Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 11/5/08.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Diabetes Patients: Fish May Help Kidneys - WebMD, 11/4/08 - "fish consumption lowers abnormal levels of protein in the urine in people with diabetes ... Abnormal amounts of protein appear in the urine when the kidneys are damaged; it's a key indicator of kidney disease ... Leslie Spry, MD, a kidney specialist in Lincoln, Neb., who serves as a National Kidney Foundation spokesman, says he typically doesn't tell patients to eat more fish but recommends fish oil supplements to control triglycerides (blood fats)" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Heart Rate-lowering Drug Improves Exercise Capacity In Patients With Stable Angina - Science Daily, 11/4/08 - "adding ivabradine over and above the standard of care achieves increases exercise tolerance" - It doesn't look like it's available in the U.S. plus I didn't see any overseas pharmacies selling it either.  The only place I've see is http://www.drugdelivery.ca/s33870-s-CORALAN.aspx but they want $3.16 per pill with the shipping.

Form of Vitamin B3 May Help Alzheimer's - WebMD, 11/4/08 - "Researchers from the University of California, Irvine dissolved nicotinamide in drinking water and fed it to mice with Alzheimer's. The researchers found that nicotinamide prevented mental deficits in mice with Alzheimer's. It also seemed to improve short-term memory of mice without Alzheimer's" - [Science Daily} - See nicotinamide at Amazon.com.

How Did Glycine Significantly Decrease Liver Injury? - Science Daily, 10/31/08 - "Recent studies demonstrated that dietary glycine protected both the lung and liver against lethal doses of endotoxin in rat or other animals and improved graft survival after liver transplantation" - See L-glycine products at iHerb.

Vitamin E may slash lung cancer risk: Study - Nutra USA, 10/31/08 - "The researchers calculated that the highest average intakes of alpha-tocopherol (more than 7.73 mg per day) were associated with a 53 per cent reduction in lung cancer risk, compared to the lowest average intakes (less than 4.13 mg per day) ... When the researchers accounted for the other tocopherols they observed no significant associations on lung cancer risk for beta-, gamma, and delta-tocopherol" - [Abstract] (see the abstract, I don't believe that last part is true on the gamma. - Ben

Too Much Body Fat Bad for Bones? - WebMD, 10/31/08 - "postmenopausal women with a higher proportion of body fat tend to have lower bone mineral content"

Antioxidants Can Reduce The Toxic Effects Of Lead, Study Suggests - WebMD, 10/31/08 - "administering natural antioxidants can reduce the effects of lead poisoning in animals during the gestation and lactation periods"

Obesity Linked to Erectile Dysfunction - WebMD, 10/31/08 - "conditions related to obesity, particularly hypertension (or high blood pressure), are the most significant causes of obesity-related erectile dysfunction. Abnormal penile blood flow was found to be linked to high blood pressure"

Optimal Dose Of Vitamin E Maximizes Benefits, Minimizes Risk - Science Daily, 10/30/08 - "One of the most compelling studies of the benefits of vitamin E is the Women’s Health Study, in which 40,000 healthy women, 45 and older, took 600 IU vitamin E supplements or a placebo every other day for 10 years. Women taking the supplements had 24 percent fewer deaths from heart disease. Vitamin E’s protective effect appeared even stronger in women 65 and older. Those taking the vitamin experienced a 26 percent reduction in cardiovascular events and a 49 percent reduction in cardiovascular deaths ... Vitamin K in the liver appears to diminish as vitamin E increases" - Note:  Alpha-tocopherol is the only form of vitamin E that is measured in IU's.  See my vitamin E page for problems with just taking the one form of vitamin E.  For one thing, in addition to reducing vitamin K it reduces the gamma-tocopherol form of vitamin E which may be as important if not more important.  See Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes Tocomin) at Amazon.com.

Diabetes Up 90% in U.S. - WebMD, 10/30/08 - "Scary Halloween news from the CDC: Type 2 diabetes is up 90% since 1997"

Vigorous Exercise Cuts Breast Cancer Risk - WebMD, 10/30/08 - "When we evaluated the relation of vigorous activity to breast cancer among women who were of normal weight ... the risk among women reporting the highest amount of vigorous activity decreased by about 30% compared with women with no vigorous activity"

Hazardous Levels Of Metal Ions Found In Many Commercial Table Wines, Study Suggests - Science Daily, 10/29/08 - "An analysis of reported levels of metals in wines from sixteen different countries found that only those from Argentina, Brazil and Italy did not pose a potential health risk owing to metals"

Tea Drinking May Help Preserve Hip Structure in Elderly Women - Medscape, 10/29/08 - "The cross-sectional analysis revealed that mean total hip aBMD was 2.8% greater in tea drinkers ... Compared with non–tea drinkers, tea drinkers had a significantly higher aBMD at the total hip and trochanter sites but not at the femoral neck and intertrochanter sites" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.

