Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 8/23/06.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Sorry but there just wasn't much news this week.

Ephedra Banned Again -- Even Low Doses - WebMD, 8/22/06 - "A federal appeals court last week upheld an FDA ban of the embattled herbal supplement, overturning a 2005 ruling by a lower court that allowed the sale of products containing ephedra in low doses"

Coffee could slow mental decline in old men - Nutra USA, 8/17/06 - "men who had regular consumption of coffee had a lower rate of decline over the ten-year period than men who did not drink coffee (declines of 1.2 versus 2.6 points for drinkers and non-drinkers, respectively)"

Prevalence of Hypogonadism in Males Aged at Least 45 Years: the HIM Study - Medscape, 8/16/06 - "Crude prevalence rate of hypogonadism was 38.7% ... Hypogonadism in men, characterised by a reduced concentration of serum testosterone, causes a constellation of signs and symptoms that may include decreased libido, erectile dysfunction, decreased volume of ejaculate, loss of body and facial hair, weakness, decreased bone density, decreased lean body mass, increased body fat, fatigue and anaemia"

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

Paradoxically Decreased HDL-Cholesterol Levels Associated with Rosiglitazone Therapy (September) - Ann Pharmacother. 2006 Aug 15 - "Rosiglitazone is associated with a paradoxical decrease in HDL-C levels in patients with type 2 diabetes"

Associations between intermediate age-related macular degeneration and lutein and zeaxanthin in the Carotenoids in Age-related Eye Disease Study (CAREDS): ancillary study of the Women's Health Initiative - Arch Ophthalmol. 2006 Aug;124(8):1151-62 - "Diets rich in lutein plus zeaxanthin may protect against intermediate AMD in healthy women younger than 75 years"

Short-term administration of an angiotensin-receptor antagonist in patients with impaired fasting glucose improves insulin sensitivity and increases free IGF-I - Eur J Endocrinol. 2006 Aug;155(2):293-6 - "received 100 mg losartan during 8 weeks ... After the treatment period, the HOMA score for insulin resistance had decreased from 5.3 +/- 1.1 to 3.7 +/- 0.9 (P = 0.004) and the 2-h CIGMA score from 23.4 +/- 3.1 to 15.9 +/- 2.1 (P = 0.07). The serum levels of free IGF-I had increased from 57 +/- 18.8 to 134 +/- 31.3 pmol/l" - Does that mean you can more than double you IGF-1 just by taking an ARB instead of hGH?  I don't know.  See losartan at OffshoreRx1.com. - Ben

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