Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 10/6/10.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Low testosterone linked to Alzheimer's disease - Science Daily, 10/5/10 - "Low levels of the male sex hormone, testosterone, in older men is associated with the onset of Alzheimer's disease"

Amino acid supplement makes mice live longer - Science Daily, 10/5/10 - "leucine, isoleucine, and valine extend the life span of single-celled yeast ... Animals that were given the extra amino acids over a period of months lived longer, with a median life span of 869 days compared to 774 days for untreated control animals, the researchers report. That's an increase of 12 percent ... The findings in older mice suggest that the supplementary mixture may be specifically beneficial for those who are elderly or ill" - See Now Foods, Branched Chain Amino Acids, 240 Capsules at iHerb, it contains the three of these.

Sleep loss limits fat loss - Science Daily, 10/4/10 - "When dieters got adequate sleep, however, more than half of the weight they lost was fat. When they cut back on their sleep, only one-fourth of their weight loss came from fat"

Here's a fun way to get more exercise.  See YouTube - West Coast Swing Flash Mob 2010—Houston, TX—1080p HD!.  The choreography for it is at YouTube - Choreography.  It might look complicated at first but it’s only eight West Coast Swing moves totally about 50 seconds then it repeats itself. You could teach a monkey to do something in sequence for 50 seconds. Two of the eight moves are the underhand turn and the whip, both basic West Coast Swing maneuvers so you only need to learn the other six.  The music for it is called "DJ Got Us Falling In Love".  See #6 at http://ax.itunes.apple.com/us/album/uk-chart-hits-volume-eight/id393505575#ls=1.  I you download the videos, I made a DVD label.  Click here.

Garlic oil may reverse diabetes linked heart disease - Nutra USA, 9/30/10 - "garlic oil supplementation for diabetic rats leads to several alterations at multiple levels in hearts including cardiac contractile functions and structures, myosin chain gene expressions, oxidative stress, and apoptosis and related signaling activities" - [Abstract] - See garlic oil products at iHerb.

Women's study finds longevity means getting just enough sleep - Science Daily, 9/30/10 - "the secret to a long life may come with just enough sleep. Less than five hours a night is probably not enough; eight hours is probably too much ... sleeping 6.5 to 7.5 hours per night was associated with best survival ... when sleep was measured objectively, the best survival was observed among women who slept 5 to 6.5 hours ... Women who slept less than five hours a night or more than 6.5 hours were less likely to be alive at the 14-year follow-up"

Vitamin D Treatment for the Prevention of Falls in Older Adults - Medscape, 9/30/10 - "In summary, vitamin D supplementation is an effective strategy for reducing falls in older adults and should probably be incorporated into the clinical practice of providers caring for older adults, especially those at risk for falling. Although the effect appears to be modest, possibly because of inadequate dosing, vitamin D is inexpensive and well tolerated; a slight reduction in falls with vitamin D supplementation might lead to a significant decrease in the costs associated with fall morbidity and mortality" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Garlic oil shows protective effect against heart disease in diabetes - Science Daily, 9/29/10 - "Garlic has "significant" potential for preventing cardiomyopathy, a form of heart disease that is a leading cause of death in people with diabetes ... people with diabetes have at least twice the risk of death from heart disease as others ... The scientists fed either garlic oil or corn oil to laboratory rats with diabetes. Animals given garlic oil experienced beneficial changes associated with protection against heart damage" - See garlic supplements at Amazon.com.

Blueberries help fight artery hardening, lab animal study indicates - Science Daily, 9/29/10 - "Atherosclerosis is the leading cause of two forms of cardiovascular disease--heart attacks and strokes. Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of Americans ... Lesion size, measured at two sites on aorta (arteries leading from the heart), was 39 and 58 percent less than that of lesions in mice whose diet did not contain blueberry powder ... The blueberry-spiked diet contained 1 percent blueberry powder, the equivalent of about a half-cup of fresh blueberries" - See blueberry 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):

Oral iron supplementation leads to oxidative imbalance in anemic women: A prospective study - Clin Nutr. 2010 Sep 29 - "the glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and antioxidant vitamins A, C and E were found significantly decreased ... Study found recommended dose of iron effective for improving Hb, but at the cost of increased oxidative stress (mild > moderate > severe). It is suggested that blind iron supplementation should be avoided and shall be provided on need basis"

Once-Daily Extended-Release Niacin Lowers Serum Phosphorus Concentrations in Patients With Metabolic Syndrome Dyslipidemia - Am J Kidney Dis. 2010 Sep 29 - Note:  It doesn't have the abstract, just the title but it's something I didn't know.  Most people get too much phosphorus.

