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Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 4/2/03:

Fruit Consumption Boosts Parkinson's Risk - HealthScout News, 4/2/03 - "Consuming lots of fruits and fruit juices appears to increase the risk of Parkinson's disease ... The culprit may be pesticides, plant-borne toxins or herbicides, not the fruit itself"

Statins Appear To Have Favourable Impact On Psychological Conditions - Doctor's Guide, 4/2/03 - "the longer people are on the statins the more their symptoms of depression, anxiety and hostility decrease ... When people stop taking statins or can not tolerate the medicine, their depression, anxiety and hostility returns to pre-statin levels" - Note: Red yeast rice is a non-prescription statin but you should still check with your physician.  See VitaminShoppe or Vitacost red yeast rice products.

Cholesterol Drugs Help Those with Normal Cholesterol - HealthScout News, 4/2/03 - "even if your cholesterol is normal or near normal, reducing it further may be an added benefit ... Those in the atorvastatin group were 36 percent less likely to suffer heart attacks and 27 percent less likely to have a stroke than people in the placebo group. As a result, the trial, initially scheduled to last five years, was halted at 3.3 years"

Study: Tamoxifen Could Benefit 2 Million Women - Intelihealth, 4/2/03 - "Tamoxifen is a breast cancer treatment that also can cut by almost half a still-healthy woman's risk of developing the disease. Deciding to use it preventively is a tough choice, however, because tamoxifen can cause uterine cancer and potentially fatal blood clots" - #1 drugstore (no affiliation) usually has good prices on drugs that have gone generic.  Check with your doctor first.

Consumer Group Warns Against Osteoporosis Drug [Forteo (teriparatide)] - Yahoo, 4/2/03 - "The warnings and restrictions the government has put in place are significant, but the safety hazards are so serious, we do not believe any patients should be taking the risk of ingesting the drug"

I threw this in because topiramate (an anti-epileptic) does a lot of things but on the down side, it has shown cognitive decline.  However, maybe that has to do with the weight loss.  I know I'm not thinking as clearly when I cut calories.

Topiramate Shows Promise in Patients with Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome - Doctor's Guide, 4/2/03 - "Diabetic control (hemoglobin A1C levels) improved significantly during topiramate treatment, and the effect was dose-related ... Reductions in hemoglobin A1C did not seem to correlate with topiramate-induced weight loss ... The study also found that most patients lost weight during topiramate treatment. Eighteen to 40% of patients showed clinically significant weight loss, losing at least 5% of their baseline weight" - Related articles:

• Topiramate Shows Efficacy in Social Anxiety Disorder - Doctor's Guide, 4/1/03
• Possible Cure for Head Pain May Help With Weight Loss - ABC News, 10/8/02
• Topiramate shows promise as weight-loss drug - Doctor's Guide, 9/2/02
• Where Is Memory? - Medscape, 2/27/02 - "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."
• Adjunctive Topiramate Aids Bipolar Depression - Clinical Psychiatry News, 11/01

Pumpernickel Promotes Pump Health in Elderly - HealthScout News, 4/1/03 - "Those who consumed the highest amounts of this type of dietary fiber had a 21 percent lower risk than those who consumed the least amount ... The trend was especially so among people who ate dark breads such as wheat, rye, or pumpernickel: They had a 24 percent lower risk of CVD ... It certainly gives some support for complex carbohydrates" - Related articles:

• Whole-grain rye and wheat foods and markers of bowel health in overweight middle-aged men - Am. J. of Clin. Nutr., 4/03 - "High-fiber wheat foods provided 18 g DF, and high-fiber rye foods provided 18 g DF, both giving a total of 32 g DF/d ... Postprandial plasma insulin was decreased by 46–49% (P = 0.0001) and postprandial plasma glucose by 16–19%"
• Whole-Grain Cereal Lengthens Lives - thesandiegochannel.com, 3/28/03 - "men who ate one serving of whole-grain, high-fiber cereal every day were nearly 30 percent less likely to die from heart disease or other diet-related diseases ... the more whole-grain cereal the men ate, the lower their risk of death from heart disease ... Whole-grain cereals contain the kind of fiber that helps lower cholesterol and blood pressure and improves how the body processes insulin and glucose. Whole grains also have more vitamins, minerals and antioxidants than refined cereal ... To make sure a cereal contains whole grains, check the ingredient list. Whole grain or bran should be listed as the first ingredient ... To be a whole-grain cereal, it must contain at least 2 grams of fiber per serving, preferably more"
• Breakfast Reduces Diabetes, Heart Disease - WebMD, 3/6/03 - "eating whole-grain cereal each day was associated with a 15% reduction in risk for the insulin resistance syndrome"

NSAIDS May Help in Alzheimer's Prevention - WebMD, 4/1/03 - "For those using aspirin, the reduction in risk was 13%, a finding that was not considered significant ... Those on an NSAID for one to 23 months had a risk reduction of 17%, and those termed long-term users, beyond 23 months, reduced the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease by 73%" - See drugstore.com NSAID and aspirin products.

Metabolic Syndrome Strongly Linked to MI and Stroke - Medscape, 4/1/03 - "Patients with the constellation of five factors that constitute the metabolic syndrome — insulin resistance, hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, abdominal obesity, and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels — have more than double the risk of myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke"

Low Mercury Levels Found in Most Women and Children - HealthScout News, 4/1/03 - "about 8 percent of women have blood levels of mercury higher than the acceptable limit set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ... Mercury levels were almost four times as high in women who ate three or more servings of fish a week, compared to those who reported eating no fish"

Sleep Problems Don't Discriminate by Age - WebMD, 3/31/03 - "Sleep disorders were reported by: ... 82% of those with depression"

Vitamin C Helps Stem Cells Become Heart Cells - HealthScout News, 3/31/03 - "Researchers at Harvard Medical School exposed mouse embryonic stem cells to 880 bioactive substances, says a report in the online version of Circulation, and the only one that made the cells light up to indicate the transformation was vitamin C"

Eating Fish Lowers Heart Disease Risk in Women With Diabetes - WebMD, 3/31/03 - "Women with type 2 diabetes who ate fish once a week were 40% less likely to develop heart disease than those who rarely ate it, and eating fish almost every day was associated with a two-thirds reduction in risk ... It is believed that omega-3 fatty acids abundant in the fat of many fish reduces the risk of heart disease by lowering triglyceride levels, improving blood vessel function, and reducing blood-clot formation"

Saturated Fat Diet Piles on Pounds Around Organs - Yahoo, 3/31/03 - "The bigger the waistline in relationship to hip size -- those with potbellies, in other words -- were more likely to have high amounts of visceral fat padding organs ... And a diet higher in saturated fats with respect to unsaturated fats was associated with more visceral fat" - [WebMD]

Good nutrition in a changing world - MSNBC, 3/28/03 - "According to the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), a mostly plant-based diet is one of the priorities for preventive nutrition, which means vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans should account for at least two-thirds of what we eat ... Diets low in fruits and vegetables lack the natural phytochemicals that are now recognized as vital to good health"

Obesity Increases Damaging 'Free Radical' Particles - Yahoo, 3/28/03 - "People who are obese seem to have higher-than-normal levels of oxidative stress, an accumulation of the cell-damaging substances called "free radicals," ... a new method allows researchers to measure levels of an oxidative stress-related chemical in the body called 8-epi-PGF (2-alpha) ... The new method now makes it possible to assess the relationship between oxidative stress and a number of conditions, including hardening of the arteries, high blood pressure and diabetes ... smoking and diabetes were related to higher levels of oxidative stress. But "the big finding that nobody predicted is that body mass index (a measurement which indicates obesity) is a marker for oxidative stress,""

Vitamin K Builds Strong Bones - New Hope Natural Media, 3/28/03 - "Without adequate vitamin K, osteocalcin cannot be produced, and bone formation becomes impaired ... when women with osteoporosis take supplemental vitamin K, the urinary excretion of calcium falls by about 50%, suggesting that less calcium is being leached from the bones ... Some research, however, suggests that the optimal level of intake may be higher, as much as 400 mcg per day. A typical western diet contains 80 to 150 mcg per day" - See iHerb (5% discount code "qc") vitamin K products.

