There are basically two problems causing a steep decline in sales. One is that Google must have changed their algorithm and my ranking when down.  I was ranked 40,000th of all websites.  Now I'm 177,000th, which is actually an improvement of 5,000 since last month according to trustgauge.com.  The second problem is that people bookmark the products and type in the URL instead of clicking on my links.  The links on my website contain a code that gives me credit for the sale.  Also, out of all the people that read the newsletter, at least some of them must purchase from places like amazon.com yet I never get any sales through them.  If you use bookmarks, the easiest way to do it would be to just bookmark any of my web pages.

I'll bet I'm losing 50% of my sales because people are still worried about their credit card number being stolen on the Internet.  I'm estimating that based on my own experience from people I know.  It seems like it's the people who are the least technical savvy that worry about it.  The don't seem to have an understanding of encryption.  If it says https:// vise http://, it’s secure.  Yeah there have been people that hacked into databases but those databases include credit card numbers whether you placed the order over the Internet, over the phone or at the store itself.  I’ve never heard of anyone that used an https:// website that had their credit card hacked via transmitting it on the Internet.  Plus, most people don’t realize that if your credit card is stolen, you are only responsible for $50 by federal.  If the loss involves your credit card number, but not the card itself, you have no liability for unauthorized use (click here for the law).  For people who are still worried about it, all the major credit card companies have a program that you can download from their website that allows you to generate a credit card number and maximum amount that can only be used once.  I used to use one for overseas pharmacies but decided it was a waste of time.

I had a credit card number stolen once and I never even used it on the Internet.  I got the card at Home Depot because it got me 10% off a washing machine.  They immediately approved the card over the phone at Home Depot and told Home Depot the card number and they put it through for the washing machine.  I received the card in the mail about a week later.  I never even used the card and put it in the bottom of a desk drawer.  Then one day I got a call from them asking if I changed $4,000 in Australia.  I said no.  They asked if I had my card and it took me about ten minutes to find it buried in the bottom of the drawer.  I told them it has never even been out of the drawer.  They said sometimes they use a random number generator and if they get one that works, they put it through.  They removed the charges and I never heard anything more about it.  I never even got a bill for it. - Ben

Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 10/24/07.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

It's unbelievable here in San Diego.  See http://www.signonsandiego.com/.  There were seven major fires the last time I checked and I'm just about in the middle of them.  One map on the TV I thought showed me in the evacuation area for the Witch Creek Fire/Guajito Fire.  I tried to confirm it on the Internet but all of the emergency websites like http://211sandiego.org/ and http://www.sdcountyemergency.com/ are overloaded and will not load.  I couldn't find anything that tells which roads are closed.  A very close friend lost her house.  She took it better than me.  As of 7:30 PM, 10/22/07, the Witch Creek Fire alone has burned 145,000 acres is 0% contained and it has destroyed 600 homes.  There was one sad seen on TV where an elderly guy was fighting the fire, which was practically on top of his home, with a garden hose.  The firemen were yelling at him to leave and he said he'd rather die than be homeless.  He finally left and the firemen were able to save his home.  On 10/24/07 the local news said that more people were evacuated than with Katrina.

Women's Health Guide - US News, 10/29/07

Onion compound linked to lower blood pressure - Nutra USA, 10/23/07 - "receive a daily supplement of quercetin (730 mg, USANA Health Sciences) or placebo for 28 days ... the hypertensives receiving the quercitin supplement experienced reductions in systolic and diastolic BP of seven and five mmHg, respectively, compared to placebo" - [Abstract] - See quercetin at Amazon.com.

Whole Grains Cut Heart Failure Risk - WebMD, 10/22/07 - "the risk of heart failure among those who ate breakfast cereal at least seven times a week was 29% lower than that the risk among those who never ate cereal, after adjusting for other heart disease risk factors ... When researchers further analyzed the results they found this healthy effect was associated with whole-grain cereals only, not with refined breakfast cereals"

Weight Gain Ups Breast Cancer Risk - WebMD, 10/22/07 - "If you had a weight gain early in life in the absence of weight gain later, it would not be risky in terms of breast cancer ... But weight gain any time after 35 is very predictive of postmenopausal breast cancer"

Face facts: Too much sugar causes wrinkles - MSNBC, 10/21/07 - "At blame is a natural process that's known as glycation, in which the sugar in your bloodstream attaches to proteins to form harmful new molecules called advanced glycation end products (or, appropriately, AGEs for short). The more sugar you eat, the more AGEs you develop. "As AGEs accumulate, they damage adjacent proteins in a domino-like fashion," ... Supplement your diet with at least 1 mg of vitamins B1 and B6 a day. These vitamins proved to be potent AGE inhibitors in a number of published studies" - Also see my Wrinkles page.  I believe the best supplement for AGEs is carnosine.

Vitamin K shows potential in the fight against wrinkles - Nutra USA, 10/19/07 - [Abstract] - "Recent studies have linked vitamin K to the elasticity of skin in patients suffering from pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE), an inherited condition resulting in severe wrinkling of the skin on the face and body" - See vitamin K at Amazon.com.

Exposure To Sunlight May Decrease Risk Of Advanced Breast Cancer By Half - Science Daily, 10/18/07 - "We believe that sunlight helps to reduce women's risk of breast cancer because the body manufactures the active form of vitamin D from exposure to sunlight ... It is possible that these effects were observed only among light- skinned women because sun exposure produces less vitamin D among women with naturally darker pigmentation" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Pine bark extract boost for blood flow and heart health - Nutra USA, 10/18/07 - "Acetylcholine stimulates the cells of arteries to produce NO from L-arginine faster ... In turn, the NO causes the muscle surrounding arteries to relax, which results in an increase of blood vessel diameters. When subjects had taken Pycnogenol the relaxation of arteries was increased by 42 per cent as compared to the group taking placebo tablets" - See Pycnogenol at Amazon.com and citicholine at Amazon.com.