Subclinical Zinc Deficiency in Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease - Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen. 2010 Sep 14 - "Results showed a significantly lower blood zinc in patients with Alzheimer's and patients with Parkinson's than in controls. Urine zinc excretion, normalized to urine creatinine excretion, was not significantly different in either patient group compared to controls. These patients are probably zinc deficient because of nutritional inadequacy" - Note:  Zinc interferes with copper and too much zinc can cause a deficiency of copper.  See Jarrow Zinc Balance at Amazon.com.

Association of facial skin aging and vitamin D levels in middle-aged white women - Cancer Causes Control. 2010 Sep 30 - "Adjusting for age and season of blood collection, women with lower photodamage scores were associated with a 5-fold increased odds of being vitamin D insufficient (OR 5.0, 95% CI: 1.1, 23). Low scores for specific photodamage parameters including erythema/telangiectasias, hyperpigmentation, and wrinkling were also significantly associated with vitamin D insufficiency. Our results suggest an association between skin aging and 25(OH)D levels" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Dietary protein and risk of ischemic heart disease in middle-aged men - Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Sep 29 - "The RR of IHD was 1.08 (95% CI: 0.95, 1.23; P for trend = 0.30) comparing the top with the bottom quintile of percentage of energy from total protein. RRs for animal and vegetable protein were 1.11 (95% CI: 0.97, 1.28; P for trend = 0.18) and 0.93 (95% CI: 0.78, 1.12; P for trend = 0.49), respectively. When the population was restricted to "healthy" men (those free of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes at baseline), the RR of IHD was 1.21 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.44; P for trend = 0.02) for total protein, 1.25 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.51; P for trend = 0.02) for animal protein, and 0.93 (95% CI: 0.72, 1.19; P for trend = 0.65) for vegetable protein ... We observed no association between dietary protein and risk of total IHD in this group of men aged 40-75 y. However, higher intake of animal protein may be associated with an increased risk of IHD in "healthy" men"

Perioperative arginine-supplemented nutrition in malnourished patients with head and neck cancer improves long-term survival - Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Sep 29 - "Plasma arginine concentrations are lower in patients with cancer, which indicates that arginine metabolism may be disturbed in these patients. Arginine supplementation has been associated with positive effects on antitumor mechanisms and has been shown to reduce tumor growth and to prolong survival. Furthermore, the prognosis of patients with head and neck cancer remains disappointing. Insufficient intake frequently leads to malnutrition, which contributes to high morbidity and mortality rates ... The group receiving arginine-enriched nutrition had a significantly better overall survival (P = 0.019) and better disease-specific survival (P = 0.022). Furthermore, the arginine-supplemented group had a significantly better locoregional recurrence-free survival (P = 0.027). No significant difference in the occurrence of distant metastases or occurrence of a second primary tumor was observed between the groups" - See L-arginine products at Amazon.com.  Maybe that's what saved me, I've been taking that Jarrow brand for ages.  Someone needs to tell Michael Douglas.

Whole- and refined-grain intakes are differentially associated with abdominal visceral and subcutaneous adiposity in healthy adults: the Framingham Heart Study - Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Sep 29 - "visceral adipose tissue (VAT) ... Increasing whole-grain intake is associated with lower VAT in adults, whereas higher intakes of refined grains are associated with higher VAT" - See brown rice pasta at Amazon.com.

