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Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 9/12/07.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Drug That Reduces Prostate Size And Cancer Risk Also Improves Early Detection - Science Daily, 9/11/07 - "Men now have another good reason to consider taking finasteride, a well-known generic drug that shrinks an enlarged prostate and reduces the risk of getting prostate cancer by 25 percent ... finasteride also raises the odds that physicians will find fast-growing prostate cancers early, when they are most easily treatable" - See finasteride at OffshoreRx1.com.

Decrease in Cancer Risk for Pill Users - WebMD, 9/11/07 - "researchers found a 12% decreased risk of any cancer in oral contraceptive users compared with women who never used birth control pills"

Pioglitazone Appears to Have Overall Favorable Effect Regarding Risk of Cardiovascular Events - Doctor's Guide, 9/11/07 - "A meta-analysis of previous research suggests that use of pioglitazone, a glycemic control medication for patients with type 2 diabetes, significantly reduces the risk of heart attack, stroke and death, but increases the risk for serious heart failure"

Telmisartan Improves Endothelial Function and Nitrate Tolerance in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease and the Metabolic Syndrome - Doctor's Guide, 9/11/07 - "Telmisartan is mainly an angiotensin II receptor blocker, but recently it has [shown] antioxidant effects and insulin resistance improvement effects ... After 4 weeks of treatment, the endothelium-dependant measure of flow-mediated dilatation was significantly increased in the telmisartan group (P <.01, vs control group), indicating improvements in endothelial dysfunction with telmisartan" - See telmisartan at OffshoreRx1.com.

Long-term Use Of Diabetes Drug Increases Heart Attack Risk By More Than 40 Percent - Science Daily, 9/11/07 - "Based on the analysis, the researchers estimate that for every 220 diabetic patients treated with Avandia for one year, one will have a heart attack linked to the drug. And, there would be one case of heart failure for every 30 people taking the drug for one year"

Nutrients May Help Save Eyes - WebMD, 9/11/07 - "Those with the highest self-reported intake of foods rich in lutein and zeaxanthin were 35% less likely than those with the lowest lutein and zeaxanthin intake to have "wet" age-related macular degeneration"

Vitamin E May Lower Blood Clot Risk - WebMD, 9/11/07 - "Overall, women who took vitamin E were 21% less likely to develop venous thromboembolism than women who did not, but the reduction was more than double this (44%) among the women who had a history of clots ... taking vitamin E appeared to cut the clot risk in half among women with genetic mutations that increased their risk"

Statins May Help Alzheimer's Patients - washingtonpost.com, 9/11/07 - "Those patients who had taken statins before they died showed significantly lower levels of tangles in their brains ... Our data says these drugs appear to be doing something in the human brain ... Whether this will translate into behavioral changes, we can't say ... subjects had taken statins for only five years or less. It may be that longer use of statins would offer more protection" - See atorvastatin at OffshoreRx1.com.

Mediterranean Diet May Help Alzheimer's Patients Live Longer - Science Daily, 9/10/07 - "Alzheimer's patients who adhered to the diet to a moderate degree lived an average 1.3 years longer than those people who least adhered to the diet. And those Alzheimer's patients who followed the diet very religiously lived an average four years longer"

Certain Nutrients Associated With Reduced Risk For Age-related Eye Disease - Science Daily, 9/10/07 - "If these cross-sectional results can be confirmed in prospective samples and experimental studies, lutein and zeaxanthin may be considered as useful agents in food or supplement-based interventions designed to reduce the risk of AMD"

How Vitamin C Stops Cancer - Science Daily, 9/10/07 - "Both of these cancers produce high levels of free radicals that can be suppressed by feeding the mice supplements of antioxidants, either vitamin C or N-acetylcysteine (NAC) ... Some rapidly growing tumors consume enough energy to easily suck out the available oxygen in their vicinity, making HIF-1 absolutely critical for their continued survival. But HIF-1 can only operate if it has a supply of free radicals. Antioxidants remove these free radicals and stop HIF-1, and the tumor, in its tracks" - See vitamin C products at Amazon.com.