High Levels of Uric Acid May Cause Cerebral Strokes, Affecting Cognitive Function - Doctor's Guide, 10/17/07 - "Even minimal elevations in serum UA are associated with structural and functional brain changes, specifically involving the development of ischaemic injury"

Recurrence of Atrial Fibrillation Reduced With Alpha-Linolenic Acid-Enriched Diet - Doctor's Guide, 10/17/07 - "The survival rate was 25.52% in the control group versus 63.09% in the ALA group at the end of the 12-month period" - Note:  ALA is the shorter chain omega-3 found in vegetable sources such as flaxseed.  The long chain omega-3 found in fish oil might do the same thing.  See:

• Fish Intake and Risk of Incident Atrial Fibrillation - Circulation. 2004 Jul 19 - "Among elderly adults, consumption of tuna or other broiled or baked fish, but not fried fish or fish sandwiches, is associated with lower incidence of AF"
• Fish Containing N-3 Fatty Acids Reduce Risk of AF - Medscape, 7/19/04 - "Intake of fatty fish containing N-3 fatty acids reduces the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF), but fish sandwiches or fried fish are not protective" - See Mega Twin EPA at Vitacost or iHerb.

Aspirin -- Just For Men? - Science Daily, 10/17/07 - "Trials that recruited predominantly men demonstrated the largest risk reduction in non-fatal heart attacks ... The trials that contained predominately women failed to demonstrate a significant risk reduction in these non-fatal events. We found that a lot of the variability in these trials seems to be due to the gender ratios, supporting the theory that women may be less responsive to aspirin than men for heart protection"

FDA Approves New Treatment for Diabetes - Doctor's Guide, 10/17/07 - "Januvia prolongs the activity of proteins that increase the release of insulin after blood sugar rises, such as after a meal. Januvia does this by blocking an enzyme (dipeptidyl peptidase IV or DPP-IV) which breaks down these proteins, leading to better blood sugar control"

• Januvia (sitagliptin phosphate) - rxlist.com - "By increasing and prolonging active incretin levels, JANUVIA increases insulin release and decreases glucagon levels in the circulation in a glucose-dependent manner" - Note:  I don't think they know yet whether it is insulin or blood glucose or both that effect aging but I'm sticking with medications that increase insulin sensitivity, which should reduce insulin, like metformin and Actos not medications that increase insulin.

Statins Cut Gallstones Risk - WebMD, 10/16/07 - "The study suggested that overall, current statin use slashed the risk of having gallbladder removal surgery by 18% -- no matter how long a woman had been taking the drug ... Women with diabetes who had been taking statins for two or more years reduced their risk of surgery by 75% ... Statins improve insulin resistance in people with diabetes but not in nondiabetics"

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

Low vitamin B6 and folic acid levels are associated with retinal vein occlusion independently of homocysteine levels - Atherosclerosis. 2007 Oct 16 - "Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) is one of the most common retinal vascular disorders ... Blood levels of vitamin B6, folate and Hcy, but not of vitamin B12, were found to be significantly different in patients as compared to healthy subjects. At the univariate analysis, the lowest tertile of vitamin B6 [odds ratio (OR) 4.03; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.58-6.31; P<0.0001)] and folate (OR 6.13; 95% CI 3.85-9.76, P<0.0001), and the highest tertile of Hcy (OR 8.08; 95% CI 5.05-12.92, P<0.0001) were found to be significantly associated with RVO. Moreover, at multivariate analysis, after adjustment for traditional cardiovascular risk factors, Hcy, and circulating levels of vitamins, respectively, the lowest tertile of vitamin B6 (OR 3.29; 95% CI 1.89-5.70, P<0.0001) and folate (OR 5.41; 95% CI 3.08-9.51, P<0.0001) and the highest tertile of Hcy (OR 2.58; 95% CI 1.12-5.94, P<0.0001) maintained their significant association with RVO"

Intake of sucrose-sweetened water induces insulin resistance and exacerbates memory deficits and amyloidosis in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease - J Biol Chem. 2007 Oct 17 - "controlling the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages may be an effective way to curtail the risk of developing AD"

Association between serum TSH, free T4 and serum liver enzyme activities in a large cohort of unselected outpatients - Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2007 Oct 17 - "GGT and ALT concentrations increased steadily across the increasing TSH categories (P < 0.0001 for trends), ranging from mean values of 36 to 62 U/l for GGT and from 29 to 41 U/l for ALT, respectively. Similarly, there was a negative, graded, relationship between serum GGT and ALT concentrations and free T4 categories"

The Association of Elevated HbA1c on the Behavior of Adenomatous Polyps in Patients with Type-II Diabetes Mellitus - Dig Dis Sci. 2007 Oct 16 - "colonic adenomatous polyps (APs) ... univariate analysis (UA) ... UA demonstrated that patients with poorly controlled DM-2 had a significantly increased incidence of right-sided APs (P = 0.001), a greater number of APs (P < 0.005), more advanced APs (P < 0.005), a younger age of presentation (P = 0.001), a history of smoking (P = 0.05), and greater use of exogenous insulin (P = 0.01). Logistic regression, as measured by HbA1c, demonstrated that poorly controlled DM-2 independently predicted a greater prevalence of right-sided AP, a more advanced lesion at the time of presentation, a greater number of polyps, and greater use of exogenous insulin"

Augmenting antidepressants with folate: a clinical perspective - J Clin Psychiatry. 2007;68 Suppl 10:4-7 - "Folate in particular has been found to further reduce symptoms in patients with depression when used in conjunction with an antidepressant, and because folate is a water-soluble B vitamin, its safety and tolerability are well established. This strategy would typically be used in patients with low plasma or red blood cell folate levels. Folate augmentation may be used (1) to enhance the efficacy of antidepressants in nonresponders, (2) to enable those who partially respond to antidepressant monotherapy to achieve remission, and (3) to alleviate residual symptoms during antidepressant treatment" - See folic acid at Amazon.com.

