Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 9/4/02:

Walking Lowers Women's Heart Risk - WebMD, 9/4/02 - "women who either walked briskly or exercised vigorously at least two and a half hours per week had a 30% lower risk of heart-related problems, such as heart attack, stroke, the need for heart bypass surgery, heart failure, or death. And the heart-healthy benefits extended to all women in the study, regardless of race or ethnic group, age, or weight"

Low-Dose Acetylsalicylic Acid may Interfere With ACE Inhibition in Type I Diabetics - Doctor's Guide, 9/4/02 - "Low-dose acetylsalicylic acid (ASA, Aspirin) may increase systolic blood pressure in type 1 diabetic patients, especially in those taking angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors ... Compared to those not taking ASA, patients taking ASA had higher systolic blood pressure (SBP) (151 plus or minus 1 versus 134 plus or minus 1 mmHg; p<0.0001) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (84 plus or minus 1 versus 80 plus or minus 1 ... Similarly, in patients without CVD and not taking antihypertensive drugs (n=37), SBP was still higher in those taking ASA (142 plus or minus 3 mmHg) compared to the 1042 participants who were not taking it (128 plus or minus 1 mmHg)"

What is hyperinsulimia? How is it controlled? What are the tests? What is Glucophage? - Dr. Weil, 9/3/02 - "This problem causes cells to lose their sensitivity to insulin, the hormone needed to allow blood sugar to enter cells for use as fuel. This prompts the pancreas to overcompensate and crank out even more insulin, which can promote weight gain and cardiovascular disease ... People with the genetic tendency to develop metabolic syndrome can avoid it by getting regular exercise and by minimizing consumption of high-glycemic index carbohydrate foods ... If you take Glucophage, your physician should also monitor your liver function regularly and check blood counts and vitamin B12 levels"

Most Heart Attack Patients Have Undiagnosed Glucose Metabolism Abnormalities - Doctor's Guide, 9/3/02 - "Most patients who present at emergency cardiac care units with a heart attack have abnormal glucose metabolism, and most of those patients are diabetic -- the majority undiagnosed ... many patients may be reaching the hospital in urgent states of undiagnosed diabetes because of a lack of communication between endocrinologists -- who treat diabetics but may not be that familiar with cardiology -- and cardiologists -- who may not be as familiar with diabetes"

Starchy Diet Linked to Pancreatic Cancer - ABC News, 9/3/02 - "A diet high in white bread, white rice and potatoes puts women at much higher risk of pancreatic cancer -- especially if they are overweight and do not exercise much ... Substituting less starchy vegetables such as broccoli for potatoes and rice and snacking on fruit are some simple steps they can take to reduce this potentially serious health risk"

Cholesterol Drug May Cut Stroke After Heart Attack - ABC News, 9/3/02 - "In a study of patients who had a mild heart attack or an episode of heart-related chest pain called unstable angina, those who started taking a high dose of the drug atorvastatin (Lipitor) while still hospitalized were about half as likely to have a stroke over the next few months as patients who took an inactive placebo pill"

Fish Oil Plus Statins May Improve Cholesterol - ABC News, 9/2/02 - "Since the drugs, known as statins, and fish oil work in different ways, combining the two treatments could be a promising approach for obese individuals with so-called pre-diabetes ... Statin therapy blocked the formation of cholesterol, which improved the clearance of molecules called ApoB that carry the harmful form of cholesterol in the blood. In contrast, fish oils interrupted the making of triglycerides, which interfered with the liver's production of a certain type of ApoB molecules" - Don't be fooled by cheap fish oil capsules.  Omega-3 is the sum of the sum of the eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) and docosahexaenoic acids (DHA), not the total fish oil that it says on the label.  See TwinLab TwinEPA at iHerb (5% discount code "qc") and Vitacost.

Strawberries, Raspberries Halt Cancer in Rats - ABC News, 9/2/02 - "While chemicals called isothiocyanates proved to be the best way to stop tumors from forming in the first place, strawberries and black raspberries from an Ohio farm worked best for preventing tumors from growing ... Isothiocyanates are found in many foods, including cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and wasabi, a pungent Japanese condiment ... the berries reduced colon cancer growth by 80%" - An easy way to include strawberries in your diet is to snack on whole wheat bread topped with peanut butter (the Laura Scudder's brand is not hydrogenated) and strawberry jelly or jam sweetened only with fruit juices such as Polaner All Fruit.

High-Fat Diet May Foster Prostate Cancer Spread - ABC News, 9/2/02 - "Our findings clearly show decreased risk for late-stage disease in men with diets that are low in fat and moderate in calcium, perhaps because these diets slow progression of prostate cancer into more aggressive disease"

Remission in Patients With Depressive Symptoms: Venlafaxine and SSRIs Compared - Doctor's Guide, 9/2/02 - "Venlafaxine/venlafaxine XR demonstrated significantly higher remission rates than SSRIs or placebo in patients diagnosed with depression for both = 52 weeks and = 52 weeks"

Women Could Need Antioxidants More Than Men - ABC News, 9/2/02 - "new study findings suggest that women experience more oxidation--a process suspected of increasing the risk of heart disease, stroke and several other diseases--than men. Vitamin C and other antioxidant vitamins can counteract this process ... Oxidative stress is the accumulation of cell-damaging substances called free radicals. This stress can be caused by outside factors, such as cigarette smoking, or by factors on the cellular level. Damage caused by oxidative stress is thought to contribute to the aging process and to many diseases ... female sex was a more powerful predictor of oxidative damage than smoking ... People with higher levels of a substance called C-reactive protein--a marker of inflammation that has been linked to heart disease--also tended to have more oxidative stress"

Topiramate shows promise as weight-loss drug - Doctor's Guide, 9/2/02 - "A six-month trial of the antiepileptic drug topiramate (TOPAMAX, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc) for the treatment of obesity has found the drug helped reduce body weight between 6 percent and 8 percent ... weight loss continued at the six-month cut-off point. In contrast, he said, the two weight-loss drugs currently on the market, orlistat (Xenical, Roche) and sibutramine (Meridia, Abbott Laboratories) plateau between three and six months ... The most common side effects were parasthesia, memory difficulty, fatigue, somnolence, appetite loss, taste perversion, concentration difficulty and dizziness" - Related article (the cognitive effect would be my main concern):

• Where Is Memory? - Medscape, 2/27/02, 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."