Take Vitamin D, Live Longer? - WebMD, 9/10/07 - "People taking vitamin D were 7% less likely to die during the studies. The precise reason for their lower death rate isn't clear, and the reviewers aren't recommending a specific vitamin D dose"

Food Additives Linked To Hyperactivity In Children, Study Shows - Science Daily, 9/9/07 - "A study by researchers at the University of Southampton has shown evidence of increased levels of hyperactivity in young children consuming mixtures of some artificial food colours and the preservative sodium benzoate"

Low Vitamin D During Pregnancy Linked To Pre-eclampsia - Science Daily, 9/7/07 - "Low vitamin D early in pregnancy was associated with a five-fold increase in the odds of preeclampsia" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Pain Makes Some End Breast Cancer Drug - WebMD, 9/6/07 - "23% of the women in the new study given one of two aromatase inhibitors -- Aromasin or Femara -- stopped taking their drugs due to side effects, which also included hot flashes and nausea ... Forty-two percent of the women reported serious bone and joint problems, such as severe pain or difficulty opening a jar, and were referred for evaluation by a rheumatologist"

Drug May Help Pregnant Women with Insulin Resistance - Doctor's Guide, 9/6/07 - "metformin, the most commonly prescribed anti-diabetes drug, could potentially improve pregnancy outcomes in women with insulin resistance"

Cholesterol Drug Change May Be Risky - WebMD, 9/5/07 - "Compared with the patients who remained on Lipitor, those who switched to simvastatin were 43% more likely to suffer from a major cardiovascular event such as heart attack or stroke. They were twice as likely to suffer strokes, and 36% more likely to have heart attacks"

Vitamin D for Cancer Prevention? - WebMD, 9/5/07 - "The 2,000-IU daily dose of vitamin D suggested by the reviewers is currently considered the "tolerable upper limit" for vitamin D ... a projected 50% reduction in colon cancer incidence would require a universal intake of 2,000 IU per day of vitamin D3 ... A similar reduction in breast cancer incidence would require 3,500 IU per day"

Merck Niacin Drug Controls Cholesterol - Intelihealth, 9/5/07 - "The drug, called Cordaptive, can both raise good cholesterol and lower bad cholesterol. It combines an extended-release form of the B vitamin niacin with a chemical to inhibit an often intolerable niacin side effect called flushing -- redness, burning and tingling of the face ... compared with dummy pills, Cordaptive produced an 18 percent drop in levels of LDL-C, or "bad" cholesterol; a 26 percent drop in another type of blood fat called triglycerides, and a 20 percent increase in levels of HDL-C, or "good" cholesterol"

Sugary Drinks, Not Fruit Juice, May Be Linked To Insulin - Science Daily, 9/5/07 - "Study participants who consumed two or more sugar-sweetened beverages per day had significantly higher fasting blood levels of insulin as compared to participants who did not report consuming any such beverages, regardless of age, sex, weight, smoking status, or other dietary habits ... Higher fasting levels of insulin mean these study participants are more at risk for developing Type 2 diabetes ... consumption of 100 percent fruit juice was not significantly related to any of our measures of insulin resistance"

Right Breakfast Bread Keeps Blood Sugar In Check All Day - Science Daily, 9/5/07 - "It is known that a carbohydrate-rich breakfast with low GI can moderate increases in blood sugar after lunch. But my results show that low GI in combination with the right amount of so-called indigestible carbohydrates, that is, dietary fiber and resistant starch, can keep the blood-sugar level low for up to ten hours, which means until after dinner ... people with great fluctuations in their levels of blood sugar run a greater risk of having a generally lower cognitive ability"

Framingham Study: The apoB/apoA-1 ratio does not provide clinical utility over total/HDL cholesterol - theHeart.org, 8/14/07 - "In men, non-HDL cholesterol, apoB, the total/HDL-cholesterol ratio, the LDL/HDL-cholesterol ratio, and the apoB/apoA-1 ratio were all positively associated with CHD risk of approximately the same magnitude and statistical significance. ApoA-1 and HDL cholesterol were associated with reduced CHD risk. Similar results were observed for women, but apoA-1 was not significantly associated with incident CHD. In men and women, LDL and total cholesterol were not significantly associated with CHD risk"

Colon Cancer on curcumin and Vectibix - Johns Hopkins, 8/14/07 - "University of Texas researchers treated some human colorectal cancer cells with neurotensin, with and without curcumin. They confirmed that neurotensin started a chain reaction of chemicals that can increase the growth of cancer and also the migration of cancer cells and that curcumin blocked the process ... Curcumin appears to do this by blocking the biochemical signals sent by neurotensin that contribute to colon cancer cell growth and migration (the spread of cancer to other body sites)" - See curcumin products at Amazon.com.

