Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 6/1/05.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Key Factors Raise Clogged Artery Risk - HealthDay, 5/31/05 - "People with metabolic syndrome -- a constellation of risk factors for heart disease -- and moderate levels of calcium in their coronary arteries are at increased risk of developing blockages in those arteries ... Metabolic syndrome is defined as having at least three of the following disorders at the same time: abdominal obesity, high blood sugar, abnormal cholesterol levels and high blood pressure. About 40 percent of adults in the United States have metabolic syndrome"

Chronic Diseases Pushing Doctor Visits Beyond Limits - HealthDay, 3/31/05 - "Using established guidelines for number of visits each year, the authors calculated that a physician would have to spend 3.5 hours a day to provide quality care, as long as the diseases were under control. If the diseases were not well-managed, the doctor needed to spend 10.6 hours"

Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs Still Underused - WebMD, 5/31/05 - "Only half of the people at moderate or high risk for heart disease are getting the recommended cholesterol-lowering drugs that can reduce their risk of a heart attack or death"

Fish Oil Holds Promise In Alzheimer's Fight - Science Daily, 5/29/05 - "one group of the mice DHA-fortified chow ... After three to five months--the equivalent of several years in human biology--the high-DHA group had 70-percent less buildup of amyloid protein in the brain" - See iHerb docosahexaenoic products (15% discount code "qc" plus free shipping on orders over $20)

Mirtazapine Betters Major SSRIs for Treatment of Depression - Doctor's Guide, 5/27/05 - "A meta-analysis of clinical trials involving more than 2,500 subjects suggests that treatment of depression with mirtazapine (Remeron) results in a more rapid onset of clinical improvement compared to treatment with fluoxetine, paroxetine, and sertraline (all SSRIs)" - See Remeron (mirtazapine) at OffshoreRx1.com.

Cardiovascular Effects of Coffee: Is It a Risk Factor? - Medscape, 5/27/05 - "recent evidence suggests that moderate coffee intake does not represent a health hazard and may even be associated with beneficial effects"

The Metabolic Syndrome: a Cause of Sexual Dysfunction in Women - Medscape, 5/27/05 - "women with the metabolic syndrome reported significantly lower arousal, orgasm, and lubrication scores"

Physicians Often Overlook Vitamin D Status in Postmenopausal Women - Doctor's Guide, 5/26/05 - "More than half of postmenopausal women are not getting enough vitamin D"

Fish Oil Fights Smog's Effect on Heart - HealthDay, 5/26/05 - "those on fish oil had a complete abolishment of the effect of the [smog] particles on the heart"

Fixed-Dose Valsartan Gets Patients to Goal After Other Angiotensin Receptor Blocker Fixed-Dose Failures - Doctor's Guide, 5/25 - "Valsartan was deemed statistically better than either of the two initial drugs" - Did I miss something on this?  It doesn't appear to be comparing apples to apples.  With Valsartan, they used 25 mg of the diuretic whereas with candesartan and telmisartan they only used 12.5 mg.  See the top of my hypertension page for select articles to help in selecting a blood pressure medication.  From what I've read, valsartan still looks the best on paper.  Also:

• Valsartan Appears More Effective Than Telmisartan in Patients With Essential Hypertension - Doctor's Guide, 6/25/04 - "At the end of the study, the 24-hour mean BP was statistically lower in the valsartan-treated group compared to telmisartan-treated group"
• 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"
• Valsartan Reduces Chance of Diabetes in High-Risk Hypertensive Patients - Doctor's Guide, 5/19/05 - "patients taking valsartan had a 23% lower risk of developing diabetes during the four or more years of the study. The two drugs had previously been shown to be roughly equivalent in reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke"
• Significant Reduction in Left Ventricular Mass Index, Reactive Oxygen Species Formation and C-Reactive Protein With Valsartan Treatment - Doctor's Guide, 6/18/04 - "Despite very similar effects on BP, there was a significantly higher reduction in LVMI with valsartan compared with amlodipine ... In the valsartan group, CRP levels were significantly reduced"
• See Diovan (valsartan) and Vasotec (enalapril) at OffshoreRx1.com.  If you just want Diovan, International Anti-aging Systems has the best price I've seen.

Modern diet may be causing depression - Nutra USA, 5/26/05 - "The finding lends itself nicely to the theory that increased omega-3 fatty acid intake may shift the balance between the two fatty acid families in the brain, since it has been demonstrated in animal studies that increased omega-3 fatty acid intake may result in decreased brain arachidonic acid" - Related article:

• Omega 3: Implications in Human Health and Disease -PowerPak.com -"The omega 6 LA comprises 7% to 9% of our daily caloric intake, while the omega 3 LNA makes up about 0.7% of energy. It is therefore estimated that the dietary ratio of LA to LNA ranges from 10 to 20:1, at which level the metabolism of LNA is strongly suppressed. Again, this is far more than the recommended ratio of 2.3:1 ... From an evolutionary perspective, a significant change in the diet has occurred in a very short time. The diet of our ancestors in the Paleolithic period (400,000 to 45,000 years ago) was lower in fat and balanced in omega 6 and omega 3—a ratio of 1:1, or 10- to 20-fold lower than today's standard."