Effect of dietary B vitamins on BMD and risk of fracture in elderly men and women: The Rotterdam Study - one. 2007 Aug 17 - "As compared to the three lowest quartiles, individuals in the highest quartile of age- and energy-adjusted dietary pyridoxine intake had a decreased risk of non-vertebral fractures (HR=0.77, 95% CI=0.65-0.92, p=0.005) and of fragility fractures (HR=0.55"

The role of folate in depression and dementia - J Clin Psychiatry. 2007;68 Suppl 10:28-33 - "folate deficiencies may be caused by improper absorption and utilization, often due to genetic polymorphisms. Individuals, therefore, can have insufficient levels or lack needed forms of folate, despite adequate intake. Supplementation with the active form of folate, methyltetrahydrofolate, which is more readily absorbed, may be effective in the prevention and treatment of both depression and dementia" - folic acid at Amazon.com.

Health Focus (C-reactive protein):

Low-dose Periostat (Doxycycline) Shows Benefits in Patients with Heart Failure - Doctor's Guide, 11/20/02 - "At six-month follow-up, sub-antimicrobial dose doxycyline significantly reduced CRP levels by 45.8 percent compared to baseline values (p<0.05). The drug was also associated with a 33.5 percent reduction in interleukin-6 and a 50 percent reduction in metalloproteinase ... The findings are exciting, since research is now showing that CRP is both a key marker of inflammation leading to future acute coronary events, but also that CRP itself may contribute to the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis"

Alternative C-reactive protein News:

• Effects of folic acid and vitamin B complex on serum C-reactive protein and albumin levels in stable hemodialysis patients - Curr Med Res Opin. 2007 Jun 29 - "Folic acid and vitamin B complex co-administration effectively lowers tHcy and hs-CRP levels and increases albumin levels in stable hemodialysis subjects, underscoring their potential benefit to attenuate the state of inflammation and possibly improve the nutritional status in patients on hemodialysis"
• Effect of a High-Fiber Diet vs a Fiber-Supplemented Diet on C-Reactive Protein Level - Arch Intern Med. 2007 Mar 12;167(5):502-6 - "Overall, the mean C-reactive protein (CRP) level changed from 4.4 to 3.8 mg/L (-13.7%; P = .046) in the high-fiber DASH diet group and to 3.6 mg/L (-18.1%) in the fiber-supplemented diet group ... fiber intake of about 30 g/d) from a diet naturally rich in fiber or from a supplement can reduce levels of CRP"
• High-Fiber Diets, Fiber Supplements Reduce CRP Levels - Medscape, 3/14/07 - "The participants were then randomized to either the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), high-fiber diet (mean intake, nearly 28 g of fiber per day), or to a fiber supplement (psyllium) on top of their regular diet (mean intake, totaling 27 g/day). After 3 weeks on one diet, participants crossed over to the other fiber diet ... Overall, the mean CRP level changed from 4.4 to 3.8 mg/L (-13.7%; P = .046) in the high-fiber DASH diet group and to 3.6 mg/L (-18.1%) in the fiber-supplemented diet group (P = .02)"
• Dietary long-chain n-3 fatty acids of marine origin and serum C-reactive protein concentrations are associated in a population with a diet rich in marine products - Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Jul;84(1):223-9 - "Greater intake of n-3 PUFAs derived from marine products, as measured with a self-administered questionnaire, was independently related to a lower prevalence of high CRP concentrations in this older Japanese population with a diet rich in marine products. Our findings suggest that even very high intakes of n-3 PUFAs may lower serum CRP concentrations"
• Does Inflammation Cause Heart Disease? - Dr. Weil, 5/18/06
• Assessing Inflammation Levels? - Dr. Weil, 5/16/06
• Fiber Good, and Not Just for Your Gut - WebMD, 4/13/06 - "Compared with those who ate the least fiber, those who ate the most were 63% less likely to have high levels of C-reactive protein (CRP)"
• Vitamin C could reduce inflammation - Nutra USA, 3/8/06 - "High blood levels of vitamin C were associated with a 45 per cent reduced risk of inflammation (with respect to CRP levels)"
• Fish Help the Heart by Fighting Inflammation - WebMD, 7/5/05 - "compared with those who said they didn't eat fish, those who ate at least 10.5 ounces of fish per week had 33% lower C-reactive protein and 33% lower tumor necrosis factor-alpha (another indicator of inflammation) levels as well as much lower levels of other signs of inflammation"
• Total antioxidant capacity of the diet is inversely and independently related to plasma concentration of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in adult Italian subjects - Br J Nutr. 2005 May;93(5):619-25 - "dietary TAC is inversely and independently correlated with plasma concentrations of hs-CRP and this could be one of the mechanisms explaining the protective effects against CVD of antioxidant-rich foods such as fruits, whole cereals and red wine"
