Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 5/30/07.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Exercise May Boost 'Good' Cholesterol - WebMD, 5/29/07 - "Participants who got at least two hours per week of aerobic exercise had a modest rise in their HDL cholesterol level ... the gains in HDL cholesterol levels translate to a 5% drop in men's heart disease risk and more than a 7% drop in women's heart disease risk"

Vitamin A (Retinol) Effaces Wrinkles in Naturally Aged Skin - Medscape, 5/39/07 - "Fine wrinkling improved with retinol treatment, whereas there was little change in the control group. This benefit of retinol was evident at 4 weeks of treatment and continued through week 24" - See retinol products at drugstore.com.

Antioxidant Supplements Cut Pain of Pancreatitis - Doctor's Guide, 5/29/07 - "Use of antioxidant supplementation provides significant pain relief in patients with chronic pancreatitis"

Telmisartan Reduces Proteinuria More Than Losartan - Doctor's Guide, 5/28/07 - "Our findings suggest that at similar levels of blood pressure control, telmisartan may confer greater protection against progression to end-stage renal disease" - Click here for why I feel telmisartan should be the first line treatment for hypertension if natural methods don't work.

Red Wine Protects The Prostate - Science Daily, 5/25/07 - "men who drink an average of four to seven glasses of red wine per week are only 52% as likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer as those who do not drink red wine ... when white wine was compared with red, red had the most benefit ... But much of the speculation focuses on chemicals—including various flavonoids and resveratrol—missing from other alcoholic beverages"

High phosphorus levels tied to heart disease - Reuters, 5/25/07 - "Compared to those with the lowest levels of phosphorus, those with the highest had a 55 percent greater risk of heart disease"

Impaired Glycemic Control Reversible When Switching Off Diuretic-Based Therapy - Medscape, 5/25/07 - "The risk of new-onset diabetes is also dose dependent, he said, such that at 25-mg hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) there is substantial risk of impairing the glucose response"

Drinking Four Or More Cups Of Coffee A Day May Help Prevent Gout - Science Daily, 5/25/07 - "the data revealed that the risk for developing gout decreased with increasing coffee consumption. The risk of gout was 40 percent lower for men who drank 4 to 5 cups a day and 59 percent lower for men who drank 6 or more cups a day than for men who never drank coffee"

The Rosiglitazone Aftermath: Legitimate Concerns or Hype? - Medscape, 5/24/07 - "Haffner added that if the 43% increase in risk shown in the analysis had occurred in the ongoing RECORD study with rosiglitazone, it would have been stopped a year ago. “I think if a proper meta-analysis were done with rosiglitazone, it would probably show some increased risk, but this would not be significant ... the worst-case scenario from these data is that rosiglitazone would elevate risk for MI from 1.4% to 2% ... Nathan believes pioglitazone is a better bet than rosiglitazone, as it does not have the same adverse lipid profile"

Fish oil plus exercise may banish body fat - Reuters, 5/23/07 - "Study participants who took fish oil, alone or with exercise, saw their levels of "good" HDL cholesterol go up, while their triglycerides (an unhealthy form of blood fat) took a dip. Meanwhile, both exercise and fish oil seemed to cut body fat" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com or Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Low Cortisol Caused by Quetiapine - Doctor's Guide, 5/23/07 - "Quetiapine's 5-HT2 receptor blocking properties are thought to cause a strong inhibitory effect on ACTH and cortisol secretion" - Maybe Seroquel (quetiapine) might be a way for people with high cortisol to reduce it but quetiapine has its own problems such as increased risk of diabetes and increased weight.

ED Drugs May Treat Urinary Problems - WebMD, 5/23/07 - "Sexual performance in men seems to decline as their prostate enlargement becomes more severe, experts have begun to notice ... A once-a-day dose of Cialis helped men with erectile dysfunction and moderate to severe urinary tract symptoms due to an enlarged prostate improve sexual functioning" - See tadalafil at OffshoreRx1.com.

