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Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 12/25/02:

The Life Extension Foundation is having their annual sale.  I believe it's 10% off everything.

Ispaghula Husk [psyllium] Nearly As Effective As Simvastatin For Hyperlipidemia - Doctor's Guide, 12/24/02 - "One group received 3.5 grams of ispaghula husk twice a day and the second group received 20 milligrams of simvastatin each day ... total cholesterol decreased by 15.8 percent and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol decreased by 22.97 percent among patients taking ispaghula husk ... Triglycerides decreased by 20.89 percent and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol increased by 10.69 percent in these patients ... Among patients taking simvastatin, total cholesterol decreased by 24.15 percent, LDL cholesterol decreased by 36.08 percent, triglycerides decreased by 20.47 percent and HDL cholesterol increased by 11.4 percent" - See Drugstore.com psyllium products.  3.5 grams is about one wafer (3.4 grams psyllium/wafer).  Plus 24 wafers runs about $4.49 versus about $116 for 30 of the 20 mg simvastatin.

Study in 43,000 men touts benefits of even a little fish - USA Today, 12/24/02 - "Men who ate about 3 to 5 ounces of fish one to three times a month were 43% less likely to have a stroke during 12 years of follow-up ... Omega-3 fatty acids, found in most fish, have been shown to lower levels of blood fats linked to cardiovascular disease and to help keep blood from clotting"

Evidence-based Products - Functional Foods & Nutraceuticals, 12/02 - "3g EPA/d and 3g DHA/d (ROPUFA) increased systemic arterial compliance in 38 dyslipidemic men and women, resulting in reduced pulse pressure and total vascular resistance ... Results showed that ROPUFA increased SAC—36 per cent with EPA and 27 per cent with DHA—compared with placebo" - See Twinlab Mega Twin EPA and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb (5% discount code "qc").  Why is pulse pressure important?:

• Pulse Pressure a Better Predictor of Mortality than Mean Blood Pressure - Doctor's Guide, 1/28/02

Postmenopausal Women May Need Supplements To Suppress Parathyroid Hormone Levels - Doctor's Guide, 12/20/02 - "These findings may call for widespread supplementation with calcium and vitamin D may be required in postmenopausal women"

Antioxidant Vitamins Improve Surgical Outcomes - Medscape, 12/20/02 - "Compared with patients receiving standard care, those who received antioxidant supplementation with alpha-tocopherol and ascorbate had a shorter duration of mechanical ventilation and length of ICU stay, and lower relative risk (RR) of pulmonary morbidity (RR, 0.81; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.60 - 1.1) and of multiple organ failure (RR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.19 - 0.96)"

Statin-Niacin Combination Counters Dyslipidaemic Cardiovascular Risk - Doctor's Guide, 12/20/02 - "Combined statin-niacin is a safe, tolerated therapy that lowers low density lipoprotein cholesterol and raises high density lipoprotein cholesterol ... At niacin doses of at least 1000 (mean 1480) mg/day added to a constant statin regimen in 29 patients, high density lipoprotein cholesterol rose significantly (by 20 percent)" - I tried niacin and Niaspan and couldn't tolerate the flush.  I don't know why inositol hexanicotinate (no-flush niacin) isn't more popular.  Maybe it's like the gamma form of vitamin E and doctor's haven't got the word yet.  It also seems like too many are ignoring low HDL.  See:

• Erectile Dysfunction / Impotence - Prostate Health Guide - U. of Maryland Medicine - "Direct risk factors for erectile dysfunction may include the following: ... low levels of HDL (high-density lipoprotein)"
• Among Treated Hypertensive Patients, Low HDL Predicts Ventricular Remodeling - Doctor's Guide, 9/26/02 - "The findings suggest that low HDL-C may play an adverse role not only in coronary heart disease but also in hypertensive heart disease"
• Arterial Walls Thicker In Patients With Low Levels of High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol - Doctor's Guide, 2/20/02 - "A low plasma concentration of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol is associated with significant pre-intrusive atherosclerosis"
• More Good News About the 'Good' Cholesterol, High Levels of HDL Cholesterol Protect Against Stroke, Too - WebMD, 6/6/01 - "High levels of that "good" HDL cholesterol have been known to protect against heart disease. Now a new study shows that high HDL levels also protect people from suffering a stroke"
• High Levels of HDL Cholesterol Can Save Your Life - ABC News, 11/3/00 - "Many of the dead men with the largest blockages had a common risk factor that proved to be statistically more dangerous even than smoking: The men had low levels of high-density-lipoprotein, or HDL, cholesterol. This is the beneficial type of cholesterol that removes harmful low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) particles from your cardiac arteries before they can choke off the bloodflow."

