemical known as C-reactive protein. This protein causes inflammation, promotes blood clotting and weakens fat-encased blockages inside arteries, causing them to burst"
• Brushing your teeth may be good for your ticker - Scientific America, 5/01 - "Acute periodontitis may lead to heart disease because it might cause low-level inflammation in the whole body: chemicals produced by the immune reaction in the gum pockets probably spill over into the bloodstream and trigger the liver to make proteins that inflame arterial walls and clot blood. Atherosclerosis and, ultimately, heart attack may result. One such factor, C-reactive protein—a predictor of heart disease—is elevated in patients with periodontitis. Alternatively, the microbes themselves may travel from the mouth and affect blood vessels"

Weight Loss, Slimming, and Diabetes-Management Supplements (Chromium, CLA, and Pyruvate) review - ConsumerLab.com, 4/3/02 - "ConsumerLab.com purchased a total of 18 supplements: 7 CLA products, 7 chromium products, 2 pyruvate products, and 2 combination products (one with pyruvate and chromium and the other containing chromium, Garcinia cambogia, CLA, L-carnitine and other ingredients)" - I get the paid version of this newsletter and the, Natrol Brand CLA, Jarrow Brand CLA and the Source Naturals Brand CLA both passed (discount code "qc").

Parkinson's disease and brain cancer may be caused by a virus?  Two more reasons to maintain immunity:

• More Parkinson's Clusters Suspected - WebMD, 4/3/02 - "[Michael J.] Fox and the three other people with Parkinson's disease were among 125 people who in the late 1970s worked on a Canadian television show called Leo & Me. Four cases among 125 people -- especially young people -- is highly suspicious. Parkinson's each year strikes only about 1 in 10,000 people, nearly always much older people than the sitcom cast and crew ... The way we see it is that probably some quite common virus infects someone and -- because of a particular state of susceptibility at that time -- it gets into the brain"
• Infections May Play Role in Childhood Brain Cancer - ABC News, 4/2/02 - "British scientists have found what they believe is further evidence that viral or bacterial infections may contribute to childhood brain tumors"

Zinc, Vitamin a Help Anti-TB Drugs Work Better - ABC News, 4/2/02 - "Patients who received the supplements [vitamin A and zinc] were twice as likely to have eliminated the tuberculosis bacteria from the mucus coughed up from their lungs by 2 weeks than the group receiving only standard drug treatment, and maintained that difference for 7 weeks. These patients also had a greater reduction in abnormalities or lesions on their chest x-rays than those not taking the supplements"

Macular Degeneration Difficult; Vitamins Offer Some Hope - Intelihealth, 4/2/02 - "Patients taking the vitamin-zinc combination who had intermediate AMD in one or both eyes reduced their risk for developing advanced stages of AMD by about 25 percent. The same high-risk group -- including those with advanced AMD in one eye but not the other -- had their risk of vision loss caused by advanced AMD reduced by 19 percent ... Potential culprits could be the same factors that cause cardiovascular problems, such as "bad" cholesterol" - If that last sentence is true, it would make sense that statins or red yeast rice might help prevention.

Money and a Good Night's Sleep Key to Good Health - ABC News, 4/2/02 - "Higher income was also associated with a better quality of sleep, which was found to influence a person's physical health"

Hormone Therapy Raises One Cancer Risk, Study Says - ABC News, 4/2/02 - "women who took estrogen alone, or estrogens combined with a sequential, or cyclic, regimen of progestins, had a higher risk of epithelial ovarian cancer ... But if progestins were taken daily with estrogen, the risk disappeared"

For The Elderly, Dry Mouth Affects Eating Habits And Teeth - Intelihealth, 4/1/02 - "People reporting dry mouth were less likely to eat adequate amounts of protein, folate, phosphorus and copper. They also had lower intakes of calories, fiber, vitamin D, calcium and other nutrients, compared with people who did not report having dry mouth ... Dry mouth is a side effect of hundreds of common medications, including pain relievers, antihistamines and decongestants. Medications are the most common cause of this condition, which also increases the risk of tooth decay and oral infections"