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

Antidepressant-Like Effect of Cordyceps sinensis in the Mouse Tail Suspension Test - Biol Pharm Bull. 2007 Sep;30(9):1758-62 - "Cordyceps sinensis (CS) has been known as a component of traditional medicines that elicit various biological effects such as anti-fatigue, immunomodulatory, and hypoglycemic actions. Since it has been well-established that fatigue is closely related to depression, we used the tail suspension test (TST) in mice to examine the antidepressant-like effects of hot water extract (HWCS) and supercritical fluid extract (SCCS) of CS ... these results suggest that SCCS may elicit an antidepressant-like effect by affecting the adrenergic and dopaminergic systems, but not by affecting the serotonergic system" - See Cordyceps products at iHerb.

The cardiovascular effects of the thiazolidinediones: a review of the clinical data - J Diabetes Complications. 2007 Sep-Oct;21(5):326-34 - "Beyond glycemic control, the thiazolidinediones (TZDs) provide numerous cardiovascular benefits. Clinical data support a role for the TZDs in lowering blood pressure, correcting dyslipidemia, improving vascular structure and function, decreasing inflammation, improving the adipokine profile, reducing systemic oxidative stress, and possibly in stabilizing coronary plaques that may be prone to rupture ... Reported side effects of the TZDs include fluid retention, worsening of heart failure, and weight gain"

ACE-I/ARB treatment in type 1 diabetes patients with albuminuria is associated with lower odds of progression of coronary artery calcification - J Diabetes Complications. 2007 Sep-Oct;21(5):273-9 - "coronary artery calcification (CAC) ... In backward logistic regression, presence of albuminuria at baseline predicted progression of CAC among subjects not treated with ACE-I/ARB [odds ratio=4.06 ... Among the subjects with albuminuria, the odds of progression was 62% lower (95% CI=88% decrease to 23% increase; P=.106) in those treated with ACE-I/ARB ... Albuminuria is a significant independent risk factor for CAC progression in young type 1 diabetes patients asymptomatic for CAD, and ACE-I/ARB treatment is associated with substantially lower odds of CAC progression"

Rosiglitazone decreases albuminuria in type 2 diabetic patients - Kidney Int. 2007 Sep 5 - "The percentage decrease in albuminuria correlated with the decrease in fasting plasma glucose ... Our study indicates that thiazolidinediones may be useful to prevent nephropathy in type 2 diabetic patients"

Review of the role of hyperhomocysteinemia and B-vitamin deficiency in neurological and psychiatric disorders - Fortschr Neurol Psychiatr. 2007 Sep;75(9):e1-e18 - "Elevated concentration of total homocysteine (Hcy) in plasma (> 12 micromol/l) is a risk factor for several diseases of the central nervous system. Epidemiological studies have shown a dose-dependent relationship between concentrations of Hcy and the risk for neurodegenerative diseases. Hcy is a marker for B-vitamin deficiency (folate, B (12), B (6)). Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) causes hypomethylation which is an important mechanism that links Hcy to dementia ... Current evidence suggests that Hcy-lowering treatment has a positive effect for the secondary and primary prevention of stroke. HHcy is very common in patients with Parkinson disease particularly those who receive L-dopa treatment. Furthermore, a positive association has been reported between HHcy and multiple sclerosis. Moreover, HHcy and vitamin B deficiency are reported to have a causal role in depression, and epilepsy. In addition several anti-epileptic drugs cause secondary HHcy. Therefore, sufficient intakes of the vitamins are recommended for patients who have already developed neuropsychiatric diseases. Vitamin B deficiency should be suspected in children with development disorders, failure to thrive and unexplained neurological manifestations. Elderly people are also an important at-risk group where vitamin B deficiency and HHcy have been linked to neurodegenerative diseases. Treatment with folate, B (12), and B (6) can improve cerebral function. Preventive vitamin B supplementation and sufficient intake seem very important for secondary and primary prevention of neuropsychiatric disorders, especially in subjects with a low intake or status of the vitamins"

Plasma folate concentration and cognitive performance: Rotterdam Scan Study - Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Sep;86(3):728-34 - "After multivariate adjustment, the mean change in test score per 1-SD increase in plasma folate was 0.05 (95% CI: 0.01, 0.09) for global cognitive function, 0.08 (95% CI: 0.04, 0.13) for psychomotor speed, and 0.02 (95% CI: -0.04, 0.07) for memory function ... The odds ratio relating a 1-SD increase in plasma folate to the presence compared with the absence of severe white matter lesions was 0.79 (95% CI: 0.66, 0.94), whereas no relation was seen between folate status and hippocampal or amygdalar volume" - See folic acid at Amazon.com.

