Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 9/14/05.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Study Results Show Diachrome(R) Improves Poorly-Controlled Blood Sugar Levels for People on Antidiabetic Prescription Medications - Doctor's Guide, 9/13/05 - "Study participants taking Diachrome with one or more antidiabetic medications saw an average range of 0.7 - 1.9% point reduction in HbA1c levels. The study also showed that insulin resistance was significantly reduced (P<0.05) in those taking thiazolidinediones and Diachrome ... Diachrome is a nutritional supplement specifically formulated for people with diabetes. It contains 600 mcg of chromium as Chromax(R) chromium picolinate and 2 mg of biotin" - See chromium and biotin at iHerb.

After Menopause: Eating Soy May Help Bones - WebMD, 9/12/05 - "Within 10 years of menopause, the 20% who ate the most soy foods reported half as many fractures as the 20% who ate the least soy ... The highest level of consumption among Chinese women was about 13 grams of soy protein a day. A cup of soy milk contains about 6.6 grams"

Study: Vitamin C May Fight Cancer - WebMD, 9/12/05 - "Vitamin C appeared to boost production of hydrogen peroxide, which killed cancer cells and left healthy cells unharmed ... The levels of vitamin C were so high that they could only be achieved through IV infusions"

Diabetes drug may cut heart attacks - MSNBC, 9/12/05 - "Giving diabetes patients Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s drug Actos [pioglitazone] not only lowers their blood sugar levels but also protects them from heart attacks"

Symptoms of Depression May Worsen Heart Failure - Doctor's Guide, 9/12/05 - "depression may hasten the progression of heart disease by increasing the levels of a key protein that causes inflammation ... tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha)"

New Study Shows High-Carb, Vegan Diet Causes Major Weight Loss - Doctor's Guide, 9/9/05 - "A low-fat, plant-based diet is more effective at helping women lose weight and improve insulin sensitivity than an omnivorous diet ... a low-fat, primarily vegan diet may slow the progression of prostate cancer"

How hormones can affect breast cancer risk - MSNBC, 9/9/05 - "Research also consistently links high levels of the hormone insulin and insulin-like growth factors with increased rates of breast cancer, at least after menopause"

Preliminary Studies Suggest Potential Metabolic Effects of Micardis (Telmisartan) - Doctor's Guide, 9/9/05 - "The Micardis molecule is structurally similar to the PPAR-gamma activator, pioglitazone,3 which has been approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.7 Micardis partially activates PPAR-gamma resulting in metabolic effects that differentiate it from other ARBs, according to preclinical data.1-4 These data demonstrate that Micardis has a beneficial effect on insulin resistance and blood lipids, independent of its effect on the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system" - See telmisartan at OffshoreRx1.com.

Androgens, Insulin Resistance and Vascular Disease in Men - Medscape, 9/8/05 - "Studies in healthy men have shown an inverse correlation between testosterone and insulin levels ... physiological testosterone replacement improves insulin sensitivity ... Insulin resistance also plays a role in the development of atherosclerosis and hypertension ... hypotestosteronaemia is associated with insulin resistance in men. Testosterone treatment inhibits the hyperinsulinaemia and thus may delay the onset of diabetes mellitus in men or even improve glycaemic control"

Fish Fat May Help Fight Alzheimer's Disease - WebMD, 9/8/05 - "DHA helped brain cells in two ways: ... Curbing production of beta-amyloid proteins, which are seen in Alzheimer's brain plaque ... Boosting production of another protein called NPD1 that helps brain cells stay alive" - See iHerb DHA products.

• Fatty Acids: Good For The Brain, Good For Alzheimer Disease - Science Daily, 9/11/05 - "DHA can decrease levels of the pathogenic Abeta peptides that are associated with Alzheimer disease pathology in human brain cells"
• Scientists Discover How Fish Oil Protects the Brain - Intelihealth, 9/9/05 - "docosahexaenoic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid found in coldwater fish such as mackerel, sardines and salmon, reduces levels of a protein known to cause damaging plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's patients"
• 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"
• DHA Protects Against Alzheimer’s Disease? - Physician's Weekly, 1/3/05 - "DHA intake should be considered as a potential neuroprotective strategy for AD"
• Good for the heart, good for the brain - MSNBC, 12/6/04 - "While diets high in cholesterol are bad for the brain, getting plenty of omega 3 fatty acids, found primarily in fish, is vital for a healthy noggin ... In particular, a component of omega 3 fatty acids known as DHA, or docosahexaenoic acid, is key"
• Why Fish Seems to Prevent Alzheimer's Damage - WebMD, 9/1/04 - "DHA may prevent or slow Alzheimer's progression by protecting against damage to the area where brain cells communicate"
• High DHA Intake Linked to Less Alzheimer's, Other Dementia - Clinical Psychiatry News, 3/04 - "People who ate an average of 180 mg or more a day of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a fatty acid found in fish oil, had about 40% less Alzheimer's disease and other dementia, compared with people who consumed less DHA"

Brain May Benefit by Lowering Blood Pressure - WebMD, 9/7/05 - "lowering blood pressure may halt or slow the progression of brain abnormalities called white matter hyperintensities (WMH) ... WMH may be accompanied by dementia, depression, and trouble with walking"

Exercise and diet key to healthy aging - MSNBC, 9/7/05 - "Those who remained physically fit, avoided high stress levels and enjoyed a rich and varied social life are better equipped to stay alert as they age ... fish oils may reduce the cell inflammation that triggers a decline in memory ... omega-3 has also been linked with maintaining healthy hearts and joints" - Mega Twin EPA at iHerb.