Coffee and acute ischemic stroke onset: The Stroke Onset Study - Neurology. 2010 Sep 29 - "The relative risk (RR) of stroke in the hour after consuming coffee was 2.0 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.4-2.8; p < 0.001). There was no apparent increase in risk in the hour following consumption of caffeinated tea (RR = 0.9, 95% CI 0.4-2.0; p = 0.85) or cola (RR = 1.0, 95% CI 0.4-2.4; p = 0.95). The association between ischemic stroke in the hour after coffee consumption was only apparent among those consuming ≤1 cup per day but not for patients who consumed coffee more regularly (p for trend = 0.002) ... Coffee consumption transiently increases the risk of ischemic stroke onset, particularly among infrequent drinkers"

Association of Japanese dietary pattern with serum adiponectin concentration in Japanese adult men - Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2010 Sep 27 - "Although previous studies suggest that the traditional Japanese dietary pattern is independently associated with a low cardiovascular disease mortality risk, the mechanisms mediating or linking this association are not well understood. Adiponectin has emerged as a valuable biomarker for cardiovascular diseases ... Greater adherence to the "Japanese" dietary pattern was independently associated to a higher serum adiponectin concentration in Japanese adult men. This finding supports the hypothesis that the traditional Japanese diet may have a potentially beneficial effect on adiponectin concentrations"

Sulphoraphane inhibited the expressions of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 through MyD88-dependent toll-like receptor-4 pathway in cultured endothelial cells - Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2010 Sep 27 - "Chronic inflammation plays pivotal roles in both cancer and cardiovascular diseases. A large body of evidence suggests that high intake of cruciferous vegetables is closely related with low risk of these disorders ... Taken all together, adhesion molecules are confirmed to be the novel targets of sulphoraphane in preventing inflammatory insult to endothelial cells. Sulphoraphane suppressed TLR-4 followed by MyD88 and downstream factors such as p38 MAPK and JNK, ultimately blocking NF-кB translocation and the subsequent expression of adhesion molecules. These data suggested a novel inflammatory pathway mediated by sulphoraphane" - See sulforaphane at Amazon.com.

Cardiac Contractile Dysfunction and Apoptosis in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats Are Ameliorated by Garlic Oil Supplementation - J Agric Food Chem. 2010 Sep 13 - "these diabetes-related cardiac dysfunctions were almost dose-dependently ameliorated by garlic oil administration. In conclusion, garlic oil possesses significant potential for protecting hearts from diabetes-induced cardiomyopathy" - See garlic oil products at iHerb.

Association between red meat consumption and metabolic syndrome in a Mediterranean population at high cardiovascular risk: Cross-sectional and 1-year follow-up assessment - Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2010 Sep 26 - "Subjects in the upper quartile of RM consumption were more likely to meet the criteria for the MetS at baseline (OR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.4-3.9; P-trend = 0.001) and after 1-year follow-up (OR, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.3-3.7; P-trend = 0.034) compared with those in the quartile of reference, even after adjusting for potential confounders. The longitudinal analyses showed that individuals in the fourth quartile of RM consumption had an increased risk of MetS (OR, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.1-6.8; P-trend = 0.009) or central obesity incidence (OR, 8.1; 95% CI, 1.4-46.0; P-trend = 0.077) at the end of the follow-up compared to the lowest quartile"

Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids and breast cancer risk in Chinese women: A prospective cohort study - Int J Cancer. 2010 Sep 28 - "We found no association of breast cancer risk to dietary intake of linoleic acid, arachidonic acid, α-linolenic acid, or marine-derived n-3 PUFA. We found a statistically significant interaction between n-6 PUFA intake, marine-derived n-3 PUFA intake and breast cancer risk (p = 0.008). Women with lower intake (the lowest tertile) of marine-derived n-3 PUFA and higher intake (the highest tertile) of n-6 PUFA had an increase risk for breast cancer (RR=2.06; 95% CI=1.27-3.34) compared to women with higher intake (the highest tertile) of marine-derived n-3 PUFAs and lower intake (the lowest tertile) of n-6 PUFAs after adjusting for potential confounders. The relative amounts of n-6 PUFA to marine-derived n-3 PUFAs may be more important for breast cancer risk than individual dietary amounts of these fatty acids" -  See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.  Here's a breakdown of the fats:

Prospective randomized comparison between omega-3 fatty acid supplements plus simvastatin versus simvastatin alone in Korean patients with mixed dyslipidemia: lipoprotein profiles and heart rate variability - Eur J Clin Nutr. 2010 Sep 29 - "After 6 weeks of drug treatment, triglyceride levels decreased by 41.0% in the combination treatment group and 13.9% in the simvastatin monotherapy group (from 309.2+/-95 mg per 100 ml to 177.7+/-66 versus 294.6+/-78 mg per 100 ml to 238.3+/-84 mg per 100 ml, respectively" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Supplementation of polyunsaturated fatty acids, magnesium and zinc in children seeking medical advice for attention-deficit/hyperactivity problems - an observational cohort study - Lipids Health Dis. 2010 Sep 24;9(1):105 - "After 12 weeks of consumption of a combination of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids as well as magnesium and zinc most subjects showed a considerable reduction in symptoms of attention deficit and hyperactivity/impulsivity assessed by SNAP-IV. Further, the assessment by SDQ revealed fewer emotional problems at the end of the study period compared to baseline and also sleeping disorders. Mainly problems to fall asleep, decreased during the 12 week nutritional therapy" - Note:  If it were me I'd skip the omega-6.  Most people get way too much as it is.  While I was posting this on my ADHD page, I noticed that this was the previous post:

• EPA supplementation improves teacher rated behaviour and oppositional symptoms in children with ADHD - Acta Paediatr. 2010 May 19 - "Two ADHD subgroups (oppositional and less hyperactive/impulsive children) improved after 15 weeks EPA treatment. Increasing EPA and decreasing omega-6 fatty acid concentrations in phospholipids were related to clinical improvement" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.

Health Focus (St. John's wort):

Related Topics:

• St. John's wort / 5-HTP / SAMe / NADH / Omega-3 / tyrosine / acetyl-l-carnitine / DHEA / phenylalanine / ginkgo / phosphatidylserine / folate / antidepressants

Specific Recommendations:

• St. John's wort at Amazon.com
• St. John's wort at Amazon.com
• St. John's wort at Amazon.com

Ze 117 Extract (Not available in the US, Remotiv brand in Germany):

• St. John's Wort Equivalent to World's Best-selling Antidepressant - herbs.org
• No one can argue placebo effect on this study:  St. John's wort extract Ze 117 (Hypericum perforatum) inhibits norepinephrine and serotonin uptake into rat brain slices and reduces 3-adrenoceptor numbers on cultured rat brain cells - Pharmacopsychiatry 2001 Jul;34 Suppl 1:S56-60 - "The Ze 117 extract was more selective for the uptake of NE than for that of 5-HT. The maximal extent of uptake inhibition by Ze 117 extract was comparable to that of imipramine (IMI), desipramine (DMI) or fluvoxamine for 5-HT, but lower for NE transport, than that of the synthetic antidepressants"
• Equivalence of St John's wort extract (Ze 117) and fluoxetine: a randomized, controlled study in mild-moderate depression - Int Clin Psychopharmacol 2000 Mar;15(2):61-8 - "We concluded that hypericum and fluoxetine are equipotent with respect to all main parameters used to investigate antidepressants in this population. Although hypericum may be superior in improving the responder rate, the main difference between the two treatments is safety. Hypericum was superior to fluoxetine in overall incidence of side-effects, number of patients with side-effects and the type of side-effect reported"
• Comparison of St John's wort and imipramine for treating depression: randomised controlled trial - BMJ 2000 Sep 2;321(7260):536-9 - "Among the 157 participants taking hypericum mean scores on the Hamilton depression scale decreased from 22.4 at baseline to 12.00 at end point; among the 167 participants taking imipramine they fell from 22.1 to 12.75 ... This Hypericum perforatum extract is therapeutically equivalent to imipramine in treating mild to moderate depression, but patients tolerate hypericum better" - Bottom line, the SJW group rated more depressed than the imipramine group before the study and less depressed than the imipramine group after the study.  There are doctor's who would argue that they should have used 225 mg of imipramine but then they could have tried 750 mg on the Ze 117 extract also.- Ben
• Comparison of St. John's Wort and Imipramine for Treating Depression: Randomised Controlled Trial - Medscape, 9/00
• Comparison of St John's wort and imipramine for treating depression: randomised controlled trial - BMJ 2000 Sep 2;321(7260):536-9
• St. John's Wort Trumps Depression Drug - WebMD, 9/1/00
• Comparison of St John's wort and imipramine for treating depression: randomised controlled trial - BMJ 2000;321:536539 (2 September) - "Among the 157 participants taking hypericum mean scores on the Hamilton depression scale decreased from 22.4 at baseline to 12.00 at end point; among the 167 participants taking imipramine they fell from 22.1 to 12.75"
• Medline search of Ze 117

