Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 8/17/05.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Common Pain Drugs Up High Blood Pressure Risk - WebMD, 8/15/05 - "Women who take a lot of acetaminophen (Tylenol) have nearly twice the risk of high blood pressure as those who don't use the drug"

High blood pressure linked to glaucoma risk - MSNBC, 8/15/05 - "high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is significantly more common in this group than in those who do not have hypertension ... hypertension is characterized by increased sodium retention. This in turn, may increase pressure in the eye, a factor in glaucoma"

Depression Worsens Heart Disease - WebMD, 8/15/05 - "Patients who reported symptoms of depression did significantly worse on a test of blood vessel function"

Drowsy Days May Signal Depression - WebMD, 8/12/05 - "After crunching the numbers, depression was the No. 1 risk factor for excessive daytime sleepiness. BMI came second. Typical sleep duration was third, followed by diabetes, smoking, and, finally, sleep apnea"

Testosterone therapy linked to prostate cancer? - MSNBC, 8/12/05 - "Prostate cancer developed in 20 men within months to a few years after they began testosterone supplementation to correct a deficiency of the hormone" - 20 out of how many?  It doesn't say.

Common Vitamin May Help Prevent Alzheimer's - CBS 2 Chicago, 8/12/05 - "eating foods rich in the B-vitamin folate may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s by as much as 55 percent" - See iHerb folic acid products.

Pine Bark Extract May Prevent Leg Clots - WebMD, 8/12/05 - "After the flight those not treated with Pycnogenol had almost double the ankle-swelling score of those who received Pycnogenol" - See iHerb Pycnogenol products.

Are you getting enough vitamin E? - MSNBC, 8/12/05 - "Most supplements contain – and thus most research looks at – the form of vitamin E known as alpha-tocopherol. However, gamma-tocopherol is actually the major form in the American diet ... Some studies show that blood levels of gamma-tocopherol are a good or better indicator of heart and cancer risk. Gamma-tocopherol may even have unique cancer-suppressing functions within cells. Some studies suggest that alpha-tocopherol supplements may have the undesirable effect of reducing blood and tissue levels of gamma-tocopherol"

Lifestyle And Diet May Stop Or Reverse Prostate Cancer Progression - Science Daily, 8/11/05 - "Participants in the lifestyle-change group were placed on a vegan diet consisting primarily of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes supplemented with soy, vitamins and minerals. They participated in moderate aerobic exercise, yoga/meditation, and a weekly support group session" - [Doctor's Guide]

Cause Of Diabetes-related Erectile Dysfunction Is Clarified By Johns Hopkins Researchers - Science Daily, 8/11/05 - "one particular simple sugar, present in increased levels in diabetics, interferes with the chain of events needed to achieve and maintain erection and can lead to permanent penile impairment over time"

Taking A Break From Fractures: A Closer Look At Vitamin D - Science Daily, 8/11/05 - "The researchers concluded, though, that higher daily doses, in the range of 700 to 800 IU, may reduce the risk of fracture by approximately 25 percent ... only subjects receiving higher doses of vitamin D supplementation had significantly fewer fractures than did subjects in the comparison groups" - See iHerb vitamin D products.

Treating Osteoporosis: What Works Best? - WebMD, 8/10/05 - "Treatment with parathyroid hormone increases bone density. But women who took parathyroid hormone for a year progressively lost bone density afterward unless they took Fosamax"

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

Hypogonadism and metabolic syndrome:: implications for testosterone therapy - J Urol. 2005 Sep;174(3):827-34 - "Hypogonadism is likely a fundamental component of metabolic syndrome. Testosterone therapy may not only treat hypogonadism, but may also have tremendous potential to slow or halt the progression from metabolic syndrome to overt diabetes or cardiovascular disease via beneficial effects on insulin regulation, lipid profile and blood pressure. Furthermore, the use of testosterone to treat metabolic syndrome may also lead to the prevention of urological complications commonly associated with these chronic disease states, such as neurogenic bladder and erectile dysfunction"

The effect of chronic consumption of red wine on cardiovascular disease risk factors in postmenopausal women - Atherosclerosis. 2005 Aug 8 - "chronic consumption of RW significantly reduced fasting LDL cholesterol concentrations by 8% and increased HDL cholesterol concentrations by 17% in hypercholesterolaemic postmenopausal women ... Collectively, regular consumption of full-complement red wine reduces CVD risk by improving fasting lipid levels in hypercholesterolaemic postmenopausal women"

Low-Dose Vitamin D Prevents Muscular Atrophy and Reduces Falls and Hip Fractures in Women after Stroke: A Randomized Controlled Trial - Cerebrovasc Dis. 2005 Jul 27;20(3):187-192 - "48 patients received 1,000 IU ergocalciferol daily ... Vitamin D treatment accounted for a 59% reduction in falls ... There were increases in the relative number and size of type II muscle fibers and improved muscle strength in the vitamin D-treated group" - See iHerb vitamin D products.

Cereal fiber and whole-grain intake are associated with reduced progression of coronary-artery atherosclerosis in postmenopausal women with coronary artery disease - Am Heart J. 2005 Jul;150(1):94-101 - "Intakes of total, fruit, and vegetable fiber, and number of servings of refined grain, fruits, or vegetable were not associated with progression ... Higher intakes of cereal fiber and whole-grain products are associated with less progression of coronary atherosclerosis in postmenopausal women with established CAD"

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