Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 1/21/09.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Blueberries May Shrink Tumors in Babies - WebMD, 1/21/09 - "Mice with blood vessel tumors that were fed the blueberry extract lived twice as long as mice that did not get the substance and had tumors 60% smaller than mice that did not receive blueberry extract treatment ... Oral administration of blueberry extract represents a potential therapeutic strategy for treating endothelial cell tumors in children" - See blueberry extracts at Amazon.com.

Nutrient Supports Bone Health Over Time - Science Daily, 1/20/09 - "The results suggest there is a protective effect of carotenoids, particularly of lycopene, against bone loss in older adults. The researchers concluded that carotenoids may explain, in part, the previously observed protective effects of fruit and vegetable consumption on bone mineral density" - See Jarrow Lyco-Sorb (contains Lyco-O-Mato) at Amazon.com.

New Therapeutic Properties Of N-acetyl-L-cysteine Discovered - Science Daily, 1/19/09 - "N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) combined with mesalamine produces a significant improvement in patients suffering from ulcerative colitis ... N-acetyl-L-cysteine, is a drug normally used for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and to minimize the effects of cold and flu. Its hepatic protective properties also make this drug a useful tool in paracetamol intoxications ... N-acetyl-L-cysteine reduced the negative effects caused by azathioprine, a immunosuppressant of clinical use, on the liver" - See n-acetyl cysteine at Amazon.com.

Declining Male Fertility Linked To Water Pollution - Science Daily, 1/18/09 - "The study identified a new group of chemicals that act as ‘anti-androgens’. This means that they inhibit the function of the male hormone, testosterone, reducing male fertility. Some of these are contained in medicines, including cancer treatments, pharmaceutical treatments, and pesticides used in agriculture. The research suggests that when they get into the water system, these chemicals may play a pivotal role in causing feminising effects in male fish" - See water distillers at Amazon.com.

Better skin from the beauty aisle - MSNBC, 1/18/09 - Has a doctor's evaluation of various skin aging solutions.

Salt Reduction May Offer Cardioprotective Effects Beyond Blood Pressure Reduction - Science Daily, 1/16/09 - "sodium reduction is beneficial for people who have normal blood pressure and those who are overweight or obese, and the benefits start in just a few weeks"

Genistein Safely Improves Bone Formation in Osteopenic, Postmenopausal Women - Medscape, 1/14/09 - "Usually, the drugs used in the management of osteopenia/osteoporosis have been classified as predominantly 'antiresorptive agents' or as 'bone-forming agents' but, on the basis of our results, genistein might represent the first therapy that overcomes this classification by combining a powerful bone-forming as well as an antiresorptive activity ... All postmenopausal women with bone loss would be ideal candidates for genistein aglycone treatment ... Genistein aglycone has a good safety profile, and in addition it is effective against climacteric syndrome (i.e., hot flushes and night sweats)"

Midlife Coffee And Tea Drinking May Protect Against Late-life Dementia - Science Daily, 1/14/09 - "coffee drinkers at midlife had lower risk for dementia and AD later in life compared to those drinking no or only little coffee. The lowest risk (65% decreased) was found among moderate coffee drinkers (drinking 3-5 cups of coffee/day). Adjustments for various confounders did not change the results. Tea drinking was relatively uncommon and was not associated with dementia/AD"

Newer Antipsychotic Drugs Increase the Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death - WebMD, 1/14/09 - "because these older agents cause movement disorders in some patients, they have largely been replaced with newer medications such as Zyprexa, Risperdal, and Seroquel ... Although the study's results reaffirmed that people who use the older antipsychotic drugs are twice as likely as nonusers to have sudden cardiac death, it also showed a similar increase in risk for the newer medications. For these, the rate of sudden cardiac death was more than twice that for nonusers"

Physical Activity Improves Mood For People Serious Mental Illness - Science Daily, 1/14/09 - "even meager levels of physical activity can improve the mood of people with serious mental illnesses (SMI) such as bipolar disorder, major depression and schizophrenia"