Effect of Growth Hormone on Body Composition and Visceral Adiposity in Middle Aged Men with Visceral Obesity - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2007 Sep 4 - "GH therapy is associated with small but statistically significant decreases in visceral adiposity and an increase in lean mass and body weight"

Conjugated linoleic acid supplementation alters the 6-mo change in fat oxidation during sleep - Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Sep;86(3):797-804 - "Mixed isomer CLA supplementation, but not placebo, positively altered fat oxidation and energy expenditure during sleep" - See conjugated linoleic acid at Amazon.com.

Vitamin E dietary supplementation significantly affects multiple risk factors for cardiovascular disease in baboons - Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Sep;86(3):597-603 - "vitamin E caused 2 paradoxical effects on HDL metabolism: higher apolipoprotein A-I (apo A-I) concentrations and lower HDL sizes ... They also show 2 apparently paradoxical effects on HDL metabolism: lower HDL(2), which is mediated by genes, and higher apo A-I, which is not. These effects have contrasting associations with CVD risk and may help account for the mixed results from clinical trials of dietary vitamin E"

Fish oil supplementation improves large arterial elasticity in overweight hypertensive patients - Eur J Clin Nutr. 2007 Sep 5 - "After 8 weeks follow-up, the large artery elasticity in the fish oil group, compared with its baseline, was significantly improved (C(1): 15.5+/-1.5 vs 12.8+/-3.7 ml mm Hg(-1) x 10), whereas no effects were found in the placebo group (C(1): 13.0+/-3.4 vs 13.4+/-3.8 ml mm Hg(-1) x 10), P=0.027, RM-ANOVA across the two groups" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.

Serum levels of folate and cobalamin are lower in depressed than in nondepressed hemodialysis subjects - J Ren Nutr. 2007 Sep;17(5):343-9 - "As with the general population, lower serum folate, RBC folate, and serum cobalamin levels were found in depressed as compared to nondepressed subjects on HD. Plasma levels of these vitamins may be one of many factors related to depression, but larger studies with stronger designs are needed to confirm the results of this study"

Gamma-tocopherol and docosahexaenoic acid decrease inflammation in dialysis patients - J Ren Nutr. 2007 Sep;17(5):296-304 - "gamma tocopherol (308 mg) and DHA (800 mg) ... In the treatment group, but not in the placebo group, there were significant decreases in IL-6 (21.4 +/- 3.5 to 16.8 +/- 3.7 pg/mL), white blood cell (WBC) count (7.4 +/- 0.3 to 6.9 +/- 0.4 10(3)/microL), and neutrophil fraction of WBCs (4.8 +/- 0.3 to 4.4 +/- 0.3 10(3)/microL), at P < .05 for all"

Health Focus (Head and Neck cancer):