• Study links good carbs to healthier hearts - MSNBC, 5/2/05 - "the CRP levels of women whose diets consisted primarily of refined grains were 10 percent higher than women who consumed a lot of good carbs such as fiber-rich whole grains, fruits and vegetables"
• Exercise May Reduce Metabolic Syndrome Risks - WebMD, 11/15/04 - "physical fitness was associated with lower levels of an inflammation marker associated with heart disease, known as C-reactive protein"
• New Research: What is Your Optimal TSH Level? - About.com, 9/30/04 - "normalizing the TSH with a target TSH level of less than 2 mIU/mL is advisable to lower CRP levels and homocysteine levels, and possibly the cholesterol levels"
• Red Wine Beats Gin for Heart Health - WebMD, 8/13/04 - "those who drunk red wine also had lower levels of C-reactive protein and two other inflammatory markers"
• Low plasma vitamin B-6 concentrations and modulation of coronary artery disease risk - Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Jun;79(6):992-8 - "Low concentrations of pyridoxal-5'-phosphate (PLP), the active metabolite of vitamin B-6, are associated with high C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations"
• Vitamin C supplement to beat diabetes and heart disease - Nutra USA, 4/14/04 - "Researchers at the University of California say that participants who took about 500 milligrams of vitamin C supplements per day saw a 24 per cent drop in plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) levels after two months" - See iHerb or Vitacost vitamin C products.
• Reduction of C-reactive protein levels through use of a multivitamin - Am J Med. 2003 Dec 15;115(9):702-7 - "multivitamin use was associated with lower C-reactive protein levels"
• Mediterranean Diet Lowers C-reactive Protein Levels - Medscape, 11/11/03 - "For each 10-point increase in diet score, there was a corresponding 0.22 mg/dL reduction in C-reactive protein levels, a 0.21 pg/ml reduction in interleukin-6, a 12.5 mg/dL decrease in fibrinogen, and a 0.87 mmol/L decrease in homocysteine levels (P < .05), he said. Also, white blood cell count decreased significantly"
• Dietary Changes Can Reduce Cholesterol and C-Reactive Protein as Much as Medication - New Hope Natural Media, 9/18/03 - "One group was treated with a statin medication (20 mg of lovastatin per day) and another received placebo. A third group ate a modified daily diet that included an additional 2 grams of plant sterols provided in a margarine, 20 grams of insoluble fiber from psyllium, oats and barley, 43 grams of soy protein from soy milk and soy meat-substitutes, and 1 ounce of whole almonds. At the end of the study, total cholesterol levels had decreased 6% in the placebo group, 23% in the statin group and 22% in the modified-diet group. Levels of LDL-cholesterol dropped 8% in the placebo group, 31% in the statin group and 29% in the modified-diet group. CRP levels decreased 10% in the placebo group, 33% in the statin group and 28% in the modified-diet group"
• Inflammation Syndrome a Red-Hot Topic - Natural Foods Merchandiser, 9/03 - "What are some of the key anti-inflammatory supplements? ... At the top of the list are omega-3 fish oils, gamma-linolenic acid (GLA, an omega-6 fat that behaves more like an omega-3) and vitamin E. Several studies have shown that natural vitamin E supplements lower CRP levels by 30 percent to 50 percent"
• Weight Loss Eases Harmful Inflammation - WebMD, 2/4/02 - "They measured levels of a blood chemical called "C-reactive protein," or CRP. This chemical goes up when inflammation in the body rises. Then, 25 of the women were put on a weight-loss program ... On average, CRP levels fell by 32% after a weight loss of about 33 pounds over 14 months"
• Inflammation and Heart Disease - Life Extension Magazine, 1/01
• Diet and Exercise Alone Shown to Lower C-Reactive Protein - Doctor's Guide, 11/14/01 - "Hs-CRP, a marker of low level inflammation, has been found to be a strong predictor of myocardial infarction and stroke in men and women, as well as subsequent clinical events in patients following major cardiac events ... a structured program involving a low-fat, Mediterranean diet and a supervised, three-times weekly exercise program for three months ... Values of hs-CRP dropped 31 percent after the three months ... body fat was reduced by 5 percent ... exercise capacity improved 36 percent"
• A Prescription for Alarm - Nutrition Science News, 9/01 - "Taking natural vitamin E supplements to reduce levels of C-reactive protein, an inflammatory compound that increases the risk of heart disease by 4.5 times.  Heart disease is increasingly viewed as a disease of blood-vessel inflammation"
• Enzymes Can Hasten Pain Relief - Nutrition Science News, 2/01 - "Enzymes work not by stopping or blocking inflammation, but by supporting and quickening the process . . . By the third day after the operation, levels of C-reactive protein—a measure of inflammation - were threefold higher in the control group"