Novel ARB Provides Greater Reductions in Proteinuria in Diabetics With Overt Nephropathy - Medscape, 5/22/07 - "One year of treatment with the novel angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) telmisartan provided greater reductions in proteinuria when compared with losartan, a drug approved for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy to prevent renal-disease progression" - Click here for why I feel that Micardis (telmisartan) should be the first line treatment for hypertension.

Abstracts from this week's Doctor's Guide Nutrition/Dietetics plus abstracts from my RSS feeds:

Metabolic effects of telmisartan and irbesartan in type 2 diabetic patients with metabolic syndrome treated with rosiglitazone - J Clin Pharm Ther. 2007 Jun;32(3):261-8 - "Telmisartan seemed to improve glycaemic and lipid control and metabolic parameters of the metabolic syndrome better than irbesartan"

Blood glucose lowering effects of brown rice in normal and diabetic subjects - Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2006 May-Jun;57(3-4):151-8 - "The total sugar released in vitro was 23.7% lower in brown rice than in milled rice. In healthy volunteers, the glycemic area and glycemic index were, respectively, 19.8% and 12.1% lower (p < 0.05) in brown rice than milled rice, while in diabetics, the respective values were 35.2% and 35.6% lower. The effect was partly due to the higher amounts of phytic acid, polyphenols, dietary fiber and oil in brown compared to milled rice and the difference in some physicochemical properties of the rice samples such as minimum cooking time and degree of gelatinisation"

Inadequate dietary protein increases hunger and desire to eat in younger and older men - J Nutr. 2007 Jun;137(6):1478-82 - "younger and older men who consume inadequate protein experience appetite changes that may promote increased food intake"

Treating the metabolic syndrome - Expert Rev Cardiovasc Ther. 2007 May;5(3):491-506 - "appropriate treatment of MS components often requires pharmacologic intervention with insulin-sensitizing agents, such as metformin and thiazolidinediones, while statins and fibrates, or angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers are the first-line lipid-modifying or antihypertensive drugs"

Adiponectin accelerates reverse cholesterol transport by increasing high density lipoprotein assembly in the liver - Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2007 May 15 - "APN might protect against atherosclerosis by increasing HDL assembly through enhancing ABCA1 pathway and apoA-1 synthesis in the liver"

Whole-grain foods do not affect insulin sensitivity or markers of lipid peroxidation and inflammation in healthy, moderately overweight subjects - J Nutr. 2007 Jun;137(6):1401-7 - "substitution of whole grains (mainly based on milled wheat) for refined-grain products in the habitual daily diet of healthy moderately overweight adults for 6-wk did not affect insulin sensitivity or markers of lipid peroxidation and inflammation"

Biomarkers of arginine and lysine excess - J Nutr. 2007 Jun;137(6):1662S-8S - "Arginine supplementation is used in several disease states. In arginine-deficient states, supplementation is a logical choice of therapy. However, the definition of an arginine-deficient state is complex. For example, plasma arginine levels could be within normal range but intracellular arginine levels could be reduced because of membrane transport problems. Lysine competes with arginine for transport into the cell. In these situations, arginine supplementation of higher than required levels is proposed. Arginine has several important functions in metabolism as it is a precursor of metabolically active components such as nitric oxide (NO), ornithine, creatine, and polyamines"

Rosiglitazone RECORD study: glucose control outcomes at 18 months - Diabet Med. 2007 May 22 - "In people with diabetes, rosiglitazone in combination with metformin or sulphonylurea was demonstrated to be non-inferior to the standard combination of metformin + sulphonylurea in lowering HbA(1c) over 18 months, and produces greater improvements in C-reactive protein and basal insulin sensitivity but is also associated with greater weight gain"

Combination therapy with an ACE inhibitor and an angiotensin receptor blocker for diabetic nephropathy: a meta-analysis - Diabet Med. 2007 May;24(5):486-93 - "This meta-analysis suggests that ACEI + ARB reduces 24-h proteinuria to a greater extent than ACEI alone. This benefit is associated with small effects on GFR, serum creatinine, potassium and blood pressure"

Effect of Chromium Supplementation on Glucose Metabolism and Lipids: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials - Diabetes Care. 2007 May 22 - "There was no benefit in individuals without diabetes ... Chromium supplementation significantly improved glycemia among patients with diabetes" - See chromium products at iHerb.