Grapes May Aid A Bunch Of Heart Risk Factors, Animal Study Finds - Science Daily, 10/29/08 - "Could eating grapes help fight high blood pressure related to a salty diet? And could grapes calm other factors that are also related to heart diseases such as heart failure? A new University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center study suggests so" - See grape seed extract at Amazon.com.

Abstracts from this week's Doctor's Guide Nutrition/Dietetics plus abstracts from my RSS feeds (Click here for the journals, the PubMed ones at the top):

Suppression of androgen receptor signaling and prostate specific antigen expression by (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate in different progression stages of LNCaP prostate cancer cells - Cancer Lett. 2008 Oct 31 - "EGCG suppressed cell proliferation, prostate specific antigen (PSA) expression, and AR transcriptional activity in the different LNCaP sublines. Intraperitoneal administration of EGCG also suppressed the growth of relapsing R1Ad tumors and decreased tumor-derived serum PSA. Effects of EGCG on tumor PSA expression have the potential to affect accurate monitoring of patient tumor burden by serum PSA measurement" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.

Vitamin C-lipid metabolites: Uptake and retention and effect on plasma C-reactive protein and oxidized LDL levels in healthy volunteers - Med Sci Monit. 2008 Nov;14(11):CR547-551 - "ascorbic acid (AA), calcium ascorbate (CaA) ... PureWay-C(R) supplementation leads to the highest absolute serum vitamin C levels when compared to AA, CaA and Ester-C(R). PureWay-C(R) provides a statistically significant greater serum level than calcium ascorbate at 1, 2, 4, and 6 hours post oral supplementation whereas Ester-C(R) shows a less but slightly statistically significant increase at only 1 and 4 hours. Oral supplementation with PureWay-C(R) also led to a greater reduction in plasma C-reactive protein and oxidized LDL levels compared to the other vitamin C formulations. Conclusions: PureWay-C(R) is more rapidly absorbed and leads to higher serum vitamin C levels and greater reduction of plasma levels of inflammatory and oxidative stress markers than other forms of vitamin C, including Ester-C(R)" - See PureWay C products at iHerb.

Beneficial Effects of Combination Therapy with Angiotensin II Receptor Blocker and Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitor on Vascular Endothelial Function - Hypertens Res. 2008 Aug;31(8):1603-10 - "these results suggest that the angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitor perindopril is superior to the calcium channel blocker amlodipine for reducing vascular endothelial dysfunction when co-administered with angiotensin receptor blockers in patients with essential hypertension"

Dietary alpha-, beta-, gamma- and delta-tocopherols in lung cancer risk - Int J Cancer. 2008 Sep 1;123(5):1173-80 - "Using multiple logistic regression analysis, the adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of lung cancer for increasing quartiles of dietary alpha-tocopherol intake were 1.0, 0.63 (0.50-0.79), 0.58 (0.44-0.76) and 0.39 (0.28-0.53), respectively (p-trend < 0.0001). For dietary intake of beta-tocopherol, the OR and 95% CI for all subjects were: 1.0, 0.79 (0.63-0.98), 0.59 (0.45-0.78) and 0.56 (0.42-0.74), respectively (p-trend < 0.0001). Similar results for dietary gamma-tocopherol intake were observed: 1.0, 0.84 (0.67-1.06), 0.76 (0.59-0.97) and 0.56 (0.42-0.75), respectively (p- trend = 0.0002). No significant association between delta-tocopherol intake and lung cancer risk was detected"

Angiotensin receptor blockers in the treatment of NASH/NAFLD: Could they be a first-class option? - Adv Ther. 2008 Oct 29 - "Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) ... nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) ... In our opinion there are two major advantages of ARBs that make them a possible therapeutic option for treating NASH and MS: their specific antihypertensive effect, and their impact on liver fibrosis. In light of this, and based on the current evidence (including existent human studies), we can speculate that some ARBs like telmisartan, candesartan, and losartan can be beneficial in treating NASH/NAFLD and its consequences, and further larger controlled clinical trials will bring consistent data into this field"

Neat Tech Stuff :

Health Focus (Skin Care):

Alternative Skin Care News:

• Vitamin D may protect skin from within: Study - Nutra USA, 10/8/08 - "Atopic dermatitis (AD) ... All of the participants were given daily vitamin D supplements of 4000 IUs for 21 days ... After supplementation, the skin of people with AD showed statistically significant increases in cathelicidin from 3.53 to 23.91 relative copy units (RCU). Moreover, normal skin showed a “modest increase”, said the researchers, from 1.0 to 1.78 RCU" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Flax and borage oil may boost skin health from within - 10/3/08 - "the researchers noted a significant decrease in reddening of the skin in the flaxseed and borage oil groups of 45 and 35 per cent, respectively, compared to baseline values. No differences were recorded in the placebo group ... blood flow to the in skin also decreased in the oil groups ... Measurements of water loss from the skin showed that the oil supplements were associated with decreases of about 10 per cent after six weeks, with only the flaxseed oil group showing further decreases at the end of 12 weeks (25 per cent) ... The roughness and scaling – dry peeling skin – was also decreased significantly after 12 weeks of flaxseed and borage oil supplementation, with no differences in the placebo group" - [Abstract]
• What To Eat For Glowing Healthy Skin - Science Daily, 11/14/07 - "the antioxidants in vitamins C and E can protect the skin from sun damage and help reduce damage in skin cells caused by harmful free radicals, which contribute to aging skin. Similarly, we have long known that the B vitamin biotin is responsible for forming the basis of skin, hair and nail cells, and vitamin A – found in many fruits and vegetables – maintains and repairs skin tissue"
• On The Cover: Scientifically Advanced Skin Care - Life Extension Magazine, 1/07
• Eat Right To Keep Healthy Skin - CBS 2 Chicago, 4/30/05 - "Clinical studies have found that eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and omega-3 fatty acids can help skin retain its healthy glow and look youthful ... foods for healthy skin include those rich in lycopene. That's a pigment that gives many fruits and vegetables their red color. It's a proven antioxidant, and antioxidants are important because they reduce the risk of several types of cancer and they prevent the formation of harmful byproducts of metabolism called free radicals"
• Rub Away Aged Skin - Life Extension Magazine, 6/04
• What do you recommend for thin, dry skin and hair and brittle nails? - Dr. Weil, 10/21/03
• Rejuvenate Your Skin While You Sleep - Life Extension Magazine cover story, 8/03
• Green Tea Gives Skin Healthy Glow - HealthDay, 5/15/03 - "Green tea contains compounds called polyphenols, which help eliminate free radicals. These free radicals can cause cancer by altering DNA. Polyphenols also protect healthy cells while promoting the death of cancer cells ... Cells that migrate toward the surface of the skin normally live about 28 days, and by day 20 they basically sit on the upper layer of the skin getting ready to die. But EGCG reactivates them ... EGCG may offer potential benefits for skin conditions including psoriasis, rosacea, wrinkles and wounds" - See iHerb or Vitacost green tea extracts.  My favorite is Jarrow green tea at iHerb.
• GLA: The Right Remedy for Eczema? - Dr. Weil, 11/21/02 - "It has specific nourishing effects on skin, hair, and nails that are not duplicated by omega–3 fatty acids ... It is true that a high ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in the diet promotes inflammation by favoring synthesis of pro-inflammatory hormones (prostaglandins). But the amount of GLA needed to treat eczema and other skin conditions (500 milligrams twice a day) is too small to affect that ratio significantly" - See gamma linolenic acid at Amazon.com.
• Increased Blood Antioxidants And Selenium Levels May Augur A Promising Therapy For Patients With Vitiligo - Doctor's Guide, 11/8/02
• Link Found Between Vitamin E Intake and Immunoglobulin E In Treatment Of Atopic Dermatitis - Doctor's Guide, 5/31/02 - "Dietary vitamin E (VE) could be an excellent tool in treating atopic dermatitis"
• Nutrition for the Skin - What You Should Know Before Undergoing a Surgical Procedure - Wellness Insider, 5/23/02 - "free radicals can accelerate the aging process of the skin, resulting in wrinkles and sunspots, not to mention an increased risk of skin cancer ... These antioxidants are important in protecting you from disease and can help shield you from skin cancer, maintain youthful, healthy skin, and even help to promote and expedite the healing process after a surgical procedure"
• Few Vitamins Effectively Prevent or Reverse Skin Damage - Medscape, 3/02 - "Despite advertising claims, almost all available topical formulations contain very low concentrations of antioxidants that are not well absorbed by the skin ... There are 3 antioxidants that have been proven to decrease the effect of the sun on the skin and actually prevent further damage: selenium, vitamin E, and vitamin C ... Recent animal studies have found that when selenium is taken orally or through the skin in the form of L-selenomethionine, it provided protection against both everyday and excessive UV damage ... New laboratory studies suggest vitamin E helps inactivate free radicals, making them less likely to cause damage ... Even minimal UV exposure can decrease the vitamin C levels in the skin by 30%, while exposure from the ozone of city pollution can decrease the level by 55%"
• Topical Vitamin C May Have Beneficial Effect On Photaged Skin - Doctor's Guide, 4/13/01 - "vitamin C levels of the skin can be severely depleted following UV irradiation ... By comparison with placebo controls, there was a highly significant increase in the skin microrelief density and a decrease of the deep furrows on the side of the neck treated with Vitamin C cream"
• Antiaging Products for Skin, Hair and Nails - Nutrition Science News, 10/00
• Green tea may help prevent skin cancer - CNN, 8/15/00
• Nourishing your skin: Choose the right vitamin - CNN, 6/16/00
• Proanthocyanidin Power - Nutrition Science News, 6/00
• Skin Aging Update - Life Extension Magazine, 1/00
• More Than Skin Deep - Nutrition Science News, 11/99
• Nourishing your skin from within - CNN, 6/30/99