C-reactive protein CME:

• C-Reactive Protein Levels and Risk for First Cardiovascular Events in Women - Baylor College of Medicine, exp. 2/1/04

Other C-reactive protein News:

• Comparison of Effectiveness of Rosuvastatin Versus Atorvastatin on the Achievement of Combined C-Reactive Protein (<2 mg/L) and Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (<70 mg/dl) Targets in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (from the ANDROMEDA Study) - Am J Cardiol. 2007 Oct 15;100(8):1245-1248 - "CRP was effectively decreased in patients with type 2 diabetes receiving rosuvastatin or atorvastatin, whereas rosuvastatin decreased LDL cholesterol significantly more than atorvastatin"
• Inflammation Linked to Eye Disease - WebMD, 10/8/07 - "participants with the highest CRP levels at the study's start were 40% more likely to develop early-stage AMD during the study, compared to those with the lowest initial CRP levels"
• Human C-reactive Protein Regulates Myeloma Tumor Cell Growth And Survival - Science Daily, 9/15/07 - "CRP protects myeloma cells from apoptosis induced by chemotherapy drugs and stimulates myeloma cells to secrets more IL-6, which in turn provides additional protection to myeloma from apoptosis and stimulates liver cells to secrete more CRP. Thus, CRP could be a therapeutic target for breaking the vicious circle of myeloma to improve the therapeutic efficacy of currently available treatments"
• The Differential Effects of Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers on Microalbuminuria in Relation to Low-Grade Inflammation in Metabolic Hypertensive Patients - Am J Hypertens. 2007 May;20(5):565-72 - "There was a significant increase in high molecular weight adiponectin in the telmisartan group ... The reductions of microalbuminuria and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were significant in the telmisartan group"
• Valsartan Cuts C-Reactive Protein Levels in Prediabetics - Doctor's Guide, 5/22/07 - "In diabetic patients with abdominal obesity, after 16 weeks of hydrochlorothiazide therapy, median hsCRP values were increased 16% (4.9 vs 3.7 mg/L at baseline, P <.05) but decreased 9% in patients on valsartan (3.7 vs 4.1 mg/L at baseline, P <.05) and 5% in patients on combination therapy"
• A randomized trial of the effects of rosiglitazone and metformin on inflammation and subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with type 2 diabetes - Am Heart J. 2007 Mar;153(3):445.e1-6 - "Metformin and rosiglitazone treatment led to similar significant improvements in glycemic control (HbA(1c) -1.08% in the rosiglitazone group and -1.18% in the metformin group, P = nonsignificant). High-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels decreased by an average of 68% in the rosiglitazone group (5.99 +/- 0.88 to 1.91 +/- 0.28 mg/L, P < .001), compared with a nonsignificant 4% reduction in hsCRP with metformin"
• Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Pioglitazone and/or Simvastatin in High Cardiovascular-Risk Patients With Elevated High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein: The PIOSTAT Study - Medscape, 1/9/07 - "After 12 weeks of treatment, hs-CRP levels were reduced from 3.64 +/-2.42 mg/l to 2.48 +/-1.77 mg/l with pioglitazone monotherapy and from 3.26 +/-2.02 mg/l to 2.81 +/-2.11 mg/l with simvastatin monotherapy (as illustrated in Fig. 1). Combination treatment with pioglitazone and simvastatin resulted in an additive decrease in hs-CRP levels from 3.49 +/-1.97 mg/l to 2.06 +/-1.42 mg/l after 12 weeks" - See pioglitazone and simvastatin at OffshoreRx1.com.
• Two Markers Strongly Linked To Prostate Cancer Incidence And Mortality Almost A Decade Prior To Diagnosis - Science Daily, 11/14/06 - "Increased levels of two markers of inflammation, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP), are significantly associated with prostate cancer incidence and mortality almost a decade prior to diagnosis"
• Researchers Find Added Benefit of Statins in Those at High Risk for Heart Disease, Diabetes - Doctor's Guide, 9/13/06 - "found marked reductions in two pivotal biomarkers of inflammation: C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6. While these markers are typically elevated in insulin resistance, a condition that precedes the development of diabetes, statin therapy reduced these levels by 36% and 44%, respectively"
• CRP Test: Identify Heart Risk? - WebMD, 7/0/06
• 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%"
• Valsartan Lowers C-reactive Protein Levels; Combination Doesn't - Doctor's Guide, 5/19/06 - "Paradoxically, adding a diuretic to valsartan (Diovan) allows even more patients to reach blood pressure goals -- but appears to raise levels of C-reactive protein ... the monotherapy patients achieved an 8.9% reduction while the combination patients experienced a 4.4% increase"
• Rosiglitazone reduces insulin requirement and C-reactive protein levels in type 2 diabetic patients receiving peritoneal dialysis - Am J Kidney Dis. 2005 Oct;46(4):713-9 - "the RSG group also had significantly lower CRP levels than the control group (2.21 versus 8.59 mg/L"
• First Link Found Between Obesity, Inflammation and Vascular Disease - Doctor's Guide, 9/16/05 - "Researchers find human fat cells produce C-reactive protein ... aspirin and statin drugs, now commonly used to treat heart diseases, effectively damp down production of CRP from fat cells"
• Study Reaffirms Importance of C-Reactive Protein Testing in Predicting Heart Attack Risk - Doctor's Guide, 8/17/05 - "women with the highest levels of total cholesterol had twice the risk of future heart disease compared to women with the lowest levels. The research also demonstrated that women with the highest levels of hs-CRP had a three-fold increase in risk ... increased hs-CRP levels are associated with the development of atherosclerosis, independent of cholesterol"
• Diabetes Drug Actos (pioglitazone HCl) Showed Anti-Inflammatory Effects in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes in a Clinical Study - Doctor's Guide, 6/16/05 - "CRP decreased by 6.98 mg/L compared to 1.55 mg/L for placebo (p= 0.001). IL-6 decreased by 0.78 pg/mL compared to 0.22 pg/ml for placebo"
• Comparison of the effects of ramipril versus telmisartan in reducing serum levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and oxidized low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus - Am J Cardiol. 2005 Jun 1;95(11):1386-8 - "All regimens were associated with a significant reduction of C-reactive protein and oxidized low-density lipoprotein cholesterol serum levels"
• Insulin Resistance Correlates With Rises in C-Reactive Protein - Doctor's Guide, 5/23/05 - "As C-reactive protein rises, so does insulin resistance ... Increased C-reactive protein levels may also predispose to accelerated or premature atherosclerotic disease ... Maybe someday we'll have therapy to lower C-reactive protein levels"
• Intensive Lifestyle Intervention or Metformin on Inflammation and Coagulation in Participants With Impaired Glucose Tolerance - Diabetes. 2005 May;54(5):1566-1572 - "In men, the median changes in CRP from baseline to 1 year were -33% in the lifestyle group, -7% in the metformin group, and +5% in the placebo group. In women, the changes in CRP from baseline to follow-up were -29% in the lifestyle group, -14% in the metformin group, and 0% in the placebo group"