Vinegar may help dieters eat less - Nutra USA, 9/7/05 - "Both glucose and insulin responses were about 25 per cent lower at 90 minutes when the volunteers had consumed the highest level of vinegar compared to the reference meal ... This level of vinegar is equivalent to about two to three tablespoons" - See vinegar tablets at iHerb (1 - 500 mg tablet equals 2 tsb of vinegar.  4.5 tablets equals about 3 tablespoons by my calculations.  Related articles:

• Vinegar supplementation lowers glucose and insulin responses and increases satiety after a bread meal in healthy subjects - Eur J Clin Nutr. 2005 Jun 2 - "Compared with the reference meal, the highest level of vinegar significantly lowered the blood glucose response at 30 and 45 min"
• Vinegar as a Sweet Solution? - Science News, 12/18/04 - "2 tablespoons of vinegar before a meal—perhaps, as part of a vinaigrette salad dressing—will dramatically reduce the spike in blood concentrations of insulin and glucose that come after a meal ... vinegar cut their blood-glucose rise in the first hour after a meal by about half ... a 2-pound weight loss, on average, over the 4 weeks in the vinegar group"
• Vinegar with a Splash of Cherry Extract for Diabetes? - ABC News, 1/26/05 - "The acetic acid in vinegar may inhibit enzymes that digest starch ... So the carbohydrate molecules aren't available for absorption and are eliminated as fecal matter ... When choosing a bottle of vinegar, she says, make sure that it contains 5 percent acetic acid ... According to Johnston, a diabetes medication called acarbose works the same way vinegar does"

Are you insulin resistant? - US News, 9/5/05 - "Endocrinologists suggests a diagnosis of resistance if a patient and doctor can put a checkmark next to at least two of these four measures: ... Triglycerides: greater than 150 mg/dL ... HDL cholesterol: less than 40 mg/dL in men or 50 mg/dL in women ... Blood pressure: greater than 130/85 mm Hg ... Blood glucose: 110-125 mg/dL after fasting and 140-200 mg/dL two hours"

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

Glycemic Control and Coronary Heart Disease Risk in Persons With and Without Diabetes: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study - Arch Intern Med. 2005;165:1910-1916 - "In adults with diabetes, the relative risk (RR) of CHD was 2.37 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.50-3.72) for the highest quintile of HbA1c level compared with the lowest after adjustment for CHD risk factors ... Elevated HbA1c level is an independent risk factor for CHD in persons with and without diabetes"

The metabolic syndrome: A vascular perspective - Eur J Intern Med. 2005 Sep;16(5):314-20 - "Patients with MS have a three times greater risk of coronary heart disease and stroke, and a two to four times greater risk of dying from atherosclerotic coronary heart disease than those without MS ... First-line treatment for MS is therapeutic lifestyle intervention, including exercise and weight reduction. Medical intervention strategies using blood pressure-lowering medication, statins, fibrates and metformin seem the most appropriate to date. The effects of thiazolidinediones on cardiovascular endpoints have not been studied to a large extent in the setting of MS"

Effect of atorvastatin on regional arterial stiffness in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus - J Atheroscler Thromb. 2005;12(4):205-10 - "Atorvastatin treatment was associated with an improvement in the stiffness of leg arteries in type 2 diabetes mellitus. This may partly explain the statin-mediated improvement of walking performance in those with PAD"

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or Angiotensin receptor blockers for prevention of type 2 diabetes a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials - J Am Coll Cardiol. 2005 Sep 6;46(5):821-6 - "ACE inhibitors and ARBs were associated with reductions in the incidence of newly diagnosed diabetes by 27% and 23%, respectively, and by 25% in the pooled analysis ... The use of an ACE inhibitor or ARB should be considered in patients with pre-diabetic conditions such as metabolic syndrome, hypertension, impaired fasting glucose, family history of diabetes, obesity, congestive heart failure, or coronary heart disease" - That's not completely accurate.  I think they were looking at valsartan when they came up with 23%.  Not all ARBs help prevent diabetes and I doubt if all ACE inhibitors do either.  See the following (losartan is an ARB):

• Metabolic Effect of Telmisartan [Micardis] and Losartan [Cozaar] in Hypertensive Patients with Metabolic Syndrome - Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2005 May 15;4(1):6 - "Telmisartan, but not losartan, significantly (p < 0.05) reduced free plasma glucose, free plasma insulin, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance and HbAic. Following treatment, plasma glucose and insulin were reduced during the oral glucose tolerance test by telmisartan, but not by losartan. Telmisartan also significantly reduced 24-hour mean systolic blood pressure (p < 0.05) and diastolic blood pressure (p < 0.05) compared with losartan"
• Strategies to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes - Medscape, 8/8/05 - "Valsartan reduced the incidence of new-onset diabetes by 23% ... Traditional beta-blockers worsen insulin sensitivity and increase the risk of developing new diabetes"

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