LI 160 Extract (Kira® Brand LI-160 extract in the US, Jarsin 300 brand in Germany):

• Medicinal Plant, St John's Wort, May Reduce Neuronal Degeneration Caused By Parkinson's Disease - Science Daily, 5/11/09 - "suggests that this plant with antidepressant properties has antioxidant active ingredients that could help reduce the neuronal degeneration caused by the disease" - See St. John's wort at Amazon.com.
• St. John's Wort Useful for Severe Depression - WebMD, 2/10/05 - "At the end of six weeks, 71% of the patients taking St. John's Wort and 60% of those taking Paxil had responded to treatment. Half of the St. John's Wort-treated patients and 35% of the Paxil-treated patients were free of depression symptoms"
• New Use Suggested For St. John's Wort - Psychiatric News, 9/17/04 - "St. John's wort "may be a useful therapeutic alternative in the acute treatment of mildly to moderately severe somatoform disorder." ... The St. John's wort used in this study is from a specific company, Lichtwer, with a long history of outstanding quality control and a consistent approach to the processing of St. John's wort. Individuals going to health food stores and purchasing St. John's wort are not likely to find the same consistency in the quality of the product" - Lichtwer is the LI-160 extract sold under the band name Kira® in the U.S.
• St. John's Wort as Effective as Zoloft® against Depression - New Hope Natural Media Online, 6/13/02 - "St. John's wort (SJW), a popular herbal remedy, is at least as effective as the prescription drug sertraline (Zoloft®) in the treatment of depression and causes fewer side effects, according to a new study published in Canadian Family Physician (2002;48:905–8). This report confirms dozens of other studies demonstrating SJW is an effective treatment for mild-to-moderate depression, and contradicts two controversial studies suggesting the herb is of little or no benefit ... After 12 weeks, the severity of depression had decreased by an average of 50.2% in the SJW group and by 41.6% in the sertraline group"
• Effect of Hypericum perforatum (St John's Wort) in Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial - JAMA, 4/10/02 - "extract (LI-160) ... neither sertraline nor H perforatum was significantly different from placebo ... Dr Davidson holds stock in Pfizer"
  • Money colors drug research - USA Today, 1/22/03 - "industry funding makes it 3.6 times more likely that a study result will be favorable to the sponsor"
• St. John's Wort Not Effective -- Again - WebMD, 4/9/02
• Efficacy and tolerability of St. John's wort extract LI 160 versus imipramine in patients with severe depressive episodes according to ICD-10 - Pharmacopsychiatry 1997 Sep;30 Suppl 2:81-5 - "6-week trial comparing 1800 mg LI 160/die to 150 mg imipramine/die in severely depressed patients according to ICD-10 ... mean values 25.3 to 14.5 in the LI 160 group and 26.1 to 13.6 in the imipramine group ... Regarding adverse events, the nonrejection of the nonequivalence hypothesis denotes a superiority of the herbal antidepressant. These main result indicate that LI 160 might be a treatment alternative to the synthetic tricyclic antidepressant imipramine in the majority of severe forms of depressions"