• Evolution of C-Reactive Protein as a Cardiac Risk Factor - Medscape, 4/20/05
• UC Davis Researchers Discover New Link Between C-reactive Protein, And Heart Disease And Stroke - Science Daily, 3/30/05 - "The cells that line the arteries are able to produce C-reactive protein ... The good news is that reducing the concentration of C-reactive protein with targeted drugs, such as statins, has been shown to reduce cardiovascular events"
• Protein's Link to Heart Disease Is a Mystery - New York Times, 1/11/05
• C-reactive protein levels and outcomes after statin therapy - N Engl J Med. 2005 Jan 6;352(1):20-8 - "Strategies to lower cardiovascular risk with statins should include monitoring CRP as well as cholesterol"
• Statin therapy, LDL cholesterol, C-reactive protein, and coronary artery disease - N Engl J Med. 2005 Jan 6;352(1):29-38 - "For patients with coronary artery disease, the reduced rate of progression of atherosclerosis associated with intensive statin treatment, as compared with moderate statin treatment, is significantly related to greater reductions in the levels of both atherogenic lipoproteins and CRP"
• Reduction of Both C-Reactive Protein and Cholesterol Required to Control Heart Disease - Doctor's Guide, 1/6/05 - "intensive therapy with atorvastatin reduced CRP levels 36 percent, while the more moderate pravastatin regimen reduced CRP by 5 percent"
• Blood Test Could Help Prevent Heart Deaths - WebMD, 1/5/05 - "We now know that it is not just cholesterol that drives the plaque buildup in the arteries. It is also C-reactive protein"
• Blood Test May Predict Heart Disease - WebMD, 12/15/04 - "Researchers at Harvard investigated the role of CRP in association with three other markers of inflammation and found that "the level of C-reactive protein is a significant marker of the risk of coronary heart disease," ... blood cholesterol levels were more strongly associated with an increased heart disease risk than CRP or other inflammatory markers"
• Common Blood Test May Predict Carotid Artery Disease - Doctor's Guide, 10/14/04 - "When the researchers adjusted for other carotid stenosis risk factors, such as age, history of smoking, diabetes, hypertension, and coronary artery disease, CRP was independently associated with stenosis, while LDL was not"
• Anger, Hostility And Depressive Symptoms Linked To High C-reactive Protein Levels - Science Daily, 9/23/04
• Anger Linked to Heart Disease - WebMD, 9/22/04 - "healthy adults who had mild to moderate symptoms of depression, anger, or hostility had levels of CRP, a marker of inflammation in the blood, that were two to three times higher than those of their calmer counterparts. And the more negative their moods, the higher their CRP levels were"
• High C-Reactive Protein Levels May Signal Fast-Moving Heart Disease - WebMD, 9/20/04 - "Researchers found four markers of inflammation, including C-reactive protein, neopterin, MMP-9, and sICAM, predicted rapid artery blockage ... People who had C-reactive protein levels in the middle range had three times the risk of progression than those with the lowest levels"
• Is Lower Really Better for Cholesterol? - WebMD, 9/14/04 - "The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) reduced target LDL levels from 100 mg/dL to 70 mg/dL for those at the very highest risk of heart disease ... high-dose Lipitor decreased CRP by 38%, while high-dose Zocor reduced CRP by just 17% in the current study"
• Study Shows Increased Levels of Blood Markers Years Before Onset of Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms - Doctor's Guide, 8/5/04 - "RA patients had consistently higher levels of CRP than the healthy controls throughout the 15 years preceding outward disease symptoms"
• Statins May Provide Anti-Inflammatory Benefit in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis - Doctor's Guide, 7/5/04 - "C-reactive protein declined by 50%"
• Significant Reduction in Left Ventricular Mass Index, Reactive Oxygen Species Formation and C-Reactive Protein With Valsartan Treatment - Doctor's Guide, 6/18/04 - "Despite very similar effects on BP, there was a significantly higher reduction in LVMI with valsartan compared with amlodipine ... In the valsartan group, CRP levels were significantly reduced"
• Repeated Treatment Of Gum Disease Reduces Levels Of Inflammatory Factors Known To Increase Heart Disease Risk - Science Daily, 4/8/04 - "in people who had elevated levels of CRP at baseline, removal of dental plaque bacteria by scaling or scaling combined with topical antibiotics produced a statistically significant reduction, bringing CRP levels close to the low-risk level. Both treatments also significantly reduced levels of fibrinogen in patients with elevated fibrinogen levels"
• CRP Test Little Help in Predicting Heart Risk - WebMD, 3/31/04 - "Now a much larger study shows that these studies overestimated the value of CRP tests .... The newer test adds little to what doctors already know about a person's heart-disease risk from blood cholesterol levels and smoking status"
• CRP: Identifying Colon Cancer Risk - Physician's Weekly, 3/22/04 - "the likelihood of developing colorectal cancers increased progressively with higher concentrations of CRP"
• C-Reactive Protein as Independent Predictor of Type 2 Diabetes in Women - Doctor's Guide, 3/8/04 - "Elevated plasma C-reactive protein (CRP), an inflammatory biomarker, is an independent risk factor for type 2 diabetes in females ... C-reactive protein is a sensitive and stable marker for systemic inflammation, and may be a potential target for intervention in healthy subjects"
• High C-Reactive Protein Levels Associated with Increased Risk of Age-Related Macular Degeneration - Doctor's Guide, 2/13/04 - "CRP levels were significantly higher among individuals with intermediate and advanced stages of AMD compared with controls"
• Link Found Between High C-Reactive Protein Levels and Subsequent Colon Cancer Development - Doctor's Guide, 2/3/04 - "Elevated plasma concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP) appear to increase the risk of developing colon cancer" - [WebMD]
• Higher C-Reactive Protein Levels Appear Associated with Increased Risk of Incident Hypertension - Doctor's Guide, 12/11/03
• Diabetes, Are You at Risk? - Time Magazine Cover Story, 12/8/03 - "Now there are half a dozen studies confirming that if you measure markers of inflammation, and CRP in particular, you can do a good job of predicting who's going to get diabetes"
• Elevated C-reactive Protein Level Predicts Ischaemic Heart Disease in Patients Undergoing Peritoneal Dialysis - Doctor's Guide, 12/2/03
• Elevated Systolic Blood Pressure And C-Reactive Protein Linked In Ischemic Stroke - Doctor's Guide, 12/1/03 - "increase of SBP, diastolic BP (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), or pulse pressure (PP) was significantly associated with an increased odds of elevated CRP level ... Moreover, for each 10 mm Hg increase in SBP, DBP, MAP, or PP, the odds of having a high CRP level increased by 72%"