Immune Factors May Influence Post-Cancer Fatigue - ABC News, 9/2/02 - "Enduring fatigue seen in some breast cancer survivors may be related, at least in part, to chronic, low-level changes in the immune system ... If fatigue is related to proinflammatory cytokine activity, as we found here, there are medications designed to block these cytokines that could be tested as potential treatments for this symptom" - Speaking of cytokines:

Growth Hormone Benefits Cardiomyopathy Patients - Doctor's Guide, 9/2/02 - "Growth hormone reduces serum levels of proinflammatory cytokines in patients with chronic heart failure secondary to idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. It also reduces soluble Fas and soluble Fas ligand system in these patients ... The investigators also observed significant improvements in peak oxygen consumption"

Weighing the Risks of Hormone Therapy - ABC News, 9/1/02 - "The study did not attempt to measure the considerable value of HRT in treating hot flashes, sleep disturbances, depressions, skin and hair problems, and perceived lapses in mental acuity"

Phosphatidylserine (PS) The Essential Brain Nutrient - Life Extension Magazine, 9/02 - "Among its list of functions, phosphatidylserine stimulates the release of dopamine (a mood regulator that also control physical sensations, and movement), increases the production of acetylcholine (necessary for learning and memory), enhances brain glucose metabolism (the fuel used for brain activity), reduces cortisol levels (a stress hormone), and boosts the activity of nerve growth factor (NGF), which oversees the health of cholinergic neurons"

The Science and Policy of Performance Enhancing Supplements - Life Extension Magazine, 9/02 - "Dr. Jacobs gave Canadian Special Forces soldiers between 0.8 to 1.0 mg per kilogram (mg/kg) of ephedrine and 3 mg to 5 mg/kg of caffeine 90 to 105 minutes prior to various exercise tests. These numbers translate to approximately 60 mg to 80 mg of ephedrine and 239 mg to 398 mg of caffeine for a 175 lb man-relatively high doses of ephedrine, especially when combined with the caffeine intake ... Time to exhaustion during a high intensity cycle ergometer test (at approx 85% maximal aerobic output) increased dramatically"

Inflammatory Marker Linked to Long-Term Risk of Dementia - Medscape, 8/30/02 - "Elevated levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) are associated with an increased risk of dementia many years later ... The current findings suggest that inflammatory markers, like CRP, not only influence the risk of vascular disease, but also play a role in cerebral disease mechanisms" - See "Alternative News" on my inflammation page for alternative ways to reduce inflammation.

Soy Milk Lowers Blood Pressure - New Hope Natural Media, 8/30/02 - "After three months, the average systolic blood pressure (the higher number) had decreased by 18.4 mm Hg and the diastolic blood pressure (the lower number) had fallen by 15.9 mm Hg in the soy group. This reduction is comparable to that seen with many prescription blood pressure-lowering drugs"

New Report Says Only Safe Intake of Trans Fatty Acids is Zero - New Hope Natural Media, 8/30/02 - "Studies show that these fats elevate total cholesterol levels, decrease high-density lipoprotein (“good”) cholesterol, and interfere with essential fatty acids and with the liver’s detoxification system. There is circumstantial evidence that consuming trans fatty acids may increase the risk of developing heart disease or cancer"

Phosphorus Important for Bone Health in Elderly - New Hope Natural Media, 8/30/02 - "Although most Americans consume 100% or more of the Recommended Dietary Allowance for phosphorus, older individuals often reduce their total food intake and consume less of the high-phosphorus foods. While these dietary changes may not by themselves be enough to cause phosphorus deficiency, supplementing with large amounts of calcium could lead to a phosphorus deficiency in people who are consuming marginal amounts of the mineral ... Taking extra phosphorus is not appropriate for individuals who already consume large amounts in their diets. In fact, much of the research on phosphorus intake has focused on the problem of excessive phosphorus intake leading to a calcium deficiency"

From the Medscape Medpulse Newsletter:

Phytoestrogen Intake Linked to Reduced Arterial Stiffness in Older Women - Medscape, 8/29/02 - "higher "usual" consumption of two phytoestrogens, isoflavone found in soybeans and lignans abundant in flaxseed, was associated with lower aortic stiffness in a Dutch population of postmenopausal women"

Statins Benefit Patients at Risk for Coronary Disease, Even When Cholesterol Levels Are Normal - Medscape, 7/30/02 - "20,536 British patients (75% male; age range, 40 to 80) with total cholesterol levels of at least 135 mg/dL (3.5 mmol/L) were randomized to receive simvastatin (40 mg daily) or placebo for 5 years ... Five-year all-cause mortality was significantly lower in the simvastatin group than in the placebo group (12.9% vs. 14.7%) -- a difference attributable mainly to a significantly lower coronary death rate" - Note: Red yeast rice is a non-prescription statin.  See VitaminShoppe red yeast rice products.

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