Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 6/26/02:

The Pill Is Not Linked to Cancer - ABC News, 6/26/02 - "Regardless of when a woman started using the pill, how long she used it, or whether she had a family history of breast cancer, oral contraceptives did not increase her risk for breast cancer"

Cyberounds®: Geriatrics Conference - cyberounds.com, 6/26/02 - I get their newsletter.  Today's newsletter had this one hour CME course on testosterone replacement.  Expires 6/26/05

Aspirin May Cut Risk of Lung Cancer Risk - ABC News, 6/25/02 - "women who took aspirin regularly had less than half the normal risk of suffering from non-small lung cancer -- the most common form of the disease ... Studies have also shown that aspirin, one of the world's most popular drugs, may also help to protect against prostate cancer and researchers are also conducting studies into its impact on bowel and esophageal cancers ... they suspect it could be do with its anti-inflammatory effects"

Kile Death Raises Screening Questions - ABC News, 6/25/02 - "a preliminary autopsy shows the younger Kile had undetected hardening of the arteries — and 85 to 90 percent blockage of two of three branches of his coronary artery, which most likely contributed to his death ... Among Topol's recommendations for patients with such early history ... Aggressive preventive care, "often with the use of statins," the name for the widely used class of cholesterol-lowering drugs"

Cholesterol Drug Cuts Post-Surgery Heart Problems - ABC News, 6/25/02 - "Researchers found that giving the cholesterol drug fluvastatin (Lescol) to patients with average cholesterol counts cut their risk of heart attack and other major cardiac problems after surgery"

EPA: 28% of U.S. Lakes Have Contaminated Fish - ABC News, 6/25/02 - "More than one fourth of the nation's lakes have advisories warning consumers that fresh-caught fish may be contaminated with mercury, dioxins or other chemicals ... States that had the most fishing advisories include Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Nebraska and New Jersey"

Antioxidants May Delay Alzheimer's Disease Onset - ABC News, 6/25/02 - "Diets rich in vitamin C and E may delay the onset of memory-robbing Alzheimer's disease, two studies in the June 26th issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association suggest"

Osteoporosis in Elderly Men Underestimated - Doctor's Guide, 6/24/02 - "As many as 30 percent of men over 65 years old may have osteoporosis ... The serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), although normal, was slightly lower in men with osteoporosis, an average of 1.57+/-0.74 in comparison to an average of 2.34+/-1.93 in men with no osteoporosis ... Because both groups of men have low-normal 25-OH vitamin D, and low urinary calcium, the investigators suggest that patients in their situation, could benefit from enhancing their nutritional status" - See Essential Calcium.

Insulin Resistance Tied to Low Testosterone in Men - Doctor's Guide, 6/24/02 - "Men who are insulin resistant are also more likely to have reduced testosterone secretions"

Low-Dose Testosterone Replacement Safe, Effective - Medscape, 6/24/02 - "Since 1993, the subjects received intramuscular testosterone cypionate or testosterone enanthate, 25 mg weekly or 50 mg every 2 weeks ... Treatment had significant benefits on lipid metabolism, osteoporosis, muscle mass, fat distribution, libido, and sense of well-being, with a good safety profile ... The safety of low-dose testosterone for MHRT and [for] preventing rapid progression of dementia appears to be encouraging" - Also see Novarel at GH Medical.

Black Cohosh Controls Menopausal Symptoms - Medscape, 6/24/02 - "In double-blind fashion, the women received daily treatment for three months with commercially available black cohosh (Klimadynona or Menofema, 40 mg), conjugated estrogens (0.6 mg), or placebo ... Both black cohosh and estrogen reduced major climacteric complaints significantly more than did placebo (P<.05). Black cohosh improved blood lipid and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase levels. Although estrogen increased endometrial thickness, black cohosh did not"

Natural Chemical May Treat Strokes - WebMD, 6/21/02 - "Testing in humans could begin early next year for inosine, which appears to help the brain "rewire" itself after injury ... In newly reported studies involving rats, inosine was shown to promote the growth of nerve cells in areas of the brain that remained undamaged following stroke. This new nerve growth, in turn, took over some of the functions of the stroke-damaged parts of the brain. The findings are reported in the June 25 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" - See inosine at iHerb and VitaminShoppe.