• Inflammation Adds to Blood Pressure Risks - WebMD, 11/24/03 - "when both blood pressure and CRP levels are elevated, the risk of heart attack and stroke may be as much as eight times higher"
• Ezetimibe Plus Simvastatin Reduces C-Reactive Protein Levels - Doctor's Guide, 11/14/03
• Can C-Reactive Protein Make You Older? - WebMD, 11/13/03 - "Every 1 mg/L increase in C-reactive protein was equivalent to the effect [on exercise duration] of being approximately two years older ... At this point, we're not sure if poor fitness level causes the increase in C-reactive protein or vice versa"
• Zetia (Ezetimibe) Plus Simvastatin Provided More than Twice the Reduction of C-reactive protein in Patients with High Cholesterol Compared to Simvastatin Alone - Doctor's Guide, 11/13/03 - "CRP is considered an emerging risk marker for CHD ... Zetia with simvastatin reduced levels of the marker CRP by 33.3 percent compared to simvastatin administered alone (14.3 percent ... In addition, patients taking Zetia co-administered with simvastatin experienced an LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) reduction of 45 to 60 percent across the dosage range, compared to a reduction of 31 to 44 percent in patients taking simvastatin alone"
• Metformin Decreases Serum C-Reactive Protein in Women With Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome - Doctor's Guide, 10/28/03 - "During metformin treatment, serum CRP levels decreased significantly at 6 months overall"
• Heart Risk Factor Shows Up in Kids - WebMD, 8/18/03 - "The factor is CRP -- C-reactive protein. In adults, high CRP levels mean a person is at high risk of serious heart disease. It's a sign that blood vessels are showing signs of inflammation ... high CRP levels were linked to being fat but not to other heart-disease risk factors"
• Glycaemic Control Important in Controlling Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes Risk - Doctor's Guide, 8/14/03 - "insulin resistance in the pre-diabetic state is associated with the presence of additional cardiovascular risk factors and increased incidence of CVD ... chronic sub-clinical inflammation as measured by C-reactive protein (CRP) and other markers is associated with insulin resistance, increased risk of type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular events ... insulin-sensitising agents such as glitazones may be useful in decreasing sub-clinical inflammation, and statin therapy may lower both cholesterol and CRP"
• New Definition For Metabolic Syndrome Predicts Coronary Heart Disease And Type 2 Diabetes - Doctor's Guide, 8/11/03 - "C-reactive protein (CRP) level was significantly elevated in those with metabolic syndrome ... minor modifications of the current definition as achieved by adding CRP or lowering the glucose cut-off may enhance prediction of CHD and diabetes"
• Influence of depressive mood on the association of CRP and obesity in 3205 middle aged healthy men - Brain Behav Immun. 2003 Aug;17(4):268-75 - "Stratification of the sample into three levels of depressive mood revealed a significant association between increased CRP in the obese sample with highest level of depression in comparison to the low level obese depression group"
• Oral but not Transdermal Estrogen Replacement Therapy may Increase CRP Levels - Doctor's Guide, 8/11/03 - "Transdermal oestrogen appears to have no effect on C-reactive protein (CRP) levels after 6 months. In contrast, oral oestrogen may significantly increase CRP concentrations ... CRP is thought to promote the inflammatory component of atherosclerosis, and increased levels may be a strong predictor of cardiovascular events"
• Depression in Obese Men Associated with Increased C-Reactive Protein - Doctor's Guide, 7/15/03
• C-Reactive Protein Plus Established And Haematological Cardiovascular Risk Factors Substantially Linked To C-Reactive Protein And Cardiovascular Disease - Doctor's Guide, 7/10/03
• When Diet Doesn't Lower Cholesterol - WebMD, 7/7/03 - "Study participants whose CRP levels were originally below average saw dramatic reductions in cholesterol after 12 weeks on the DASH diet. Total cholesterol dropped by almost 9% and LDL, or bad cholesterol, dropped by almost 12%. In participants with higher than average CRP levels, total and LDL cholesterol levels dropped by just 3% each ... This is the first study to suggest that inflammation impacts the response to a traditional cholesterol lowering diet ... Several recent studies have shown that people who lost weight on high-protein, relatively high-fat diets lowered their cholesterol, suggesting that weight loss alone, no matter how it is achieved, plays a significant role in lowering cholesterol"
• Low-dose Periostat (Doxycycline) Shows Benefits in Patients with Heart Failure - Doctor's Guide, 11/20/02 - "At six-month follow-up, sub-antimicrobial dose doxycyline significantly reduced CRP levels by 45.8 percent compared to baseline values (p<0.05). The drug was also associated with a 33.5 percent reduction in interleukin-6 and a 50 percent reduction in metalloproteinase ... The findings are exciting, since research is now showing that CRP is both a key marker of inflammation leading to future acute coronary events, but also that CRP itself may contribute to the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis"
• Infection, Autoimmune Reaction, Inflammation Trigger Heart Attack - WebMD, 5/12/03
• Effect of metformin and sulfonylurea on C-reactive protein level in well-controlled type 2 diabetics with metabolic syndrome - Endocrine 2003 Apr;20(3):215-8 - "CRP level was significantly lower in patients using metformin for blood glucose control compared with those using glibenclamide, 5.56 and 8.3 mg/L, respectively ... The data showed that metformin decreases the level of circulating CRP, a marker of inflammation, more than glibenclamide"
• C-reactive protein is independently associated with fasting insulin in nondiabetic women - Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2003 Apr 1;23(4):650-5 - "increasing levels of CRP were associated with a stepwise gradient in odds for elevated fasting insulin among both lean and overweight women"
• Estrogen Patch More Heart-Friendly Than Pills - WebMD, 4/15/03 - "the C-reactive protein increased to an average of almost twice their baseline levels when the women took oral estrogen replacement, but not when they were on the estrogen patch"
• Birth Control Pill Linked to Heart Disease Protein - WebMD, 4/11/03 - "young women who took birth control pills had twice as much C-reactive protein in their blood as a similar group of women who did not use birth control pills ... It is possible that oral contraceptive use promotes inflammation"
• C-Reactive Protein Linked to Stroke Risk - WebMD, 4/7/03
• Ezetimibe Plus Simvastatin Reduces C-Reactive Protein in Patients with High Cholesterol - Doctor's Guide, 4/4/03 - "C-reactive protein is considered an emerging risk factor and risk marker for coronary heart disease ... the levels of C-reactive protein were about halved when the pooled ezetimibe plus simvastatin results were compared with simvastatin alone. The combination produced about a 34.8% reduction compared to an 18.2% reduction if the statin was used as monotherapy"