Cholesterol Drugs May Prevent Colon Cancer - WebMD, 5/25/05 [Abstract] - "people who took cholesterol-lowering statin drugs for five years cut their colon cancer risk in half" - Related articles:

• 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%"
• Statin Use Associated with Lower Risk of Pancreatic and Esophageal Cancer - Doctor's Guide, 5/19/05 - "The odds ratio was 0.44 (95% confidence interval 0.36 – 0.53) for esophageal cancer and 0.41 (95% confidence interval 0.31 – 0.51) for pancreatic cancer. This translates into a reduction in cancer risk of 56% and 59%, respectively"
• See Lipitor (atorvastatin) or Zocor (simvastatin) at International Anti-aging Systems or OffshoreRx1.com.

Extra Weight May Age You Faster - WebMD, 5/25/05 - "inflammation burns out white blood cells faster, and the effort of replacing them wears down the telomeres ... Insulin resistance and obesity are also associated with free radical damage"

'Bad metabolism' blamed for clogged arteries - MSNBC, 5/25/05 - "Our study suggests 'bad' metabolism does lead to inflammation in blood vessel walls and can contribute to heart attacks and strokes ... The scientists believe a deficiency in essential fatty acids that are required in the human diet may contribute to changes in metabolism in the wall of blood vessels"

One 'Good Fat' May Also Have A Downside - CBS 2 Chicago, 5/25/05 - "It's an omega-6 fatty acid called arachidonic acid found in most oils and meat. When levels of it are high in the brains of rats, they showed signs of depression ... the ill effects may be diluted by adding more omega-3 fatty acids"

Breast Cancer Easier To Miss In Women On HRT - CBS 2 Chicago, 5/25/05 - "found an increased chance that cancer may be missed among women on HRT. That may be because some of their breast tissue is more dense, making the cancer more difficult to find"

Men With Diabetes, Hypertension, or Hyperlipidemia More Likely to Be Hypogonadal - Doctor's Guide, 5/25/05 - "In men with a history of diabetes, 50% were hypogonadal. In men with a history of hypertension, 42% were hypogonadal, and in those with a history of hyperlipidaemia, 40% were hypogonadal"

New Lipid Management Guidelines for Women at High Risk of Heart Disease - Medscape, 5/24/05 - "They are as follows: (1) Initiate statin treatment for high-risk women regardless of their low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels; (2) Maintain an optimal level high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) higher than 50 mg/dL; and (3) Initiate niacin or fibrate therapy for low HDL-C or elevated non-HDL-C levels in high-risk women"

I noticed that one of my affiliates, OffshoreRx1.com, carries Arimidex and Femara.  I take a quarter tablet per day of the Femara.  They also have metformin for $0.15 per 500 mg tablet.  See:

• Letrozole normalizes serum testosterone in severely obese men with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism - Diabetes Obes Metab. 2005 May;7(3):211-5 - "Six weeks of treatment decreased serum estradiol from 120 +/- 20 to 70 +/- 9 pmol/l (p = 0.006). None of the subjects developed an estradiol level of less than 40 pmol/l. LH increased from 4.5 +/- 0.8 to 14.8 +/- 2.3 U/l (p < 0.001). Total testosterone rose from 7.5 +/- 1.0 to 23.8 +/- 3.0 nmol/l (p < 0.001) without a concomitant change in sex hormone-binding globulin level. Those treated with Letrozole 17.5 mg per week had an excessive LH response"
• Anastrozole (Arimidex) - anabolic-androgenic-steroids.com - "Anastrozole (Arimidex) is the aromatase inhibitor of choice" - see aromatization
• The Never Ending Cycle - t-mag.com
• Testosterone Deficiency & Depression, Does DHEA Raise the Levels of Bioavailable Testosterone in Men? - Life Extension Magazine, 8/02 - "Some men on testosterone drug replacement therapy develop dangerously high estrogen levels. Estrogen can be suppressed by taking an aromatase-inhibiting drug like Arimidex (0.5 mg twice a week) or using a supplement like Super Mira Forte (six capsules daily)"
• Male Hormone Modulation Therapy - Life Extension Magazine - "If all of the above fail to increase free testosterone and lower excess estradiol, then ask your doctor to prescribe the potent aromatase inhibiting drug Arimidex (anastrozole) in the very low dose of one-half (0.5 mg) mg, twice a week"
• Estrogen suppression in males: metabolic effects - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2001 Apr;86(4):1836-8 - "First, a dose-response study of 12 males (mean age, 16.1 +/- 0.3 yr) was conducted, and blood withdrawn at baseline and after 10 days of oral Arimidex given as two different doses (either 0.5 or 1 mg) in random order with a 14-day washout in between. A sensitive estradiol (E2) assay showed an approximately 50% decrease in E2 concentrations with either of the two doses ... There was a 58% increase in serum T"

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

Comparison of the effects of ramipril versus telmisartan in reducing serum levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and oxidized low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus - Am J Cardiol. 2005 Jun 1;95(11):1386-8 - "All regimens were associated with a significant reduction of C-reactive protein and oxidized low-density lipoprotein cholesterol serum levels"

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