• Vitamin K and niacin good for complexion, experts say - HealthScout News, 3/26/03 - "Vitamin K was found to be successful in treating dark circles under the eyes. It's also been found effective for treating bruising on the face following dermatologic procedures such as laser treatment for spider veins ... Niacin shows promise as an over-the-counter ingredient in anti-aging products"
• Vitamin K Therapy Slows Spread of Liver Cancer - Doctor's Guide, 5/29/02 - "Results show that 59 percent of patients treated with vitamin K-II were alive at two years compared to 29 percent of those who were not given vitamin K-II (p=0.14). Invasion of the cancer into the portal vein occurred in 2 percent of the vitamin K-II treated group at one year and in 13 percent at two years, compared to 21 and 55 percent of controls, respectively"

Tips for Budding Vegetarians - HealthScout News, 3/27/03 - "Include enough protein: Good sources include lentils, beans, soy, nuts, nut butters, whole-grain breads and cereals. It was once believed that vegetarians had to eat certain foods in combination to get enough protein. But research has shown that's not the case" - Having read Diet for a Small Planet back in the 70's, that last part is a change.  I don't know who is right.

When You Don't Snooze, You Lose - HealthScout News, 3/27/03 - "people who sleep for six hours or less a night for two weeks respond as poorly on standard cognitive tests as do people who don't sleep at all for three days. But they think they're doing fine" - Might not have much to do with longevity unless you are driving. - Ben

FDA Allows Health Claim - Vitacost News, 3/27/03 - "On February 24, 2003, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed two health claims for a nutrient called phosphatidylserine (PS). The first claim is that PS may reduce the risk of cognitive dysfunction in the elderly with a second claim being that PS may reduce the risk of dementia in the elderly" - See iHerb (5% discount code "qc") or Vitacost PS products.

Cognitive decline and fatty acid composition of erythrocyte membranes - Am. J. of Clin. Nutr., 4/03 - "studied the relation between erythrocyte membrane fatty acid composition and cognitive decline in free-living volunteers ... Higher proportions of both stearic acid (saturated, 18:0) and total n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids were associated with greater risk of cognitive decline ... Conversely, a higher proportion of total n-3 fatty acids was associated with a lower risk of cognitive decline"

Lack of significant genotoxicity of purified soy isoflavones (genistein, daidzein, and glycitein) in 20 patients with prostate cancer - Am. J. of Clin. Nutr., 4/03 - "Although isoflavones are capable of inducing genetic damage in vitro, a similar effect was not observed in subjects treated with a purified soy unconjugated isoflavone mixture"

High-dose antioxidant supplements and cognitive function in community-dwelling elderly women - Am. J. of Clin. Nutr., 4/03 - "Long-term, current users of vitamin E with vitamin C had significantly better mean performance, as judged by a global score that combined individual test scores, than did women who had never used vitamin E or C (P = 0.03); there was a trend for increasingly higher mean scores with increasing durations of use (P = 0.04). These associations were strongest among women with low dietary intakes of alpha-tocopherol. Benefits were less consistent for women taking vitamin E alone, with no evidence of higher scores with longer durations of use. Use of specific vitamin C supplements alone had little relation to performance on our cognitive tests"

Growth Hormone Replacement Therapy May Benefit Diabetics - Medscape, 3/25/03 - "Number of severe hypoglycemic (< 3 mmol/L) attacks decreased significantly (p < 0.04) and quality of life assessed by validated questionnaires improved significantly in all patient ... These findings suggest that, at least in the short-term, GH replacement therapy can benefit type 1 diabetics with GH deficiency and that long-term studies are warranted to determine the safety of this treatment"

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