Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 6/29/05.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Better Blood Pressure, Longer Life? - WebMD, 6/28/05 - "Men and women with normal blood pressure at age 50 lived five more years than those with higher blood pressure"

The Promise of Tetracycline Antibiotic, Doxycycline, for Treating Osteoarthritis - Doctor's Guide, 6/28/05 - "doxycycline may slow the progression of joint damage"

Effects of Valsartan Compared to Amlodipine in Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes in High-Risk Hypertensive Patients: Presented at EMH - Doctor's Guide, 6/24/05 - "Valsartan is significantly superior to amlodipine for prevention of new-onset type-2 diabetes in high-risk patients with hypertension" - Related articles:

• 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" - See valsartan at OffshoreRx1.com or SuperSaverMeds.com (see Diovan).
• Valsartan Significant Better Than Amlodipine for Improving Long-term Heart-rate Variability in Patients With LVH: Presented at EMH - Doctor's Guide, 6/20/05

Grapeseed extract may stop arteries from hardening - Nutra USA, 6/23/05 - "grapeseed extract stopped cholesterol from building up in the arteries of guinea pigs, which in turn leads to the thickening and hardening of the vessels and the resulting condition, atherosclerosis" - See iHerb PCO products.

Administration Time-Dependent Efficacy of Valsartan-Atorvastatin Combination in Hyperlipidaemic Patients With Essential Hypertension: Presented at EMH - Doctor's Guide, 6/22/05 - "160-mg/day dose of valsartan ... 10 mg/day of atorvastatin ... combination treatment significantly improved systolic/diastolic blood pressure levels (SBP/DBP) compared to monotherapy (17.1/10.7 vs. 13.9/9.6 mm Hg; P = .027). The same benefit was seen in terms of pulse pressure (6.4 vs. 4.3 mm Hg ... there were large significant increases in efficacy seen with the valsartan/atorvastatin combination dosed at night versus morning (SBP, 23.5 vs. 11.0 mm Hg; DBP, 15.9 vs. 6.8 mm Hg; pulse pressure, 7.8 vs. 4.1 mm Hg" - See valsartan and atorvastatin at OffshoreRx1.com.  Related article:

• 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"

Study Claims Caffeine Can Help Athletes - ABC News, 6/22/05 - "Caffeine can help athletes by boosting the body's absorption of carbohydrates"

Insomnia May Precede And Prolong Major Depression - Doctor's Guide, 6/22/05 - "depressed patients with insomnia were nearly 11 times more likely to still be depressed at six months than those sleeping well, and 17 times more likely to remain ill after a year ... they suggest that targeted treatment for insomnia will increase the likelihood and speed of recovery from depression"

Pioglitazone May Decrease Cardiovascular Risk Factors Independent of Glycemic Control - Medscape, 6/20/05 - "A medication regimen for type 2 diabetes based on pioglitazone is associated with higher HDL cholesterol levels, reduced CRP levels, and improved carotid intima-media thickness, compared with a regimen based on glimepiride. This effect appears independent of glycemic control"

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

Total antioxidant capacity of the diet is inversely and independently related to plasma concentration of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in adult Italian subjects - Br J Nutr. 2005 May;93(5):619-25 - "dietary TAC is inversely and independently correlated with plasma concentrations of hs-CRP and this could be one of the mechanisms explaining the protective effects against CVD of antioxidant-rich foods such as fruits, whole cereals and red wine"

Type 2 diabetes mellitus and the risk of colorectal cancer - Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2005 Jun;3(6):587-94 - "Type 2 diabetes mellitus is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer" - Seems to support the following theory:

• Insulin plays central role in aging, explains benefits of calorie reduction - Nutra USA, 6/3/05 - "if insulin levels remain low, cells are stronger and can ward off infection and age-related diseases such as cancer, dementia and stroke"
• Insulin therapy and colorectal cancer risk among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients - Gastroenterology. 2004 Oct;127(4):1044-50 - "Chronic insulin therapy significantly increases the risk of colorectal cancer among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients"
• Insulin May Increase Colon Cancer Risk - WebMD, 10/1/04 - "people with diabetes who had been taking insulin for three to five years had almost a threefold increase in colorectal cancer risk compared with those who did not take insulin ... The risk was even higher in people who took insulin for more than five years"

Waist circumference as a predictor of insulin resistance in young men - Med Clin (Barc). 2005 Jun 11;125(2):46-50 - "WC of these young men was independently associated with certain cardiovascular risk factors, in particular insulin resistance"

Reducing toxicity of methotrexate with folic acid - Z Rheumatol. 2005 Jun;64(5):353-8 - "Folate supplementation should, therefore, be routinely prescribed to every patient taking low-dose methotrexate" - See iHerb folic acid products

Affiliates (I could sure use some sales.  Click here for more stores):