Aspirin for Stroke Prevention - ABC News, 4/1/02 - "[using aspirin] for patients at risk for stroke was that the relative risk of an attack was reduced about 25 percent ... Evaluation of Plavix in a single large trial with stroke patients was not significantly better than aspirin in reducing further strokes, and the company has twice been cautioned by the FDA to NOT promote the drug as though it were better than aspirin ... the large meta-analysis appearing in the January 2002 issue of the British Medical Journal concluded that "addition of dipyridamole to aspirin produced no significant further reduction in vascular events compared with aspirin alone"

Aspirin Underused by Those at Risk of Heart Attack - ABC News, 4/1/02 - "They found that people who never took aspirin were 85% more likely to die during the 5-year study than regular aspirin users"

Lactobacillus Supplements May Help Remedy Diarrhea - ABC News, 4/1/02 - "Supplements containing bacteria commonly found in yogurt [Lactobacillus] can help shorten bouts of diarrhea in children by nearly a day"

Blood Flow to Heart Hampered After High-Fat Meal - ABC News, 4/1/02 - "5 hours after the high-fat meal, the ability of heart arteries to expand and increase blood flow to the muscle--a measure known as coronary flow reserve--dropped by 18% ... Although the study did not include people with heart disease, the results could explain why those with heart disease-related chest pain, known as angina, can have increased pain after a high-fat meal"

Exercise Helps Everyone's Heart - WebMD, 4/1/02 - "The overwhelming evidence shows exercise can reduce blood pressure in virtually anyone -- regardless of weight, race, or current blood pressure level ... regular aerobic exercise decreased systolic blood pressure (the top number) by an average of 3.8 mmHg and diastolic (the bottom number) by 2.58 mmHg, in people who were previously inactive"

Arthritis Needs Early Treatment - WebMD, 4/1/02 - "Delaying rheumatoid arthritis treatment can make a big difference in how well the disease responds to treatment. Finnish researchers report that early intervention -- immediately after symptoms begin -- can send the debilitating disorder into remission. But waiting just a few months can mean that even multiple drugs won't alleviate the joint stiffness, swelling, and pain ... A primary reason for delay in providing rheumatologic care is a relative shortage of rheumatologists" - Rheumatoid arthritis drugs such as Kineret (anakinra, 8/00), Enbrel® (etanercept, 11/98) and Arava™ (leflunomide, 9/98) may cost over $1000/month.  Arava is linked to 22 deaths in its first three years of approval.

Endogenous Hormones Might Lower Atherosclerosis Risk in Some Older Women - Doctor's Guide, 4/1/02 - "the researchers found no association between the odds of atherosclerosis and increasing quartiles of estrone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate or androstenedione ... Compared with participants in the lowest quartile of sex hormone-binding globulin, those in the highest quartile had significantly lower odds of atherosclerosis. Participants in the highest quartile of total testosterone also had lower odds of atherosclerosis"

Major Lifestyle Changes Needed to Prevent Diabetes - ABC News, 4/1/02 - "participants tried to consume less than 26% of total energy from fat, more than 35 grams of fiber per day, and to exercise to an intensity of 80% to 90% of their age-adjusted maximum heart rate for 20 minutes 5 times per week ... At the end of the 4-month study period, the intensive group posted a 23% increase in insulin sensitivity"

Is a Mexican Herb the New LSD? - ABC News, 4/1/02 - "Smoking or chewing the leaves of the [salvia divinorum] plant sends the user on a trip that according to accounts posted on various sites can be even more intense than the LSD experience, but unlike an LSD trip, which can last six hours or more, the Mexican herb's effects usually last less than an hour, with a peak of only 20 minutes or less ... Work done so far has determined that salvia operates on a receptor system in the brain that was previously unknown, and the study of the aspects of consciousness controlled by that area could lead to advances in both medicine and psychology"