  • Click here for my experience with head and neck cancer and why I feel everyone should get the HPV vaccine.  80 to 90% of head and neck cancers are related to smoking.  Of the non-smokes, 50% of them have the human papilloma virus.
  • Human Papilloma Virus Vaccines May Decrease Chances Of Oral Cancer - Science Daily, 8/30/07 - "oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OOSCC) have been linked to high-risk HPV strains, the same strains that cause cervical cancer ... It's possible that oral and oropharyngeal cancers could be reduced if vaccination were more widespread; however, additional research is needed"
  • Oral Sex Implicated in Some Throat and Neck Cancers - washingtonpost.com, 8/27/07 - "Human papillomavirus (HPV), which is believed to be responsible for most cervical cancers, may also be at the root of many cancers of the mouth and throat ... Previous research has found that up to 50 percent of nonsmokers with throat and mouth cancers were infected with HPV"
  • Avocados May Help Prevent Oral Cancer, Study Shows - Science Daily, 9/4/07 - "Nutrients taken from avocados are able to thwart oral cancer cells, killing some and preventing pre-cancerous cells from developing into actual cancers"
  • Vitamin E: Friend or Foe During Radiation Therapy? - Physician's Weekly, 7/16/07 - "Not only did it show that vitamin E supplementation was of no benefit to patients, but it was also associated with a nearly 40% increased risk of death when compared to study counterparts who received a placebo. Vitamin E, despite what patients may think, appears to be much more harmful for patients who have head and neck cancer who are receiving radiation therapy"
  • Dietary risk factors for nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Maghrebian countries - Int J Cancer. 2007 Jun 20 - "consumption of rancid butter, rancid sheep fat and preserved meat not spicy (mainly quaddid) were associated with significantly increased risk of NPC, while consumption of cooked vegetables and industrial preserved fish was associated with reduced risk. Other foods such as fresh citrus fruits and spicy preserved meat (mainly osban) in childhood, industrial made olive condiments in adulthood, were marginally associated. In multivariate analyses, only rancid butter, rancid sheep fat and cooked vegetables were significantly associated with NPC"
  • Fiber intake and risk of adenocarcinomas of the esophagus and stomach - Cancer Causes Control. 2007 Jun 12 - "Compared to subjects in the lowest quartile of fiber intake, subjects in the highest quartile of intake showed odd ratios of 0.44 (95% CI = 0.26-0.76) for esophageal adenocarcinoma (P trend = 0.004) and 0.58 (95% CI = 0.38-0.88) for gastric cardia adenocarcinoma ... High intake of fiber was associated with significant reduced risks of esophageal and gastric cardia adenocarcinoma"
  • Eat Your Fruits And Vegetables: One Extra Serving Per Day May Lower Your Risk Of Head And Neck Cancer - Science Daily, 4/16/07 - "participants who ate six servings of fruit and vegetables per day per 1000 calories had 29 percent less risk for head and neck cancer than did participants who consumed one and a half servings per 1000 calories per day"
  • Flavonoids and laryngeal cancer risk in Italy - Ann Oncol. 2007 Mar 19 - "Significant inverse relations were found for the highest versus the lowest quintile of intake for flavan-3-ols (OR = 0.64), flavanones (OR = 0.60), flavonols (OR = 0.32) and total flavonoids (OR = 0.60)"
  • Folic Acid May Fight Throat Cancer - WebMD, 6/12/06 - "Every eight hours, participants took oral supplements containing five milligrams (mg) of folic acid ... The participants' laryngeal leukoplakia didn't progress to cancer during the study. In addition, 12 patients (28%) had a "complete response," meaning the laryngeal leukoplakia faded away" - See iHerb or Vitacosticon folic acid products.
  • Dietary iron linked to upper GI cancer risk - MSNBC, 12/12/05 - "Consumption of high levels of dietary iron appear to be associated with an increased risk of throat and stomach cancer"
  • Cottonseed Drug May Help in Head, Neck Cancer - WebMD, 7/21/05
  • A randomized trial of antioxidant vitamins to prevent second primary cancers in head and neck cancer patients - J Natl Cancer Inst. 2005 Apr 6;97(7):481-8 - "alpha-Tocopherol supplementation produced unexpected adverse effects on the occurrence of second primary cancers and on cancer-free survival"
  • Zinc Deficiency Linked to Increased Risk of Less-Common Form of Esophageal Cancer - Doctor's Guide, 2/16/05 - "zinc deficiency in humans is associated with an increased risk of developing esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, an often-fatal form of esophageal cancer that has about 7,000 cases a year"
  • Selenium Reduces Risk of Some Cancers: FDA Approves Claim - New Hope Natural Media, 4/17/03 - "Companies that manufacture selenium supplements will now be permitted by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to claim that selenium supplements may reduce the risk of some cancers, according to a statement by the FDA. Although the FDA does not permit manufacturers to list specific types of cancer in the health claim, studies suggest selenium supplementation may reduce the risk of colon, prostate, lung, liver and esophageal cancers" - See selenium at Amazon.com.
  • Honey May Help Patients Undergoing Head And Neck Radiation - Intelihealth, 4/15/03
  • Hypericin May Be Potential Candidate For Treating Esophageal Cancer - Doctor's Guide, 5/22/01 - "Hypericin, the active ingredient in St. John’s Wort, a popular herbal remedy for depression, may be a potential candidate for treating esophageal and other tumors"

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