More May Benefit From Cholesterol Drugs - WebMD, 1/13/09 - "Eight out of 10 middle-aged and older Americans may benefit from treatment with cholesterol-lowering statin drugs ... All the participants had elevated levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) ... Over an average of two years of treatment, participants who took the statin Crestor had half as many heart attacks, strokes, and deaths from cardiovascular causes as participants randomly assigned to receive a placebo"

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):

Quercetin up-regulates paraoxonase 1 gene expression with concomitant protection against LDL oxidation - Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2009 Jan 10 - "Compared to the pair-fed control group, feeding quercetin (10mg/L) in the liquid diet for 4 weeks increased (a) hepatic expression of PON1 by 35% (p<0.01), (b) serum and liver PON1 activities by 29% (p<0.05) and 57% (p<0.01), respectively, and (c) serum homocysteine thiolactonase (HCTL) activity by 23% (p<0.05). Correspondingly, the lag time of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation was increased by >3-fold (p<0.001) with plasma HDL from quercetin-fed group compared to the HDL from control group. Our data suggest that quercetin has antiatherogenic effect by up regulating PON1 gene expression and its protective capacity against LDL oxidation" - See quercetin at Amazon.com.

Health Focus (Colds/Flu):

Popular Supplements:

• Zicam / l-glutathione / enchinacea / omega-3 / primadophilus

Alternative News:

• Common Cold - Life Extension Foundation
• Influenza Virus (Flu) - Life Extension Foundation
• Colds and Flu - The Natural Pharmacist
• Cold and Flu - Echinacea - natmedonline.com
• NAC: The Best Flu and Cold Remedy Yet? - thenutritionreporter.com
• Another Vitamin C Analysis - thenutritionreporter.com
• Good Night’s Sleep Puts Colds to Bed - WebMD, 1/12/09
• Substance Found In Fruits And Vegetables Reduces Likelihood Of The Flu - Science Daily, 0/3/08 - "Mice that exercised and took quercetin had nearly the same rate of illness as those that did not exercise. In other words, quercetin canceled out the negative effect of stressful exercise ... Although this study was done with mice, a recent human study found that people who took quercetin suffered fewer illnesses following three days of exhaustive exercise compared to those who did not" - See quercetin at Amazon.com.
• Does Honey Relieve Cough in Children? - Medscape, 5/8/08 - "On a 6-point scale, subjects who received honey reported an average improvement of 1.89 points in cough frequency, compared with 1.39 points for DM subjects and 0.92 points for "no treatment" subjects. Parental assessment of the child's sleep improved by 2.49 points for honey patients, by 1.79 points for DM patients, and by 1.57 points for no treatment patients"
• Zinc Reduces Common Cold Symptoms - Medscape, 4/17/08 - "The participants took one zinc acetate lozenge containing 13.3 mg of zinc or placebo every 2-3 hours while awake ... The average duration of cold symptoms (including cough, nasal discharge, and muscle ache) was significantly shorter in the zinc group (4.0 days) than in the placebo group (7.1 days) ... By day 4, 56% of the zinc group had complete resolution of their colds, whereas none of the placebo group was free of cold symptoms on day 4"
• Probiotic Cuts Respiratory Illness Rates In Endurance Athletes, Study Suggests - Science Daily, 2/18/08 - "The probiotic Lactobacillus substantially cuts the rate and length of respiratory illness in professional long distance runners ... athletes taking the probiotic had less than half the number of days of symptoms of their colleagues taking the placebo ... Respiratory symptoms while taking Lactobacillus lasted 30 days compared with 72 days while taking the placebo" - [Nutra USA] - See my favorite Garden of Life Primal Defense HSO Probiotic Formula at Amazon.com.
• Honey May Soothe Kids' Coughs - WebMD, 12/3/07 - "Honey ranked highest, followed by dextromethorphan, and the placebo was in last place in terms of cough relief ... honey's slim lead over dextromethorphan may have been due to chance"
• Study: Echinacea Cuts Colds by Half - WebMD, 6/26/07
• Lancet: Echinacea does fight colds - USA Today, 6/25/07 - "the popular herbal supplement echinacea cuts the chance of catching a cold by 58% and can reduce the duration of colds by about a day and a half" - See echinacea goldenseal at Amazon.com.
• Moderate Exercise May Lower Cold Risk - WebMD, 10/26/06
• The prophylactic and therapeutic effectiveness of zinc sulphate on common cold in children - Acta Paediatr. 2006 Oct;95(10):1175-81 - "Compared to the placebo group, the zinc group had shorter mean duration of cold symptoms and decreased total severity scores for cold symptoms"
• Working out may help prevent colds, flu - MSNBC, 1/17/06 - "moderate amounts of aerobic exercise such as jogging, brisk walking and cycling during the cold and flu season boost the body’s defenses against viruses and bacteria"
• Immune-Enhancing Role of Vitamin C and Zinc and Effect on Clinical Conditions - Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism 2006;50:85-94 - "These trials document that adequate intakes of vitamin C and zinc ameliorate symptoms and shorten the duration of respiratory tract infections including the common cold"
• 'Good' Bacteria: Good for Colds? - WebMD, 11/7/05
• Workers On Daily Probiotics Less Likely To Take Time Off Sick - Science Daily, 11/7/05 - "workers who took a daily dose of the probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus reuteri were 2.5 times less likely to take sick leave than workers who took a placebo"
• Anti-cold, Anti-flu Product Cuts Recurrent Colds By More Than Half, Study Shows - Science Daily, 10/25/05
• Ginseng for Gesundheit? Latest Study on Colds - WebMD, 10/24/05 - "one in 10 people in the ginseng group reported having two or more colds that winter, compared with about 23% of those taking the placebo ... Colds lasted about 11 days for the ginseng group and 16.5 days for the placebo group"
• Effect of a dietary supplement containing probiotic bacteria plus vitamins and minerals on common cold infections and cellular immune parameters - Int J Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2005 Jul;43(7):318-26 - "These data indicate that the intake of a dietary supplement containing probiotic bacteria plus vitamins and minerals during a period of at least three months in winter/spring may reduce the incidence and the severity of symptoms in common cold infections in otherwise healthy adults. This may be due to stimulated cellular immunity"