Omega-3 fatty acid monotherapy for pediatric bipolar disorder: a prospective open-label trial - Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2007 May-Jun;17(6-7):440-7 - "omega-3 fatty acids 1290 mg-4300 mg combined EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) ... Subjects experienced a statistically significant but modest 8.9+/-2.9 point reduction in the YMRS scores (baseline YMRS=28.9+/-10.1; endpoint YMRS=19.1+/-2.6, p<0.001). Adverse events were few and mild. Red blood cell membrane levels of EPA and DHA increased in treated subjects" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.

The effect of telmisartan and ramipril on early morning blood pressure surge: a pooled analysis of two randomized clinical trials - Blood Press Monit. 2007 Jun;12(3):141-147 - "Telmisartan significantly reduced the early morning systolic blood pressure surge compared with ramipril"

Serum androgens and prostate cancer among 643 cases and 643 controls in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition - Int J Cancer. 2007 May 18 - "After adjustment for potential confounders, there was no significant association with overall risk for prostate cancer for serum total or free testosterone concentrations (highest versus the lowest thirds: OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.73-1.41 and OR, 1.07, 95% CI, 0.74-1.55, respectively) or for other androgens or SHBG"

Tissue n-3 and n-6 fatty acids and risk for coronary heart disease events - Atherosclerosis. 2007 May 14 - "The long-chain n-3 FA, especially DHA, were consistently and significantly reduced in patients experiencing CHD events. These findings add further support to the view that long-chain n-3 FA are cardioprotective" - See Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Resveratrol inhibits expression and binding activity of the monocyte chemotactic protein-1 receptor, CCR2, on THP-1 monocytes - Atherosclerosis. 2007 May 11 - "Monocyte chemotactic protein-1 and its receptor, CCR2, play a key role in atherosclerosis ... These inhibitory effects of resveratrol on chemokine receptor binding and expression may contribute, in part, to its cardiovascular protective activity in vivo" - See Resveratrol products at iHerb.

Pioglitazone added to conventional lipid-lowering treatment in familial combined hyperlipidaemia improves parameters of metabolic control: Relation to liver, muscle and regional body fat content - Atherosclerosis. 2007 May 4 - "Significantly improved in the pioglitazone group were: triglyceride/HDL (atherogenic index of plasma) -32.3% (p=0.002), plasma glucose -4.4% (p=0.03), alanine-aminotransferase (ALT) -7.7% (p=0.005) and adiponectin 130.1% (p=0.001). Pioglitazone treatment resulted in a significant increase in total (5.3%, p=0.02) and subcutaneous (7.1%, p=0.003) adipose tissue as well as in soleus-IMCL levels (47.4%, p=0.02) without alteration in intra-abdominal AT or IHCL. Changes in ALT and AST and IHCL were strongly correlated (r=0.72, p<0.01; r=.0.86, p<0.01, respectively). In patients with FCHL on conventional lipid-lowering therapy, the addition of pioglitazone acts favourably on several metabolic parameters" - See pioglitazone at OffshoreRx1.combut check with a doctor first.

