Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 5/31/06.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Coffee May Help Postmenopausal Heart - WebMD, 5/30/06 - "Women who reported drinking one to three daily cups of coffee at the study's start were 24% less likely to die of heart disease during the study"

Obesity and Diabetes Increase Risk for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia - Doctor's Guide, 5/29/06 - "The age-adjusted odds ratio for prostate enlargement in overweight men was 1.41, in obese men, it was 1.27, and in severely obese men, it was 3.52 ... men with elevated fasting plasma glucose levels (>110 mg/dL) were 3 times more likely to have prostate enlargement"

Cutting carbs can lower cholesterol - MSNBC, 5/29/06 - "Scientists now believe that carbohydrates, especially simple sugars, can cause unhealthy changes in blood fats by causing fat to collect in the liver — just as it does on one's thighs or belly. These fats eventually find their way into the bloodstream"

Female Sexual Dysfunction Found in Almost 40% of Women - Doctor's Guide, 5/29/06 - "Despite the 40% overall prevalence of sexual dysfunction in the study, only 13.4% of the women reported being dissatisfied with their sex lives, while 25% said they were satisfied or neutral about their sex life despite their symptoms of sexual dysfunction"

Elderly Blood Pressure Variability Affects Cognitive Function - Doctor's Guide, 5/26/06 - "study suggested that lowering the systolic BP by 20 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure by 10 mm Hg would have a considerable beneficial effect on the preservation of cognitive abilities in the whole population"

Valsartan the First Blood Pressure Medication in a Large-Scale Clinical Trial to Lower C-Reactive Protein, an Important Marker of Inflammation - Doctor's Guide, 5/26/06 - "The median change in hsCRP from baseline after six weeks in the Diovan group was -0.12 mg/L compared to +0.05 mg/L in the Diovan HCT group, representing a difference between the treatment groups of 13.3%"

5 things you need to know about calcium - MSNBC, 5/26/06 - "You may need more vitamin D. Current federal recommendations for adults aged 51 to 70 still call for the 400 IU daily used in these studies. Yet research now shows that 700 to 1,000 IU of vitamin D a day appears necessary to reach the most healthy blood levels of vitamin D. A daily intake of 400 IU is now considered inadequate to prevent fractures"

One-Third of Adults With Diabetes Still Don't Know They Have It - Doctor's Guide, 5/26/06 - "About 2.8% of U.S. adult -- one-third of those with diabetes -- still don't know they have it ... about 26% of adults age 20 and older continued to have impaired fasting glucose (IFG), a form of pre-diabetes ... nearly 40% of people age 65 and older had IFG, which becomes more common with age ... A major study of people with IGT has shown that lifestyle changes leading to a 5 to 7% weight loss lowered diabetes onset by 58%"

Psyllium May Be Safe and Effective as Add-On Therapy for Elevated Cholesterol - Medscape, 5/26/06 - "After 8 weeks, total cholesterol decreased by similar amounts in 2 groups (61 mg/dL in the 20-mg simvastatin group and 66 mg/dL in the group receiving 10 mg of simvastatin with psyllium)"

Older Adults May Need B12 Dose More Than 200 Times the RDA to Normalize Mild Vitamin Deficiency - Medscape, 5/26/06 - "As both methylmalonyl-coenzyme A (MMA) and homocysteine are metabolized by vitamin B12, elevated levels of these compounds in the plasma can reflect vitamin deficiency ... One analysis yielded 500 μg of vitamin B12 as the minimum dose necessary to produce the greatest effect on MMA levels. There was little additional benefit in using daily doses of vitamin B12 of more than 500 μg"

Statin Use Associated With Marked Decrease in Kidney Cancer Among US Veterans - Doctor's Guide, 5/25/06 - "statins are associated with a 44% risk reduction of kidney cancer"

Hearty Drinkers Have Healthy Hearts - WebMD, 5/25/06 - "Over nearly six years, men who drank every day cut their risk of heart disease by 41%. Women who drank at least once a week cut their risk of heart disease by 36% or more ... Women who drank the most -- 14 or more drinks per week -- generally had the lowest risk of heart disease: as much as a 73% decrease in risk"

Herb-Drug Interactions Uncommon - WebMD, 5/25/06 - "Investigators reviewed the drugs taken by 7,652, mostly older Canadians, and found very few instances of such interactions"

Moderate Alcohol Consumption Protects Against Colorectal Adenoma - Doctor's Guide, 5/24/06 - "Non-drinkers had a 40% higher risk of adenoma than those in the moderate (1-2 drinks and 2-6 drinks per week) groups. Those drinking 7 or more alcoholic beverages per week had 150% higher risk of adenoma than the moderate groups"

Carotenoids may lower diabetes risk in nonsmokers - Doctor's Guide, 5/24/06 - "In nonsmokers, increasing carotenoid levels at the start of the study were associated with decreasing risk of developing diabetes"

Experts Explore Potential Benefits of Treating Prehypertension - Doctor's Guide, 5/19/06 - "compared to placebo over a four-year period, treatment of prehypertension with Atacand© (candesartan cilexetil) significantly reduced the relative risk of developing hypertension"

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

Effect of nicotinamide on newly diagnosed type 1 diabetic children - Acta Pharmacol Sin. 2006 Jun;27(6):724-7 - "even low doses of oral NA given to children with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes may reduce insulin requirements and prolong the honeymoon period"

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