Body-for-Life Works -- and So Will You - WebMD, 6/24/02 - "Why have 3 million people bought into the Body-for-Life fitness program? It may be this: Other programs promise you'll look and feel better. BFL promises you'll look great ... What's the catch? You'll literally work your butt off. You'll also have to eat six moderate-sized meals and drink a gallon of water a day ... EAS makes and sells the nutritional supplements recommended, but not required, by the BFL program ... Clearly the BFL program is not for everybody. For those willing to do both the exercise regimen and the diet, there will be results. How good a program is it? It depends on whom you ask" - Also see EAS products at Vitacost and VitaminShoppe.

More Clues on How Exercise Protects the Heart - ABC News, 6/24/02 - "chronic CRP elevations have been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, and inflammation is believed to play a key role in the hardening and narrowing of arteries that can lead to heart attack and stroke ... Native-American women and whites who were the most physically fit also had the lowest levels of CRP in their blood ... Higher fitness levels appear to have an anti-inflammatory effect that may be a mechanism for lowering [heart disease] and type 2 diabetes"

Mild Sleep Deprivation Alters Hormonal Activity - ABC News, 6/24/02 - "Just a few hours of sleep deprivation could impair daily functioning and affect hormonal levels in the body ... researchers found that sleep deprivation affected hormonal levels. Men and women had a 40% to 60% average increase in the inflammatory marker interleukin-6 (IL-6), while men alone showed a 20% to 30% increase in another marker for inflammation, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) ... the finding that lack of sleep may stimulate an increase in chronic, low-level inflammatory response is worrisome, because that state has been linked to conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease and most recently, diabetes"

Study Backs Cholesterol Lowering Drug - ABC News, 6/23/02 - "We observed a 56 percent lower risk of incident cardiovascular events and a 44 percent lower all-cause mortality associated with the use of statins" among people whose average age was 72 when the study began ..." - Note: Red yeast rice is a non-prescription statin.  See VitaminShoppe red yeast rice products.

Eating Nuts Lessens Heart Risk - ABC News, 6/23/02 - "found a 47 percent lower risk of sudden cardiac death among those who consumed an ounce of nuts at least twice a week compared to those who did not eat nuts at all"

Estrogen for Women's Bones Also Lessens Tooth Loss - ABC News, 6/23/02 - "This means that perhaps you can prevent bone erosion in the jaw with calcium and vitamin D, but those supplements are not sufficient to restore bone loss ... However, estrogen does appear to restore bone throughout the body."

Testosterone Therapy Improves Exercise Ability of Men with Chronic Congestive Heart Failure - Doctor's Guide, 6/21/02 - "After 12 weeks, the testosterone group achieved a 34 percent increase in exercise capacity compared to 2 percent for the control group ... In addition, the testosterone treatment improved depression and heart failure symptoms while causing few side effects" - Also see Novarel at GH Medical.

Ignoring the Warning Signs of Osteoporosis - ABC News, 6/21/02 - "Estrogen deficiency is the most important factor, but there are also some secondary causes. Calcium, of course, plays an important role in developing and maintaining strong bones, so a calcium deficiency puts one at risk of the disease. People who smoke or drink excessive amounts of alcohol are also at risk. And the disease is much more common in Caucasian and Asian populations. It is also very common in people who are on certain medications, such as corticosteroids, thyroid medication, and anticonvulsants. And finally, people of slight build are also very prone to osteoporosis"

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome More Prevalent than Thought, Has Serious Impact on Mood - Doctor's Guide, 6/21/02 - "Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine abnormality in women of reproductive age. New research suggests that it is even more prevalent than previously thought ... We hope this raises physician awareness ... The medical community needs to be aware of the psychological impact of these conditions"