Sex differences in the relation of HDL cholesterol to progression of carotid intima-media thickness: The Los Angeles Atherosclerosis Study - Atherosclerosis. 2007 May 3 - "carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) (an indicator of subclinical atherosclerosis) in middle age ... IMT at baseline was inversely associated with serum levels of HDL-C and the associations were comparable in women and men ... Our results suggest that although HDL-C was protective against progression of carotid atherosclerosis in middle-aged men, anti-atherogenic effects of HDL may diminish in women around the age of menopause"

Effect of combined treatment with alpha-Lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine on vascular function and blood pressure in patients with coronary artery disease - J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2007 Apr;9(4):249-55 - "Mitochondria produce reactive oxygen species that may contribute to vascular dysfunction. alpha-Lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine reduce oxidative stress and improve mitochondrial function ... Active treatment increased brachial artery diameter by 2.3% (P=.008), consistent with reduced arterial tone. Active treatment tended to decrease systolic blood pressure for the whole group (P=.07) and had a significant effect in the subgroup with blood pressure above the median (151+/-20 to 142+/-18 mm Hg; P=.03) and in the subgroup with the metabolic syndrome (139+/-21 to 130+/-18 mm Hg; P=.03)" - See Doctor's Best acetyl-l-carnitine and the  Jarrow alpha lipoic acid.

Risk factors for prostate cancer incidence and progression in the health professionals follow-up study - Int J Cancer. 2007 Apr 20 - "In this analysis, only 4 factors had a clear statistically significant association with overall incident prostate cancer: African-American race, positive family history, higher tomato sauce intake (inversely) and alpha-linolenic acid intake. In contrast, for fatal prostate cancer, recent smoking history, taller height, higher BMI, family history, and high intakes of total energy, calcium and alpha-linolenic acid were associated with a statistically significant increased risk. Higher vigorous physical activity level was associated with lower risk ... Only for high calcium intake was there a close correspondence for associations among high-grade cancer, advanced and fatal prostate cancer. Tomato sauce (inversely) and alpha-linolenic acid (positively) intakes were strong predictors of advanced cancer among those with low-grade cancers at diagnosis" - Note: Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is the omega-3 fatty acid found from plant sources such as flaxseed.  Omega-3 from fish sources (EPA and DHA)  has been found to be protective.  See:

• Alpha-linolenic acid - wikipedia.org - "Seed oils are the richest sources of alpha linolenic acid, notably those of rapeseed (canola), soybeans, walnuts, flaxseed, perilla, chia and hemp"
• Altering Fatty Acid Levels In Diet May Reduce Prostate Cancer Growth Rate - Science Daily, 8/1/06 - "tumor cell growth rates decreased by 22 percent and PSA levels were 77 percent lower in the group receiving a healthier balance of fatty acids compared with the group that received predominantly omega-6 fatty acids"
• Oily fish may fight prostate cancer spread - MSNBC, 3/21/06 - "Omega-6 fats, found in vegetable oils, nuts and seeds, increased the spread of tumor cells into bone marrow. This invasion was blocked by omega 3 fats -- the ones found in oily fish"
• Go Fish! Types High in Fatty Acids May Prevent Prostate Cancer, Herring, Mackerel, and Salmon Recommended - WebMD, 6/1/01 - "Eating fatty fish reduces risk of prostate cancer by about 70%, compared to not eating it, and reduces the risk for death from the disease by about 50%."
• Dietary Fatty acids correlate with prostate cancer biopsy grade and volume in jamaican men - J Urol. 2007 Jan;177(1):97-101 - "Omega6 polyunsaturated fatty acids stimulate and Omega3 polyunsaturated fatty acids inhibit prostate cancer growth"

Coffee consumption and risk of colorectal cancer in a population-based prospective cohort of Japanese men and women - Int J Cancer. 2007 Apr 20 - "We observed a significant inverse association between coffee consumption and the risk of developing invasive colon cancer among women. Compared with those who almost never consumed coffee, women who regularly consumed 3 or more cups of coffee per day had a RR of 0.44 ... In men, no significant decrease was observed in any colorectal cancer site"