Other Skin Care Information:

• Really? - Drinking Lots of Water Is Good for Your Skin - NYTimes.com, 10/27/08
• New Ingredients In Drug-like Anti-aging Products Improve Skin - Science Daily, 12/28/07 - "skin surface irregularity can be improved through the topical application of niacin, while the appearance of fine lines can be diminished through the application of moisturizers containing engineered peptides and over-the-counter retinoids. Skin pigmentation can become more regular with the use of photoprotective ingredients. Furthermore, combining cosmeceutical ingredients in a moisturizing agent can magnify benefits and improve skin appearance"
• Antiaging Skin Care: Reversing Skin Aging By Gene Blockade In Mice - Science Daily, 11/29/07
• 11 Causes of Dry Skin Problems - WebMD, 11/29/07
• Retinol May Smooth Aging Skin - WebMD, 5/22/07
• Vitamin A Helps Reduce Wrinkles Associated With Natural Skin Aging - Science Daily, 5/21/07 - "Applying vitamin A to the skin appears to improve the wrinkles associated with natural aging and may help to promote the production of skin-building compounds ... Researchers applied a lotion containing 0.4 percent retinol"
  • Wrinkle creams: Your guide to younger looking skin - CNN - "Retinol is less potent than the vitamin A derivative tretinoin" - Note:  Tretinoin is Retin A.
• Is Zapping Hair Safe? - Dr. Weil, 5/28/03
• Oral Terbinafine With Topical Ciclopirox Clears Toenail Onychomycosis Faster - Doctor's Guide, 3/26/03
• Tacrolimus 0.1% Ointment Safe and Effective Long-Term for Atopic Dermatitis in Children and Adults - Doctor's Guide, 3/24/03
• Bexarotene Gel May Be New Option for Hand Dermatitis - Doctor's Guide, 3/24/03
• Dangerous Pigmentation Recognized By Computerized-Image Analysis - Doctor's Guide, 3/14/03
• New Skin Cream [Avage] Reverses Sun Damage - WebMD, 11/22/02 - "At the 24-week point, researchers found significantly more patients who used the tazarotene cream experienced a more than 50% overall improvement in skin appearance compared to those who received the placebo. The Avage users also reported less wrinkling, mottled pigmentation, and skin roughness"
• FDA Approves First One-Day, Oral Antiviral Treatment of Cold Sores - Doctor's Guide, 9/10/02
• Pimecrolimus Cream Helps Control Atopic Dermatitis in Adults - Doctor's Guide, 7/3/02
• Atopic Dermatitis Symptoms Improve with Clobetasol Propionate 0.5 Percent - Doctor's Guide, 7/3/02
• Rubefacients Protect Skin Against Moderate Cold - Doctor's Guide, 7/1/02
• The Right Way to Apply Sunscreen - WebMD, 6/20/02 - "The sun protection factor, or SPF, that a sunscreen delivers is determined by testing skin that's been generously slathered with a thick coat of sunscreen. But studies have shown that most people apply only 25% to 75% of this amount"
• Many Children At Risk Of Skin Cancer - Doctor's Guide, 6/3/02
• Navigating the maze of sunscreens - CNN, 5/28/02
• Stress Hormone Behind Bad Skin - WebMD, 5/17/02 - "In response to stress, the brain signals production of several hormones. One of them is stress hormone, which makes the oil glands in the skin go into overdrive. Triggering of the stress system can also lead to hair loss, skin aging, and other skin problems" - I believe they are talking about cortisol.  Phosphatidylserine (PS) is believed to reduce cortisol.
• Reducing The Risk Of Occupational Hand Dermatitis - Doctor's Guide, 4/15/02