• Vitamin C May Not Fight the Common Cold - WebMD, 6/28/05
• Resveratrol could prevent ‘flu epidemics - Nutra USA, 5/24/05
• Boost In Immune Response Fights Common Cold - Science Daily, 4/24/05 - "Nursing facility residents who consumed 200 International Units (IUs) of vitamin E daily for one year were less likely to get the sniffles than those who took a placebo ... those who took the moderate supplements were 20 percent less likely to contract upper respiratory infections, such as colds"
• Efficacy of Zinc Against the Common Cold Virus - Medscape, 11/23/04 - "Clinical trial data support the value of zinc in reducing the duration and severity of symptoms of the common cold when administered within 24 hours of the onset of common cold symptoms"
• Vitamin E May Prevent Common Cold - WebMD, 8/17/04 - "Participants in the vitamin E group who completed the study had significantly fewer common colds and a 20% lower risk of acquiring a cold than those in the placebo group"
• Bugged by a Bad Cold? - Dr. Weil, 5/24/04
• The Herbal Way To Keep Flu at Bay - WebMD, 12/12/03 - ""Astragalus is an immune-enhancing herb to ward off flu," Weil says ... I also use a mushroom product called Host Defense, an extract of seven mushrooms ... I think it is useful to be on a good multivitamin, multimineral supplement" - See iHerb Host Defense products.
• Positive Attitude Fights the Common Cold - WebMD, 7/22/03
• New Weapon Against Colds? - Dr. Weil, 7/8/03
• Vitamin C May Fight Colds After All - WebMD, 3/12/03 - "12 healthy subjects who took one gram of vitamin C a day for two weeks showed a boosted immune system response during that time ... in two of them, the response to vitamin C took place within five hours ... this might mean that taking a vitamin C tablet at the first sign of a cold could achieve an effect quickly enough to ward off that cold"
• Zinc Spray Shortens Colds - Physician's Weekly, 1/27/03 - "Zicam, an over-the-counter nasal spray, cuts the length of a cold by anywhere between 1.5 to 3 days, according to a new study from The Cleveland Clinic Foundation" - See See drugstore.com Zicam products.
• Zinc Spray Shortens Colds - WebMD, 1/7/03 - "patients using Zicam, an over-the-counter nasal spray, cut the length of their colds an average of 1.5 days compared with those treated with a placebo. However, some patients slashed their cold duration in half -- from six days to only three" - See Zicam at drugstore.com .
• Soothing Sore Throat? - Dr. Weil, 12/6/02
• Zinc Gluconate Reduces Cold Duration And Frequency In Children - Doctor's Guide, 11/14/02 - "Subjects taking the zinc gluconate glycine lozenges [Cold-Eeze] showed shorter cold duration than non-users: 7.5 and 9.0 days respectively. Further, 4.1 percent of those taking the lozenge needed concomitant antibiotics compared to 36.2 percent of non-users. Prophylaxis with the lozenge reduced the median annual number of colds from 1.3 in non-users to 0.0 among the lozenge users" - I've got that via my drugstore.com affiliate.  See Cold-Eeze.  Now might be a good time to stock up on Zicam so that you can use it at the first symptoms of a cold.
• Exercise, Supplements Boost Flu Shots - WebMD, 10/3/02
• Exercise May Reduce Risk Of Colds - Intelihealth, 8/26/02
• Alternative Remedies for Fighting a Cold - WebMD, 2/27/02 - "chicken soup not only helps break up nasal congestion, but many recipes include garlic, which has antibiotic properties ... Drink plenty of water ... help to clear the sinuses ... most cough syrup was extracted from the bark of the wild cherry tree ... garlic, ginger, and goldenseal. These herbs and spices have antiviral, antiseptic, or antibiotic properties ..."
• Natural cures for the common cold? - CNN, 2/13/01 - "a zinc nasal spray called Zicam, showed very promising results in a study of 213 patients published in ENT, the Ear, Nose and Throat journal. Symptoms were reduced by as much as 75 percent." - see Zicam
• Zinc Halts Colds - Nutrition Science News, 11/00
• Science Finally Shows What Grandma Knew All Along - WebMD, 10/17/00
• Immunity-Building Supplements May Be Crucial For This Year’s Cold And Flu Season - Vitacost, 10/11/00
• Zinc Lozenges Cut Cold Duration in Half, Study Shows - WebMD, 8/14/00
• Natural Substance Fights the Flu in Mice - WebMD, 4/17/00
• Supplementing your cold defenses - CNN, 11/4/99
• A Shield of Immunity - Nutrition Science News, 9/99
• Echinacea vs. the Common Cold - Nutrition Science News, 8/99
• Zinc Lozenges Ineffective In Treating Cold Symptoms In Children - Doctor's Guide, 6/23/98Winning the Cold War: The Latest Scientific Findings on Fighting the Sniffles and Sneezes - Think Muscle Newsletter