• Level Of C-Reactive Protein Tied To Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Size - Doctor's Guide, 3/13/03
• Statins/Beta Blockers Impact On Certain C-Reactive Protein Levels - Doctor's Guide, 1/29/03 - "Some 93% of the 89 patients who did not use beta-blockers and were in the highest CRP category and had exercise-induced ischaemia, compared with 42% among patients in the lower four categories. Similarly, 94% of the 67 patients who did not use statins and were in the highest CRP category had exercise-induced ischaemia, compared with 44% in the lower four categories"
• CRP improves cardiovascular risk prediction in metabolic syndrome - American Hearth Association, 1/28/03
• New Heart Disease Blood Test Discouraged - WebMD, 1/27/03 - "hs-CRP is most useful when a doctor is "sitting on the fence" while determining the right treatment strategy for a person with intermediate risk of heart disease. In those cases -- meaning someone who, based on cholesterol, blood pressure, smoking history, and weight, is believed to have about 10% to 20% increased risk for heart attack over the next 10 years -- an elevated hs-CRP could tip the scale toward more aggressive treatment"
• Bad Boy in the Blood: CRP - WebMD, 1/15/03 - "CRP doesn't just mark risk. It contributes to plaque formation in the blood-vessel wall. It promotes cholesterol uptake ... The most dazzling observation has been that in postmenopausal women, even those with low cholesterol levels, CRP identifies a three-fold increased risk for coronary artery disease ... When they added CRP to these cells, they saw dramatic effects. The cells began to secrete a substance called PAI-1. Increased PAI-1 secretion predicts formation of blood clots and heart disease. It also predicts diabetes and the pre-diabetes condition known as metabolic disorder ... You can lower your CRP levels by doing the same things you would do to lower your cholesterol levels: lose weight, eat fewer calories and a very low fat diet, take the cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins, and the natural form of vitamin E"
• Low-dose Periostat (Doxycycline) Shows Benefits in Patients with Heart Failure - Doctor's Guide, 11/20/02 - "At six-month follow-up, sub-antimicrobial dose doxycyline significantly reduced CRP levels by 45.8 percent compared to baseline values (p<0.05). The drug was also associated with a 33.5 percent reduction in interleukin-6 and a 50 percent reduction in metalloproteinase ... The findings are exciting, since research is now showing that CRP is both a key marker of inflammation leading to future acute coronary events, but also that CRP itself may contribute to the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis"
• Study finds alcohol may lessen inflammation - USA Today, 11/17/02 - "alcohol exerted the greatest benefit in those with the highest levels of a chemical called C-reactive protein, CRP, which builds up when arteries become inflamed. Some researchers now believe that CRP itself may be a previously unrecognized cause of heart disease ... Although LDL has long been considered the best measure of heart attack risk, about half of people who have heart attacks don't have high cholesterol ... "I think this is a fundamental shift in our thinking about (artery) disease""
• Simple Blood Test Predicts Heart Disease - WebMD, 11/13/02
• Periodontal Diseases Increase C-Reactive Protein In Haemodialysis Patients - Doctor's Guide, 11/7/02
• C-Reactive Protein, IL-6 Levels Tied to Heart Disease in Postmenopausal Women - Doctor's Guide, 8/28/02 - "Baseline levels of the inflammatory biomarkers C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) are independently associated with a two-fold increase in risk of healthy postmenopausal women developing coronary heart disease (CHD)"
• Ulcer-Causing Bacteria Linked to Stroke - WebMD, 7/8/02 - "H. pylori causes ulcers in the stomach ... those who had suffered a stroke from a blocked large artery had significantly higher levels of the more potent strains of the bacteria ... The study also found that levels of a substance known as C-reactive protein (CRP) that indicates inflammation within the body were also higher in the stroke groups. But patients with the potent strains of H. pylori had the highest CRP levels ... treating patients with H. pylori infection may be an easy way to reduce the risk of stroke"
• Avandia (Rosiglitazone) Lowers Markers for Cardiovascular Inflammation in Diabetic Patients - Doctor's Guide, 6/17/02 - "Rosiglitazone treatment also reduced plasma MCP-1 (75 percent of the basal level; p<0.05) and CRP (70 percent of basal; p<0.05)"
• New Test Predicts Sudden Death Risk - WebMD, 4/15/02 - "those who suffered sudden cardiac death had higher levels of a substance called C-reactive protein (CRP) ... CRP is released when blood vessels are inflamed ... the findings of this study show that the levels of CRP in the blood are even more telling than once thought ... we can intervene with lifestyle counseling and drugs like statins and aspirin"
• Combining Statin With Estrogen May Maximise Post-Menopausal Cardiovascular Benefits - Doctor's Guide, 4/5/02 - "Oral estrogen alone increased the median level of C-reactive protein from 0.27 to 0.46 mg/dL, equivalent to a 70 percent rise. On the other hand, simvastatin decreased C-reactive protein levels from 0.29 to 0.28 mg/dL. Oral estrogen combined with simvastatin increased C-reactive protein levels by 29 percent from 0.28 to 0.36 mg/dL" - Note:  Red yeast rice is a non-prescription statin.
• Lipitor (Atorvastatin Calcium) Reduces C-Reactive Protein In Acute Coronary Syndrome - Doctor's Guide, 3/19/02
• Statin Treatment In Coronary Heart Disease Lowers Levels Of Marker C-Reactive Protein - Doctor's Guide, 11/29/01
• C-Reactive Protein Levels Indicative of Ischemic Risk in Some Men - Doctor's Guide, 11/12/01
• Studies Bolster Inflammation-Heart Disease Link; May Prove Better Predictor Than Cholesterol - Intelihealth, 11/6/01
• Another Study Suggests Inflammation May Trigger Diabetes - WebMD, 7/17/01 - "The immune system and inflammation may be factors causing type 2 diabetes ... women who had high levels of immune system substances called C-reactive protein or interleukin-6, or both, in their blood were more likely to develop type 2 diabetes ... Both C-reactive protein, called CRP, and interleukin-6, or IL-6, are considered indicators for inflammation"
• Cholesterol drug has wider benefit - USA Today, 6/28/01 - [in addition to lowering cholesterol] "Cholesterol-lowering drugs, called statins, apparently work by reducing levels of a chemical known as C-reactive protein. This protein causes inflammation, promotes blood clotting and weakens fat-encased blockages inside arteries, causing them to burst"
• Blood Test Could Indicate Who Might Benefit From Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs - Intelihealth, 6/27/01 - "Half of all heart attack patients have normal cholesterol levels. A blood test can detect high levels of C-reactive protein - a sign of inflammation"

Related C-reactive protein Topics:

• inflammation / interleukin 6 / doxycycline

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