• Comparison of an extract of hypericum (LI 160) and sertraline in the treatment of depression: a double-blind, randomized pilot study - Medline/Clin Ther 2000 Apr;22(4):411-9, 4/00 - "Clinical response (defined as a > or =50% reduction in HAM-D scores) was noted in 47% of patients receiving hypericum and 40% of those receiving sertraline ... The [LI 160] hypericum extract was at least as effective as sertraline in the treatment of mild to moderate depression in a small group of outpatients"
• Neuroendocrine evidence for dopaminergic actions of hypericum extract (LI 160) in healthy volunteers - Biol Psychiatry 1999 Aug 15;46(4):581-4 - "Following HP relative to placebo, there was a significant increase in plasma GH [growth hormone] and a significant decrease in plasma PRL [prolactin]" - Note:  Prolactin is bad for your sex like.
• Hypericum LI 160 inhibits uptake of serotonin and norepinephrine in astrocytes - Brain Res 1999 Jan 23;816(2):358-63 - "We found that LI 160 inhibited both serotonin and norepinephrine uptake in a dose-dependent manner"
• Acute effects of LI 160 (extract of Hypericum perforatum, St John's wort) and two of its constituents on neuroendocrine responses in the rat - J Psychopharmacol 2000;14(4):360-3 - "LI 160 also lowered plasma prolactin and prevented the increase in plasma prolactin following haloperidol administration" - Note: Prolactin is bad for your sex life.
• Effectiveness and tolerance of the hypericum extract LI 160 in comparison with imipramine: randomized double-blind study with 135 outpatients - J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 1994 Oct;7 Suppl 1:S19-23 - "a parallel reduction of the Hamilton score from 20.2 to 8.8 (LI 160, n = 67) or from 19.4 to 10.7 (imipramine, n = 68) ... In the LI 160 group fewer and milder side effects were found as compared to imipramine"
• St. John's wort study was financed and biased by Pfizer, makers of Zoloft - Ben
• Questions About St. John's Wort - Intelihealth, 4/25/01
• Study: St. John's wort ineffective in severe depression - CNN, 4/18/01 - "At the time the study was done, Pfizer also sold St. John's wort, but the company stopped selling herbs last year because it wasn't profitable" - That's the whole problem in a nutshell, Ben
• Depressing News: St. John's Wort May Not Work After All, Don't Believe the Hype, Says Researcher - WebMD, 4/17/01
• Comparison of an extract of hypericum (LI 160) and sertraline in the treatment of depression: a double-blind, randomized pilot study - Medline/Clin Ther 2000 Apr;22(4):411-9, 4/00 - "Clinical response (defined as a > or =50% reduction in HAM-D scores) was noted in 47% of patients receiving hypericum and 40% of those receiving sertraline ... The [LI 160] hypericum extract was at least as effective as sertraline in the treatment of mild to moderate depression in a small group of outpatients"
• Medline search of LI 160

