Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 5/18/05.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Bedtime Dosing of Atorvastatin and Valsartan Together Improves Overall Anti-Hypertensive Effects - Doctor's Guide, 5/17/05 - "When valsartan was dosed by itself during the day, patients averaged a 9 mmHg fall in systolic blood pressure; daytime dosing of both valsartan and atorvastatin resulted in a 17 mmHg reduction in the 24-hour mean of systolic and diastolic BP"

Mechanism for green tea's anti-cancer action revealed - Nutra USA, 5/17/05 - "It turns out that those researchers are trying to duplicate what green tea does naturally"

Definition of Hypertension Could Change Again - WebMD, 5/16/05 - "The new definition released this weekend changes this; it classifies "normal individuals" as having normal blood pressure, loosely defined as a systolic pressure of 115 and a diastolic pressure of 75 PLUS no signs of heart disease or stroke, few if any risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and no apparent damage from high blood pressure to the kidneys or other organs"

Testosterone May Actually Help Men's Hearts - WebMD, 5/16/05 - "The thickness of the wall of this artery is a predictor of a higher risk of heart disease. The study showed that the wall thickness increased as testosterone levels dropped"

Blood Pressure Linked to Erectile Dysfunction - WebMD, 5/16/05 - "if a man's blood pressure is anything but normal, he may have a higher risk of erectile dysfunction ... Thirty-five percent had some degree of erectile dysfunction, compared with 14% of men without high blood pressure ... In men with high blood pressure, 20% of those taking no medication had erectile dysfunction, while 36% on one medication and 47% on more than one reported erectile dysfunction ... Men on older high blood pressure medications (diuretics, beta-blockers) had higher rates and more severe erectile dysfunction than men on newer medications (calcium antagonists, ACE inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers)"

Aspirin, COX-2 Inhibitors Effective as Adjuvant Therapy in Stage III Colon - Medscape, 5/16/05 [WebMD] - "The chemotherapy provides about 35% improvement in survival compared with surgery alone for that stage of colon cancer, Dr. Fuchs said in an interview. In comparison, aspirin or the two cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) inhibitors produced a reduction in risk of recurrence and death that was about 50% beyond what was achieved by chemotherapy after surgery"

Does Replacing DHEA Improve Insulin Sensitivity? - Physician's Weekly, 5/16/05 - "DHEA replacement “significantly increased [sulfated ester of DHEA], bioavailable testosterone, and androstenedione and reduced sex hormone–binding globulin levels.” The DHEA group also had lower fasting plasma insulin and glucagon levels. “DHEA also [significantly] reduced total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol,”" - See iHerb DHEA products (15% discount code "qc" plus free shipping on orders over $20)

Low-Fat Diet May Cut Return of Breast Cancer - WebMD, 5/16/05 - "At five years, less than 10% of those on the low-fat diet had their cancer recur. Twelve percent of the women who continued on their usual diet had cancer recurrence during this time. This translates to about a 24% reduction in risk"

Developing PD: Milk Does a Body Bad? - Physician's Weekly, 5/16/05 - "men who consumed the most milk (more than 16 oz/day) were more than twice as likely to develop PD than were those who consumed no milk"

Blood Test May Show Heart Attack Risk - WebMD, 5/16/05 - "White blood cells are infection-fighting cells that may increase in response to infection or inflammation. Studies suggest that hardening of the arteries caused by cholesterol plaque -- atherosclerosis -- is linked to inflammation. Therefore, researchers suggest that measuring white blood cells may help reveal heart disease risk" - Related article:

• WBC Counts Predict Future CVD Events - Physician's Weekly, 4/25/05 - "Patients with WBC counts greater than 6.7 x 109 cells/L were found to be at high risk, even when clinicians had not identified traditional CVD risk factors"

Statin Drugs Linked to Reduced Cancer Risk - WebMD, 5/16/05 - "During a six-year period, women who used statins reduced their risk of breast cancer by more than half (51%) compared with nonusers ... Statin users were 48% less likely to develop lung cancer than nonusers ... statin use reduces the rate of prostate cancer by 54%" - See Zocor at International Anti-aging Systems or SuperSaverMeds.com.

Regular Alcohol Intake Ups Breast Cancer Risk - WebMD, 5/16/05 - "Women who drank a glass or two a day faced a 21% increased risk of breast cancer ... Those who drank more than two drinks a day were 37% more likely to develop breast cancer ... the risk was much greater in menopausal women"

Lifestyle Changes Can Curtail Cancer's Return - HealthDay, 5/16/05 - "Women in the breast cancer study who followed a low-fat diet experienced a 24 percent improvement in relapse-free survival ... stage III colon cancer patients who used aspirin regularly after their surgery reduced their risk of a recurrence and death by about 50 percent compared with nonusers"

Can Rice Bran Oil Melt Away Cholesterol? - Science Daily, 5/12/05 - "Vitamin E ... consists of both tocopherols and tocotrienols ... the tocotrienols (TRF) seem to have greater antioxidant properties ... taking any form of Vitamin E for a long time can be harmful ... The most effective dose in rats was 8 IU kg/day. Extrapolated to humans, a person with an average body weight of 154 pounds would get around 560 IU" - See Life Extension Gamma E Tocopherol with Sesame Lignans, NOW Gamma E Complex at iHerb (15% discount code "qc"), Jarrow Gamma E 300 at iHerb (15% discount code "qc") or Source Naturals Gamma E-400 at iHerb (15% discount code "qc").  Related articles:

• Effect of oral supplementation with D-alpha-tocopherol on the vitamin E content of human low density lipoproteins and resistance to oxidation - Medline, 8/91 - "gamma-Tocopherol significantly decreased in plasma and LDL during vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) supplementation"
• Supplementation of Diets with alpha-Tocopherol Reduces Serum Concentrations of gamma- and delta-Tocopherol in Humans - J Nutr. 2003 Oct;133(10):3137-40 - "Compared with placebo, supplementation with alpha-tocopherol reduced serum gamma-tocopherol concentrations by a median change of 58%"
• NOW Foods Introduces Advanced Gamma E Complex - NPI Center, 5/22/03 - "Gamma and alpha tocopherols must both be present in the correct ratios to provide Vitamin E’s broad range of benefits" - NOW Gamma E Complex at iHerb (15% discount code "qc" plus free shipping on orders over $20)
• Technical Communication from CAROTECH INC, Edison, NJ (In Response to the latest Scientific Review on Vitamin E, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine) - NPI Center, 8/1/04 - "There are 8 forms of vitamin E in nature - 4 forms of tocopherols and 4 forms of tocotrienols (alpha-, beta-, gamma- and delta-tocopherol and corresponding tocotrienols). The idea that one single form of vitamin E – alpha-tocopherol out of eight fractions is the “magic” vitamin E and assuming that the other forms are worthless denies the very fact that nature put these seven other tocopherols and tocotrienols out there for a reason"

Tocotrienol-Rich Rice Bran Oil A New Natural Cholesterol-Fighter - mercola.com, 5/12/05 - "This good news certainly supports other studies that have shown the antioxidant effects of tocotrienols to be 40 to 60 times more effective than alpha tocopherol"

Statin Use Again Linked to Decreased Dementia Risk - Medscape, 5/12/05 - "Subjects treated with lipid-lowering agents were 39% less likely to have dementia than nonusers. However, only users who achieved normal lipid levels had a decreased dementia risk"

Why Embryos Need A Good Diet - Science Daily, 5/12/05 - "People's protein intake has decreased since humans evolved, meaning that carbohydrate and fat intake must have increased to compensate. The resulting deficit of important amino acids as well as more starch and fat could lead to poorer health in offspring who develop under those conditions"

Type 2 Diabetes May Begin With Grandma's Diet - Science Daily, 5/12/05 - "the insulin resistance typical of type 2 diabetes can be "programmed" across two generations by poor nutrition during a grandmother's pregnancy and lactation"

Wider Use of Statins May Make Economic Sense - HealthDay, 5/12/05 - "They found a relative reduction of 22 percent in hospitalization costs for the group that took statins"

Vitamin D gaining importance - Medline Plus, 5/12/05 - "Vitamin D has so many healthy effects, U.S. researchers said people may not be getting enough to receive the full benefit"

Cardiovascular Risk Factors Could Indicate Kidney Problems - Doctor's Guide, 5/12/05 - "While generalized atherosclerosis (hardening of arteries and blood vessels) has been increasingly recognized as a cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), a recent study of over 8,500 patients discovered that this same disease also affects renal function in those who do not suffer from ESRD"

Trans Fats May Raise Risk of Gallstones - WebMD, 5/11/05 - "those who consumed the most trans fats had a 23% higher risk of gallstone disease than those who ate the least amount of trans fats"

WARNING! Normal Blood Pressure May Be High Blood Pressure! - Life Extension Magazine, 5/05 - "To Solve Hypertension, Address Metabolic Syndrome"

Abstracts from this week's Doctor's Guide Nutrition/Dietetics:

Fracture prevention with vitamin D supplementation: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials - JAMA. 2005 May 11;293(18):2257-64 - "Oral vitamin D supplementation between 700 to 800 IU/d appears to reduce the risk of hip and any nonvertebral fractures in ambulatory or institutionalized elderly persons. An oral vitamin D dose of 400 IU/d is not sufficient for fracture prevention" - Related article:

• Fight Osteoporosis: Bone Up On B12 - Science Daily, 4/23/05 - "This study suggests adequate vitamin B12 intake is important for maintaining bone mineral density"

Homocysteine and vitamin b(12) status relate to bone turnover markers, broadband ultrasound attenuation, and fractures in healthy elderly people - J Bone Miner Res. 2005 Jun;20(6):921-9 - "High Hcy and low vitamin B(12) concentrations were significantly associated with low BUA, high markers of bone turnover, and increased fracture risk"

Metformin and weight loss in obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS): comparison of doses - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005 May 10 - "the Ob sub-group showed a dose relationship (1.5 Kg [3.3 lbs] and 3.6 Kg [7.9 lbs] in 1500 mg and 2550 mg groups respectively ... Suppression of androstenedione was significant with both metformin doses" - See Metformin at IAS.

Osteoporosis: the role of micronutrients - Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 May;81(5):1232S-9S - "Calcium has been shown to have beneficial effects on bone mass at all ages, although the results are not always consistent. Higher doses than the current US recommendation (600 IU) of vitamin D in the elderly (age >/= 65 y) may actually be required for optimal bone health (800-1000 IU/d) ... The other micronutrient needs for optimizing bone health can be easily met by a healthy diet that is high in fruits and vegetables to ensure adequate intakes for magnesium, potassium, vitamin C, vitamin K, and other potentially important nutrients"

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