Two-year randomized controlled trial of vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) and vitamin D3 plus calcium on the bone health of older women - J Bone Miner Res. 2007 Apr;22(4):509-19 - "women who took combined vitamin K and vitamin D plus calcium showed a significant and sustained increase in both BMD and BMC at the site of the ultradistal radius"

Effect of antihypertensive agents on plasma adiponectin levels in hypertensive patients with metabolic syndrome - Nephrology (Carlton). 2007 Apr;12(2):147-53 - "Ramipril and valsartan increased the plasma adiponectin levels significantly higher than the other regimens"

Curcumin for chemoprevention of colon cancer - Cancer Lett. 2007 Apr 18 - "Overwhelming in vitro evidence and completed clinical trials suggests that curcumin may prove to be useful for the chemoprevention of colon cancer in humans" - See curcumin/turmeric products at iHerb.

Insulin resistance is associated with increased risk of major cardiovascular events in patients with preexisting coronary artery disease - Am Heart J. 2007 Apr;153(4):559-65 - "Insulin resistance per se is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular events and new diabetes in patients with preexisting coronary artery disease"

Changes in Serum Sex Hormone Profiles after Short-term Low-dose Administration of Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) to Young and Elderly Persons - Endocr J. 2007 Mar;54(1):153-62 - "In subjects who were older than 41 yrs. (older group) serum androstenedione and estradiol levels were elevated after the DHEA administration. Significant negative correlations were observed between the serum DHEA concentration and the serum concentration of fasting insulin, HOMA-R, leptin, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein for all subjects. Daily administration of 25 mg DHEA increased the serum DHEA, DHEAS, androstenedione, and estradiol levels of the subjects of the older group to the same level as that of younger subjects"

Combination ACE inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker therapy - future considerations - J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2007 Jan;9(1):78-86. - "The individual gains seen with each of these drug classes have led to speculation that their combination might offer additive if not synergistic outcome benefits. The foundation of this hypothesis, although biologically possible, has thus far not been sufficiently well proven to support the everyday use of these 2 drug classes in combination. Additional outcomes trials, which are currently proceeding to their conclusion, may provide the necessary proof to support an expanded use of these 2 drug classes in combination"

The role of nitric oxide in erectile dysfunction: implications for medical therapy - J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2006 Dec;8(12 Suppl 4):53-62 - "Impaired NO bioactivity is a major pathogenic mechanism of erectile dysfunction" - See my nitric oxide page for ways to increase it.

Supplement Focus (coenzyme Q10):