Soy Comparable to Some Diabetes Drugs - WebMD, 6/20/02 - "Soy may help people with diabetes control their blood sugar as well as some prescription drugs ... One group sprinkled their food daily with a white powder containing 30 grams of soy protein and 132 milligrams of soy isoflavones for 12 weeks ... The soy products lowered the women's blood sugar as much as some prescription diabetes drugs"

The Right Way to Apply Sunscreen - WebMD, 6/20/02 - "The sun protection factor, or SPF, that a sunscreen delivers is determined by testing skin that's been generously slathered with a thick coat of sunscreen. But studies have shown that most people apply only 25% to 75% of this amount"

Fibromyalgia Responds to Growth Hormone Treatment - Doctor's Guide, 6/20/02 - "Patients with fibromyalgia get relief from many of their symptoms when they are treated with growth hormone therapy ... We had previously found that a high number of patients with fibromyalgia have low levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 [IGF-1] ... The results suggest that a secondary growth hormone deficiency may be responsible for some symptoms of fibromyalgia"

Epilepsy Drugs Are Risk Factors For Osteoporosis - Doctor's Guide, 6/20/02 - "Epilepsy and its therapies - older or modern - are both risk factors for low bone density, irrespective of vitamin D levels"

Oral Androgen Oxandrin (Oxandrolone) Increases Strength and Functioning in Elderly Men - Doctor's Guide, 6/20/02 - "Treatment with an oral androgen can significantly increase muscle strength and power in men over 60 years ... There's a lot of potential here ... The goal is to help people age in a much better fashion as the average life span is going up"

Biotin Supplement Needed During Pregnancy - New Hope Natural Media, 6/20/02 - "Preliminary studies have suggested that biotin in large amounts (such as 5 to 16 mg per day) can help control blood sugar levels or improve nerve damage in diabetics. In a study of individuals with dry, splitting nails, supplementation with 2.5 mg of biotin per day improved the quality of the nails in 63% of those treated. Improvement was seen after an average of two months, although some individuals did not see results until they had taken biotin for four months." - Note:  Biotin is expensive so most multi's cut you short on that B vitamin.  The labeled amounts are in micrograms, not to be confused with milligrams.  I've seen some multi's with about 6 micrograms.  I consider that a joke.

Researchers Say Adult Treatment Panel Guidelines Inadequate for Identifying Metabolic Syndrome - Doctor's Guide, 6/19/02 - "ATP III defines new clinical criteria for identification of patients with the metabolic syndrome, indicated as having three or more of the following markers:  . abdominal obesity determined as waist circumference >102 cm [40 inches] in men and 88 cm [34.6 inches] in women . TG >/= 150 mg/dL . HDL-C <40 mg/dL in men and <50 mg/dL in women . blood pressure 130/85 mm Hg or greater . fasting glucose 110 mg/dL or greater"

I was doing more research on Arimidex (see last weeks newsletter) and came across http://www.hairsite8.com/m572ru16/_disc572/0000029b.htm, which recommends http://www.valuepharmaceuticals.com  who have Arimidex for $162.  Shipping is $7.50.  See aromatization.  Also a couple more aromatization articles:

• Why Testosterone Levels Decline - Life Extension Magazine - "Clinical studies using testosterone injections, creams, or patches have often failed to provide a long-lasting, libido-enhancing effect in aging men (98). We now know why. The testosterone can be converted to estrogen. The estrogen is then taken up by testosterone receptor sites in cells throughout the body. When an estrogen molecule occupies a testosterone receptor site on a cell membrane, it blocks the ability of serum testosterone to induce a healthy hormonal signal. It does not matter how much serum free testosterone is available if excess estrogen is competing for the same cellular receptor sites"
• Correcting A Hormone Imbalance - Life Extension Magazine - "If all of the above fail to increase free testosterone and lower excess estradiol, then ask your doctor to prescribe the potent aromatase inhibiting drug Arimidex (anastrozole) in the very low dose of one-half (0.5 mg) mg, twice a week"

On a different subject, check out Pop-Up Stopper FREE Edition (third download listed).  It's a free download that eliminates pop-up ads.  I learned about it watching last Saturday's CNN "Next" segment.

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