Vitamin E Fights Arthritis-Like Damage in Mice - ABC News, 3/29/02 - "rheumatoid arthritis patients have been found to have low blood levels of antioxidants like vitamins E and C, which help neutralize reactive oxygen species ... The investigators found that after 6 weeks of vitamin E treatment, mice with the arthritic condition showed symptoms, but the destruction in their bone and cartilage was much less severe than that in animals not given the vitamin"

Statins Might Fight Spread of Pancreatic Cancer - ABC News, 3/29/02 - "the spread of pancreatic cancer cells to the liver was significantly reduced by a statin called Lescol (fluvastatin). Only 10 of 12 mice (83%) treated with Lescol developed liver cancer, versus 100% of 9 untreated mice. Even when Lescol-treated mice did develop cancerous liver nodules, they had an average of 6, versus 25 in the untreated mice"

Statins May Inhibit Calcium Growth on Aortic Valve in Elderly - Doctor's Guide, 3/29/02 - "People who take statins may have at least 60 percent less aortic valve calcium than people who do not take statins"

Anti-Cholesterol Drugs Lower Bone Fracture Risk - ABC News, 3/28/02 - "As women age, and especially after menopause, their bone mineral density tends to decrease, upping the risk of the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis, and painful and disabling fractures of the hip, spine and other bones ... statin drugs, used for the treatment of hypercholesterolaemia (high levels of cholesterol circulating in the bloodstream), may increase bone mineral density and protect against fracture" - Note:  Red yeast rice is a non-prescription statin.  VitaminShoppe is finally selling the 90 count size.

Vitamins Help After Heart Transplant - WebMD, 3/28/02 - "The plaque-fighting benefits of the antioxidant supplements were even greater than those found using statin medications, which have already been shown to slow hardening of the arteries after transplants. Previous research has shown that antioxidants, such as vitamin C and E, can promote heart health by reducing blood clots and keeping the blood vessels flexible" - Note:  Pulse pressure is the difference of the two blood pressure measurements -- the systolic (the higher number) and diastolic (the lower number).  Harding of the arteries causes high pulse pressure.  More on the problems of high pulse pressure:

• Stiff Arteries Boost Kidney Patients' Death Risk - ABC News, 3/27/02 - "pulse pressure reflects stiffness in the arteries and other aspects of blood vessel function"
• Pulse Pressure Predicts Mortality in Hemodialysis Patients - Medscape, 3/26/02
• Pulse Pressure a Better Predictor of Mortality than Mean Blood Pressure - Doctor's Guide, 1/28/02
• Pulse Pressure Serves As Marker For Heart Disease Death - Doctor's Guide, 12/8/97

Herb Fights Menopause Symptoms - WebMD, 3/28/02 - "New research suggests that a black cohosh extract, marketed as Remifemin, works differently from estrogen, which has been linked to an increase in breast cancer risk ... As many as 80% will experience menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, mood swings, night sweats, and bouts of insomnia ... These days, many different manufacturers market black cohosh supplements. But Remifemin is the only one that has been extensively studied"

'Pre-Diabetes' Puts Millions at Risk - WebMD, 3/28/02 - "The threat of an epidemic of diabetes is now so great that the U.S. government has created a whole new condition for those at risk, called "pre-diabetes." ... Research shows that most people with pre-diabetes will develop diabetes within a decade unless they make changes in their lifestyle, such as eating a healthier diet and becoming more physically active"

Public Citizen Calls on FDA to Ban Arthritis Drug [Arava (leflunomide)] - ABC News, 3/28/02 - "urged regulators to immediately ban the rheumatoid arthritis drug Arava (leflunomide), saying it had linked the product to 12 fatal cases of liver damage"

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 / Verizon Wireless!

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

Anti-aging Recommendations

Past newsletters