Other News:

• Doorknobs and TV Remotes Are Germ Hotbeds - InteliHealth, 10/28/08 - "Someone in your house have the sniffles? Watch out for the refrigerator door handle. The TV remote, too. A new study finds that cold sufferers often leave their germs there, where they can live for two days or longer"
• Flu Vaccines Can Reduce Respiratory Problems By Up To 3/4 - Science Daily, 4/15/08
• Why The Flu Virus Is More Infectious In Cold Winter Temperatures - Science Daily, 3/30/08 - "At winter temperatures, the virus’s outer covering, or envelope, hardens to a rubbery gel that could shield the virus as it passes from person to person ... At warmer temperatures, however, the protective gel melts to a liquid phase. But this liquid phase apparently isn’t tough enough to protect the virus against the elements, and so the virus loses its ability to spread from person to person"
• Antibiotics No Help for Sinus Cold - WebMD, 3/13/08
• Learn self-care home remedies to ease your cold symptoms - WebMD, 12/20/07
• FDA Panel Says Cold Drug Is Effective - WebMD, 12/14/07
• Why Flu Spreads in Winter - WebMD, 10/19/07
• FDA Approves a Second Drug for the Prevention of Influenza A and B in Adults and Children - Doctor's Guide, 3/29/06
• How do you fight off colds? - USA Today, 1/22/06
• Doctors discourage use of cough medicine - MSNBC, 1/9/06 - "Over-the-counter cough syrups generally contain drugs in too low a dose to be effective, or contain combinations of drugs that have never been proven to treat coughs"
• Health Tip: Preventing The Flu - CBS Chicago, 12/9/04
• Flu Vaccine Helps Despite Mismatched Strains - WebMD, 8/12/04
• Do Cough Medicines Work in Kids? - WebMD, 7/6/04
• Cough Medicines Appear No Better than Non-Medicated Placebo Syrup for Children's Coughs - Doctor's Guide, 7/6/04
• Beating the flu: A spray or a shot? - MSNBC, 9/23/03
• Flu Vaccination Cuts Coronary Deaths - Doctor's Guide, 9/5/03
• FluMist (Influenza Virus Vaccine Live, Intranasal) Now Available in US - Doctor's Guide, 9/2/03
• FDA Approves FluMist Nasal Mist Influenza Vaccine - Doctor's Guide, 6/18/03
• New Drug [pleconaril] May Prevent the Common Cold - WebMD, 5/1/03
• Study: Flu Shots Prevent Heart Disease - Intelihealth, 4/3/03
• Flu Shots Cut Hospitalization in Elderly - WebMD, 4/2/03
• FDA Approves Avelox (Moxifloxacin HCl) For Community Acquired Pneumonia Due To Penicillin-Resistant Streptococcus Pneumoniae - Doctor's Guide, 3/4/03
• Amoxicillin/Sulbactam Effective, Well Tolerated In Treatment Of Community Acquired Pneumonia - WebMD, 3/3/03
• Many Parents Don't Know Cold Facts - WebMD, 2/3/03
• Death by Flu Too Common Among Elderly - WebMD, 1/7/03
• Carpets and Sleeping Arrangements Affect Flu Incidence in Dorms - Doctor's Guide, 10/22/02
• Acetylsalicylic Acid (ASA) Effective for Pain Associated with Common Cold - Doctor's Guide, 8/21/02
• Flu Vaccine Good For All Adults, Not Just Elderly Or Ill - Intelihealth, 8/20/02
• Air Pollution Adds To Illness - Intelihealth, 7/24/02
• Prophylaxis with Oseltamivir Helps Stop Home Outbreaks of Influenza - Doctor's Guide, 3/6/02
• Good News in Flu Fight [Relenza, Tamiflu] - WebMD, 2/27/02
• Flu Shots May Be Healthy for the Economy, Too - WebMD, 2/27/02
• Cough Medicine Effective - WebMD, 2/8/02
• New Intranasal Flu Vaccine, Nasalflu, Safe and Effective in Children - Doctor's Guide, 12/18/01
