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Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 10/9/02:

Curry Spice May Inhibit Tumor Growth - ABC News, 10/8/02 - "According to their study, curcumin inhibited the production of interleukin-8 (IL-8), a protein that attracts white blood cells to a particular site and leads to inflammation. The compound also reduced the activity of nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-kappaB), a molecule that helps regulate the gene that produces IL-8" - See iHerb (5% discount code "qc") or Vitacost curcumin products.

Why some statin patients are sore about their drug - US News & World Report, 10/7/02 - "Based partly on biopsies that showed changes in muscle cells in some statin patients, the study indicates that damage to muscle tissue, causing weakness and pain, occurs far more often than is thought and that the usual laboratory test may miss many patients who complain of discomfort ... Phillips also tested the patients' strength during each period with standardized equipment; he found that it decreased during the on-statin periods and returned to normal off statins ... The mitochondrial damage is what causes weakness and discomfort–which isn't always reversible" - I've been sticking with what I consider a low dose of red yeast rice (1200 mg) and low dose policosanol (5 mg).   Also see guggul, pantethine, artichoke and inositol hexanicotinate. - Ben

Hearing Study Reveals Surprises - Intelihealth, 10/6/02 - "Beaver Dam people who have a drink or two a day are about 40 percent less likely than nondrinkers to have hearing loss, although heavy drinking is bad for the hearing ... Exercise also seems to prevent or delay elderly hearing loss ... smokers are about 70 percent more likely than nonsmokers to have some hearing loss. Even passive smoking appears to increase the risk ... researchers suspect that decreasing blood flow to the inner ear increases the risk of going deaf ... If preventing heart disease also saves hearing, it might offer another reason to take cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins" - Note:  Red yeast rice is a non-prescription statin and is available at VitaminShoppe.

Protein May Increase Risk of Stroke, Alzheimer's - ABC News, 10/3/02 - "Moderately high levels of the amino acid homocysteine may substantially increase the risk of stroke and Alzheimer's disease as well as a non-Alzheimer's form of dementia ... Folic acid and other B vitamins may lower homocysteine by breaking down the amino acid ... Because dietary habits are so different among people, it may be appropriate to recommend a higher dose, such as 2 to 5 milligrams folic acid and a similar dose of vitamin B12 daily" - See my homocysteine page for other ways to reduce it.

Vitamin C, Zinc, Echinacea May Help Shorten Colds - WebMD, 10/3/02 - "people who took a patented form of vitamin C, known as Ester C, during cold season had fewer colds and less severe symptoms than those who took placebos ... There were 37 colds among the 84 study participants who took vitamin C, compared to 50 colds among an equal number of participants who took a placebo" - See Zicam at drugstore.com.  The time to stock up is now so you can use it at the first symptom.  Also see Body Wise Beta-C (esterified vitamin  C).

Teenage Smoking Increases Breast Cancer Risk - ABC News, 10/3/02 - "Women who start smoking when they are teenagers are 70 percent more likely to develop breast cancer than non-smokers"

Newly Discovered Benefits of Gamma Tocopherol - Life Extension Magazine, 10/02 - "Since taking large doses of alpha tocopherol depletes plasma levels of gamma tocopherol, the health-conscious consumer who takes only alpha tocopherol supplements needs to seriously reconsider this practice ... Likewise, most vitamin E supplements provide only alpha tocopherol. New evidence strongly suggests that this is inadequate supplementation" - I've been preaching mixed tocopherols since the start of my web site but by the sales, no one seems think it's important and only purchase the alpha.  I still feel that taking only the alpha can do more harm than good.  Here's the referenced Am J Clin Nutr abstract:

• gamma-tocopherol, the major form of vitamin E in the US diet, deserves more attention - Am J Clin Nutr 2001 Dec;74(6):714-22 - "Both gamma-tocopherol and gamma-CEHC, but not alpha-tocopherol, inhibit cyclooxygenase activity and, thus, possess antiinflammatory properties. Some human and animal studies indicate that plasma concentrations of gamma-tocopherol are inversely associated with the incidence of cardiovascular disease and prostate cancer. These distinguishing features of gamma-tocopherol and its metabolite suggest that gamma-tocopherol may contribute significantly to human health in ways not recognized previously. This possibility should be further evaluated, especially considering that high doses of alpha-tocopherol deplete plasma and tissue gamma-tocopherol, in contrast with supplementation with gamma-tocopherol, which increases both"
• An anti-aging doctor in San Diego recommended the A.C. Grace brand.  VitaminShoppe has a good price on it.  Also, check out the dry form in the Body Wise AM/PMs.

From TopAbstracts in Hair Loss at Doctor's Guide, 10/4/02:

A randomized clinical trial of 5% topical minoxidil versus 2% topical minoxidil and placebo in the treatment of androgenetic alopecia in men - Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 9/02 - "In men with AGA, 5% topical minoxidil was clearly superior to 2% topical minoxidil and placebo in increasing hair regrowth, and the magnitude of its effect was marked (45% more hair regrowth than 2% topical minoxidil at week 48)." - See 5% minoxidil at drugstore.com

Nutritional factors and hair loss - Clinical & Experimental Dermatology, 7/02 - "serum ferritin concentrations were a factor in female hair loss ... The role of the essential amino acid, l-lysine in hair loss also appears to be important. Double-blind data confirmed the findings of an open study in women with increased hair shedding, where a significant proportion responded to l-lysine and iron therapy" - See iHerb (5% discount code "qc") and Vitacost l-lysine products.

From today's (10/9/02) Medscape Newsletter:

MEDLINE Abstracts: Antioxidants and the Aging Brain - Medscape, 9/27/02 - "Combinations of antioxidants might be of even greater potential benefit for AD, especially if the agents worked in different cellular compartments or had complementary activity (e.g. vitamins E, C and ubiquinone). Naturally-occurring compounds with antioxidant capacity are available and widely marketed (e.g. vitamin C, ubiquinone, lipoic acid, beta-carotene, creatine, melatonin, curcumin) and synthetic compounds are under development by industry" - Again, a broad spectrum of anti-oxidants, not just one or two.

I stumbled on this while updating/checking links on my flax page:

Letter - Mercury and Fish Oil Supplements - Medscape, 4/13/01 - "The following oils were tested: Twinlab Emulsified Super Max EPA ... Twinlab EPA New & Improved ... Twinlab Omege-3 Concentrate ... In conclusion, it appears that the independent testing and/or the quality control measures claimed by these companies are being done as far as potential mercury contamination is concerned. At the least, the amount of mercury in the fish used is so minimal as to be below the detectable limit by the method used.  In any event, the common brands tested appear to offer no mercury risk. While this is positive health news, it cannot be assumed that every brand is free of mercury"

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