1. Coenzyme Q(10) in the treatment of hypertension: a meta-analysis of the clinical trials - J Hum Hypertens. 2007 Feb 8 - "We conclude that coenzyme Q(10) has the potential in hypertensive patients to lower systolic blood pressure by up to 17 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure by up to 10 mm Hg without significant side effects"
2. Report: Has Your Coq10 Become Obsolete? - Life Extension Magazine, 1/07 - "scientists have demonstrated that the ubiquinol form of CoQ10 provides anti-aging effects that are far superior to those associated with the conventional ubiquinone form used by millions of Americans each day" - See ubiquinol at Amazon.com.
3. Coenzyme Q10 for Migraine Prophylaxis - Clinical Psychiatry News, 3/06 - "150 mg of coenzyme Q10 each day ... The study's primary outcome measure was the percentage of patients who achieved a greater than 50% reduction in the number of days with migraine. A total of 61.3% of patients met that outcome measure by 3 months, and 93.5% had at least a 25% reduction"
4. Coenzyme Q10 Lessens Muscle-Related Side Effects in Patients on Statins - Doctor's Guide, 3/7/05 - "Patients with significant myopathy who are taking statin therapy have a significant decrease in myopathic pain after 30 days of supplementation with coenzyme Q10"
5. Atorvastatin Reduces Blood CoQ10 Levels - Medscape, 6/22/04 - "Even brief exposure to atorvastatin causes a marked decrease in blood CoQ10 concentration ... Widespread inhibition of CoQ10 synthesis could explain the most commonly reported adverse effects of statins, especially exercise intolerance, myalgia, and myoglobinuria"
6. Coenzyme Q10 May Play Positive Role in Treatment of Male Infertility - Medscape, 1/30/04 - "Patients underwent oral administration of CoQ10, 200 mg/day twice daily for six months ... After treatment, CoQ10 levels increased in seminal plasma; the mean value rising significantly from 42.0 +/- 5.1 ng/mL at baseline to 127.1 +/- 1.9 ng/mL after six months of CoQ10 administration"
7. Effect of coenzyme q10 on myopathic symptoms in patients treated with statins - Am J Cardiol. 2007 May 15;99(10):1409-12 - "coenzyme Q10 supplementation may decrease muscle pain associated with statin treatment. Thus, coenzyme Q10 supplementation may offer an alternative to stopping treatment with these vital drugs"
8. Coenzyme Q10 in the treatment of hypertension: a meta-analysis of the clinical trials - J Hum Hypertens. 2007 Apr;21(4):297-306 - "coenzyme Q10 has the potential in hypertensive patients to lower systolic blood pressure by up to 17 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure by up to 10 mm Hg without significant side effects"
9. Coenzyme Q10 and exercise training in chronic heart failure - Eur Heart J. 2006 Aug 1 - "CoQ10 main effect was: peak VO2+9%, EDDBA +38%, systolic wall thickening score index (SWTI) - 12%"
10. Myocardial dysfunction in mitochondrial diabetes treated with Coenzyme Q10 - Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2006 Apr;72(1):100-3 - "In our patient, after the introduction of Coenzyme Q10 150 mg/day, there was a gradual improvement on left ventricular function evaluated by echocardiography. The fractional shortening (FS) and ejection fraction (EF) increased from 26 to 34% and from 49 to 64%, respectively. No side effects were noted. Three months after CoQ10 discontinuation, the parameters of systolic function evaluated by echocardiography decreased, suggesting that CoQ10 had a beneficial effect"
11. Clinical aspects of coenzyme Q10: an update - Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2005 Nov;8(6):641-6 - "A 4-year follow-up on 10 Friedreich's Ataxia patients treated with coenzyme Q10 and vitamin E showed a substantial improvement in cardiac and skeletal muscle bioenergetics and heart function"
12. Wrinkle creams: Your guide to younger looking skin - CNN - "Coenzyme Q10 is a nutrient that helps regulate energy production in cells. Some studies have shown reduction in fine wrinkles around the eyes with no side effects"
13. Progress on therapy of breast cancer with vitamin Q10 and the regression of metastases - Biochem Biophys Res Commun 1995 Jul 6;212(1):172-7 - "The numerous metastases in the liver of a 44-year-old patient "disappeared," and no signs of metastases were found elsewhere. A 49-year-old patient, on a dosage of 390 mg of vitamin Q10, revealed no signs of tumor in the pleural cavity after six months, and her condition was excellent. A 75-year-old patient with carcinoma in one breast, after lumpectomy and 390 mg of CoQ10, showed no cancer in the tumor bed or metastases"
14. Partial and complete regression of breast cancer in patients in relation to dosage of coenzyme Q10 -  Biochem Biophys Res Commun 1994 Mar 30;199(3):1504-8 - "Six of the 32 patients showed partial tumor regression. In one of these 6 cases, the dosage of CoQ10 was increased to 390 mg. In one month, the tumor was no longer palpable and in another month, mammography confirmed the absence of tumor. Encouraged, another case having a verified breast tumor, after non-radical surgery and with verified residual tumor in the tumor bed was then treated with 300 mg. CoQ10. After 3 months, the patient was in excellent clinical condition and there was no residual tumor tissue"
15. See Coenzyme Q10 products at iHerb or ubiquinol at Amazon.com.

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