Bad Breath, Healthy Prostate - New Hope Natural Media, 12/20/02 - "Men who consumed more than 10 grams per day of Allium vegetables had almost a 50% reduction in risk of developing prostate cancer, compared with those who consumed less than 2.2 grams per day. Garlic was the most commonly consumed Allium vegetable, followed by scallions and chives"

Taurine Helps Correct Iron-Deficiency Anemia - New Hope Natural Media, 12/19/02 - "Half of the women were also given taurine (1,000 mg per day), while the others received a placebo ... the group receiving taurine had a significantly greater increase in blood count than did the placebo group. The advantage of taurine over placebo was equivalent to the production of more than three-quarters of a pint of additional blood" - See iHerb (5% discount code "qc") taurine products.

L-Carnitine Effective for Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder - New Hope Natural Media, 12/19/02 - "According to the parents’ ratings, 54% of the children showed significant improvement in their behavior while taking L-carnitine, whereas only 13% improved during the placebo period. The teachers’ ratings showed a similar, though slightly less pronounced, advantage of L-carnitine over placebo" - See iHerb (5% discount code "qc") and Vitacost l-carnitine products.  Also see acetyl-l-carnitine.

Canadian Folic Acid Supplementation Cuts in Half the Rate of Neural Tube Defects - Doctor's Guide, 12/19/02 - "A Canadian public-health initiative to enrich cereal grain foods with folic acid has halved the prevalence of neural-tube defects among both unborn and newborn children"

BP Lowering May Halt Descent Into Dementia - Clinical Psychiatry News, 12/02 - "Dr. Hansson served as cochair of SCOPE, a 15-nation study in which 4,937 mildly hypertensive patients aged 70-89 were randomized to the angiotensin-receptor blocker candesartan or diuretic-based therapy. Serial Mini-Mental Status Exams (MMSEs) conducted during more than 18,000 patient-years of follow-up demonstrated that among individuals with a baseline MMSE of 24-28—indicative of normal to slightly impaired cognitive function—those in the candesartan arm had a mean 0.5-point decline in MMSE scores during follow-up, compared with a 6-point drop in those on a diuretic. The cognitive benefit was even more pronounced in patients over age 85"

Testosterone for 6 Weeks Helps Some Women With Sexual Dysfunction - Clinical Psychiatry News, 12/02 - "Women with sexual dysfunction whose free testosterone levels are in the bottom third of the normal range or below normal should be considered for a 6-week trial of androgen replacement therapy ... A total of 25 patients in the series had a good response, 8 had no response, 8 refused the therapy, and 9 were lost to follow-up"

Ginkgo for Alzheimer's Disease - Clinical Psychiatry News, 12/02 - "A 4-point gain on the ADAS-Cog is roughly equivalent to a 6-month delay in disease progression. “It is noteworthy that 29% of the patients with Alzheimer's disease treated with EGb for at least 26 weeks improved by 4 or more points, compared with 13% treated with the placebo,” ... In a German multicenter study, 156 patients with Alzheimer's or multi-infarct dementia were randomized to 240 mg/day of EGb 761 or placebo; efficacy was assessed by three validated scales. By the end of the 24-week study, 28% of patients in the ginkgo group were classified as responders, compared with 10% in the placebo group, a significant difference" - I've got that, see iHerb (5% discount code "qc") and Vitacost ginkgo products.  There are many different extracts of ginkgo.  Note that they specify the EGb 761 extract.

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