• Smokers Look Older -- Butt Why? - WebMD, 3/22/02 - "Bottom line: Smokers get a double whammy -- once from the sun and again from tobacco, since both trigger this skin-destructive MMP-1 action"
• Low-Dose Topical 5-Fluorouracil As Effective, Better Tolerated Than Standard 5% Cream - Doctor's Guide, 2/26/02
• Study Links Tanning Beds to Skin Cancer - WebMD, 2/5/02 - "those who had ever used a tanning bed were 2.5 times more likely to have squamous cell cancer and 1.5 times more likely to have basal cell cancer ... those that started using tanning beds at an earlier age tended to be more likely to end up with skin cancer"
• Solaraze (Diclofenac Sodium) Gel, For Treatment Of Actinic Keratosis, To Be Available In US In January 2002 - Doctor's Guide, 12/10/01
• Lower Dose Tretinoin Cream As Effective, Less Irritating Than Higher Doses In For Photodamaged Skin - Doctor's Guide, 8/2/01
• Abreva (Docosanol 10%) Speeds Healing of Cold Sores - Doctor's Guide, 7/25/01
• Cancer Risk From Tanning Beds Similar to Direct Sunlight - WebMD, 6/6/01 - "ultraviolet exposure from tanning beds is just as dangerous as direct exposure to the sun"
• Gatifloxacin Proves Of Value For Treating Dermatological Infections - Doctor's Guide, 7/4/01
• Tanning Salon Exposure Can Lead to Skin Cancer - Doctor's Guide, 5/29/01
• FDA Approves Avelox (Moxifloxacin HCl) for Treatment of Uncomplicated Skin Infections - Doctor's Guide, 4/30/01
• Research On Why Smokers Look Older - Intelihealth, 3/23/01 - "smoking switches on a gene involved in destroying collagen, the structural protein that gives skin its elasticity ... Smoking has also been found to trigger oxygen damage to the cells and to mess up the blood flow to the skin"
• 59th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology - Medscape, 3/7/01
• New Photorejuvenation Treatments Effective For Aging Skin - Doctor's Guide, 3/6/01
• Hygiene of the Skin: When Is Clean Too Clean? - Medscape, 3/01
• Herpes Virus Shows Early Promise for Advanced Skin Cancer - WebMD, 2/15/01
• Zindaclin (ResiDerm A) Gel As Effective As Dalacin T (Clindamyacin) Topical Lotion For Skin Disorders - Doctor's Guide, 12/20/00
• Infrared Technology: A New Answer to 'Tattoo Regret' - WebMD, 10/20/00
• FDA Approves New Indication For Levaquin (Levofloxacin) For Skin Infections - Doctor's Guide, 9/15/00
• FDA Approves New Formulation Of Renova (Tretinoin Cream) For Reduction Of Fine Facial Wrinkles - Doctor's Guide, 9/6/00
• New Laser Promises Clearer Skin With Less Pain - WebMD, 8/24/00
• For Acne Scars, Laser Resurfacing Is Popular, Effective - WebMD, 5/16/00
• More Sun Equals More Skin Cancer -- Even for Blacks - WebMD, 4/14/00
• FDA Approves Levulan Kerastick For Pre-Cancerous Skin Lesions - Doctor's Guide, 12/7/99
• The ABCs of SPFs: What's new under the sun - CNN, 8/13/99
• Vernix Replicates Human Skin’s Natural Protective Properties - Doctor's Guide, 12/23/98
• Tanning Beds: Hotbed Of Controversy - Doctor's Guide, 10/30/97
• Tiny Skin Flaws Contain Genetic Mutations Linked To Cancer - Doctor's Guide, 6/11/97
• Prescription Skin Protector Helps Prevent Environmental Aging - Doctor's Guide, 3/27/97
• Poison Ivy, Oak and Sumac Skin Protectant Now Available - Doctor's Guide, 3/20/97
• Spring and Summer Skin Irritations - How to Fight the Fungus Among Us - Doctor's Guide, 5/29/96