• Tamiflu (Oseltamivir) Prophylaxis Reduces The Transmission Of Influenza In Families - Doctor's Guide, 12/18/01
• New Drug [pleconaril] Shortens Cold Symptoms - WebMD, 12/18/01
• Pneumococcal Vaccine Reduces Carriage Of Streptococcus Pneumoniae, Is Well Tolerated by Young Children - Doctor's Guide, 12/17/01
• Pneumococcal Vaccine Together With Haemophilus Influenzae Vaccine Safe and Effective in Infants - Doctor's Guide, 12/17/01
• Picovir (Pleconaril) Relieves Symptoms of Viral Colds up to One Day Faster than Placebo - Doctor's Guide, 12/17/01
• Inflexal Vaccine Appears to Reduce Transmission of Influenza in Families - Doctor's Guide, 12/17/01
• Influenza Antiviral Tamiflu (oseltamivir phosphate) Reduces Spread of Flu in Families - Doctor's Guide, 12/17/01
• Remedy for common cold [pleconaril] could arrive next fall - USA Today, 12/17/01
• FDA Approves Biaxin XL (Clarithromycin) For Community-Acquired Pneumonia - Doctor's Guide, 8/6/01
• Telithromycin Effective For Treating Atypical Community Acquired Pneumonia - Doctor's Guide, 7/3/01
• Telithromycin Effective For Treating Pneumococcal Pneumonia - Doctor's Guide, 7/3/01
• Sitafloxacin Well Tolerated In Treatment For Pneumonia, May Show Similar Efficacy To Imipenem - Doctor's Guide, 4/10/01
• One Shot Keeps Bacterial Pneumonia at Bay, Ask Your Doctor About the Pneumococcal Vaccine - WebMD, 4/3/01 - "We know pneumonia is the No. 1 cause of death from infectious disease in the U.S. ... The vaccine isn't perfect; it can't prevent every single case. However, right now it is being grossly underutilized"
• Study Suggests Antibiotics Little Help For Children's Sinus Infections - Intelihealth, 4/2/01
• New Flu Drug Warning -- Watch Out for Breathing Problems, Relenza Linked to Patient Deaths in Some Cases, Says Maker - WebMD, 7/10/00
• Study Shows Tamiflu (Oseltamvir) Helps Children Get Better Faster - Doctor's Guide, 2/19/01
• FDA Approves Antiviral Tamiflu (Oseltamivir) For Children - Doctor's Guide, 12/15/00
• The Flu: Is It More Dangerous Than We Thought? - WebMD, 11/22/00
• FDA: Daily pill can prevent, not just treat, flu - CNN, 11/21/00
• FDA OKs Daily Pill for Prevention of the Flu - WebMD, 11/20/00
• FDA Approves Tamiflu (Oseltamivir) To Help Prevent Influenza - Doctor's Guide, 11/20/00
• Flu Treatment Also May Prevent the Illness - WebMD, 11/1/00
• 'Ouchless' Flu Prevention? Drugs Already on Shelves May Work - WebMD, 10/18/00
• Cold or Flu? New Test Helps Doctors Make the Call - WebMD, 10/18/00
• Early Treatment With Tamiflu (Oseltamivir) Reduces Total Duration Of The Flu - Doctor's Guide, 9/18/00
• Tamiflu (Oseltamivir) Successfully Fights Respiratory Infection in Immunocompromised Patients - Doctor's Guide, 5/9/00
• Oseltamivir Reduces Flu Severity and Duration In Adults - Doctor's Guide, 2/22/00
• Expert Evaluates New Drugs - Doctor's Guide, 2/21/00
• FDA Tells Physicians: Remember Therapeutic Considerations Before Prescribing New Flu Drugs - Doctor's Guide, 1/13/00
• Steering clear of air cabin cold viruses - CNN, 12/16/99
• Tamiflu Reduces Duration Of Flu By One-Third - Doctor's Guide, 11/9/99
• Tamiflu Safe, Effective In Preventing Flu In Elderly, High-Risk Patients - Doctor's Guide, 9/27/99
• Common Cold Caused By Multiple Viruses - Doctor's Guide, 2/2/98
• Evidence Shows That Social Relationships Build Resistance To Colds - Doctor's Guide, 6/25/97