WS 5572 Extract (Perika Brand in US, Neuroplant 300 brand in Germany):

• Medline search of WS 5572

WS 5570 Extract (contains at least 4% hyperforin but I don't believe it's available)/(Perika Brand  in US, Neuroplant 300 brand in Germany):

• Continuation and long-term maintenance treatment with Hypericum extract WS((R)) 5570 after recovery from an acute episode of moderate depression - A double-blind, randomized, placebo controlled long-term trial - Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2008 Aug 9 - "3x300 mg/day WS((R)) 5570 or placebo for 26 weeks. 426 patients were evaluated for efficacy. Relapse rates during continuation treatment were 51/282 (18.1%) for WS((R)) 5570 and 37/144 (25.7%) for placebo. Average time to relapse was 177+/-2.8 and 163+/-4.4 days for WS((R)) 5570 and placebo, respectively (time-to-event analysis; p=0.034; alpha=0.025 one-sided). Patients treated with WS((R)) 5570 showed more favorable HAMD and Beck Depression Inventory time courses and greater over-all improvement (CGI) than those randomized to placebo. In long-term maintenance treatment a pronounced prophylactic effect of WS((R)) 5570 was observed in patients with an early onset of depression as well as in those with a high degree of chronicity. Adverse event rates under WS((R)) 5570 were comparable to placebo. WS((R)) 5570 showed a beneficial effect in preventing relapse after recovery from acute depression. Tolerability in continuation and long-term maintenance treatment was on the placebo level"
• New Study Finds Different Results on Efficacy of St. John's Wort for Depression - Clinical Psychiatry News, 3/05 - "extract WS 5570 ... Patients whose initial response was insufficient could increase the dose of hypericum extract to 1,800 mg/day or of paroxetine to 40 mg/day ... response rates were 60% in the hypericum group and 63% in the paroxetine group, while remission rates were 46.6% with hypericum and 42.9% with paroxetine" - Note:  The WS 5570 extract is sold under the Perika(R) brand name.
• Acute treatment of moderate to severe depression with hypericum extract WS 5570 (St John's wort) - NPI Center, 2/11/05 - "This extract (WS(R) 5572) contains the same patented, standardized and stabilized hyperforin content as WS(R) 5570, and is marketed as Perika(R) St. John's Wort by Nature's Way Products, Inc"
• St. John's Wort Useful for Severe Depression - WebMD, 2/10/05 - "At the end of six weeks, 71% of the patients taking St. John's Wort and 60% of those taking Paxil had responded to treatment. Half of the St. John's Wort-treated patients and 35% of the Paxil-treated patients were free of depression symptoms"
• Efficacy of St. John's wort extract WS 5570 in major depression: a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial - Am J Psychiatry 2002 Aug;159(8):1361-6
• Neuroendocrine effects of Hypericum extract WS 5570 in 12 healthy male volunteers - Pharmacopsychiatry 2001 Jul;34 Suppl 1:S127-33
• Medline search of WS 5570

STW3-VI Extract:

• Comparative Efficacy and Safety of a Once-Daily Dosage of Hypericum Extract STW3-VI and Citalopram in Patients with Moderate Depression: A Double-Blind, Randomised, Multicentre, Placebo-Controlled Study - Pharmacopsychiatry. 2006 Mar;39(2):66-75 - "From almost identical baseline values of 21.9 +/- 1.2 points (hypericum extract), 21.8 +/- 1.2 points (citalopram) and 22.0 +/- 1.2 points (placebo), the HAMD score was reduced to 10.3 +/- 6.4 (hypericum extract), 10.3 +/- 6.4 (citalopram) and 13.0 +/- 6.9 (placebo), respectively ... Significantly more adverse events with "certain", "probable" or "possible" relation to study medication were documented in the citalopram group ... hypericum extract STW3-VI is a good alternative to chemically defined antidepressants in the treatment of outpatients with moderate depression"

Other News:

• Depression Protocol - Life Extension Foundation
• St. John's Wort, Nature's Feel Good Herb - Ray Sahelian, M.D.
• St. John's wort - Compiled by Chad Bradshaw, Pharm.D
• St. John’s Wort Extract - Dr. Murray - "German doctor's now prescribe St. John's wort extract 8 times more often than Prozac ... These doctors are knowledgeable about both medicines, but clearly favor St. John's wort extract. Why? The simple answer is that St. John's wort produces equal or better results in relieving depression, but has far fewer side effect. Over 25 double-blind randomized trials involving a total of 1,757 outpatients with mild to moderately severe depression have shown St. John's wort extracts standardized for hypericin to yield excellent results in the treatment in depression with virtually no side effects"
• I read somewhere that when taking St. John’s wort extract that it is important to stay away from the sun and avoid red wine and cheese. Is this true? - Dr. Murray
• St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum L.) - M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
• Effects of a Combination of Hypericum perforatum and Vitex agnus-castus on PMS-Like Symptoms in Late-Perimenopausal Women: Findings from a Subpopulation Analysis - J Altern Complement Med. 2009 Sep;15(9):1045-8 - "At the end of the 16-week treatment phase, analyses of covariance showed the herbal combination to be superior to placebo for total PMS-like scores (p = 0.02), PMS-D (p = 0.006), and PMS-C clusters (p = 0.027). The active treatment group also showed significant reductions in the anxiety (p = 0.003) and hydration (p = 0.002) clusters, using paired-samples t tests. Results of trend analyses showed significant treatment group effects across the five phases for total PMS and all subscales, all in the clinically expected direction" - See St. John's wort at Amazon.com and chaste berry products at iHerb.
• Effects of Hypericum perforatum (St. John's wort) on hot flashes and quality of life in perimenopausal women: a randomized pilot trial - Menopause. 2009 Feb 3 - "After 3 months of treatment, compared with the placebo group, women in the St. John's wort group reported significantly better menopause-specific quality of life (P = 0.01) and significantly fewer sleep problems (P = 0.05) ... Hypericum perforatum may improve quality of life in ways that are important to symptomatic perimenopausal women"
• St. John's Wort for Depression - Clinical Psychology News, 12/08 - "The best available evidence suggests that St. John's wort is better than placebo for treating major depressive disorder, is as effective as some synthetic antidepressants when used in low to moderate dosing ranges, and has fewer side effects than do synthetic antidepressants"
• St. John's Wort Holds Its Own in Meta-Analysis - Clinical Psychology News, 11/08 - "St. John's wort was more effective than placebo and just as effective as standard antidepressants in treating depression, a Cochrane analysis of 29 studies of almost 5,500 adults with major depression shows" - See St. John's wort at Amazon.com.
• St. John's Wort Relieves Symptoms Of Major Depression, Study Shows - Science Daily, 10/13/08 - "Cochrane Researchers reviewed 29 trials which together included 5,489 patients with symptoms of major depression. All trials employed the commonly used Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression to assess the severity of depression. In trials comparing St. John's wort to other remedies, not only were the plant extracts considered to be equally effective, but fewer patients dropped out of trials due to adverse effects" - See St. John's wort at Amazon.com and St. John's wort at Amazon.com.
• St. John’s Wort for Major Depression? - WebMD, 10/10/08 - "Can taking an herbal supplement be as good as a prescription medication for people who are severely depressed? ... Researchers in Germany think so" - See St. John's wort at Amazon.com and St. John's wort at Amazon.com.
• Taking herb 'helps depression'  - BBC News, 10/8/08 - "Overall, the St John's Wort extracts tested in the trials were superior to placebo, similarly effective as standard anti-depressants, and had fewer side effects ... Doctors think it works because the herb keeps serotonin, a chemical which makes you happy, in the brain for longer"
• St. John's Wort and Duloxetine Equally Effective in Mild to Moderate Depression - Doctor's Guide, 9/1/08 - "Twenty patients received St. John's Wort at a dosage of 900 mg QD, whereas the remaining 20 participants were treated with duloxetine 60  30 mg QD ... In the group of patients suffering from moderate depression, we did not find any statistically significant differences between the 2 treatment groups" - See St. John's wort at Amazon.com.
• St. John's Wort review - ConsumerLab.com, 2/15/07 - "most of the herbal supplements that we purchased failed to meet quality standards. Two contained less St. John's wort compounds than claimed. Two others were contaminated with cadmium and/or lead. And two more lacked proper label information"
• Botanical and dietary supplements for mood and anxiety in menopausal women - Menopause. 2006 Dec 28 - "Five of seven trials of St. John's wort for mild to moderate depression showed a significant improvement"
• Serotonin syndrome has been reported in patients who used both St. John's Wort and an SSRI - Clinical Psychiatry News, 11/06 - "The evidence is strongest for the psychotropic herb St. John's wort, which appears to induce cytochrome P450 (CYP450) enzyme systems, particularly 3A4, leading to substantial reductions in drug substrates, including antivirals and cancer chemotherapy agents"
• Is St. John's Wort Effective for Major Depression? - New Hope Natural Media Online, 8/10/06
• Black Cohosh/St. John’s Wort could ease menopause symptoms - Nutra USA, 3/2/06 - "The most common symptom of menopause, “hot flashes” characterized by sudden waves of body heat, decreased by 53.4 percent among women who took the Black Cohosh-St. John's Wort combo in the trial, while psychological, or “psyche”, symptoms reportedly dropped by 56.4 percent"
• St. John's Wort May Not Stop Major Depression - WebMD, 5/24/05
• St. John's Wort Only Minimally Effective In Relieving Major Depression, Review Confirms - Science Daily, 5/22/05 - "St. John’s Wort products should be avoided if they do not provide important content information, such as the amount of total extract contained, the extraction fluid used and the ratio of raw material to extract" - Note:  Most of the studies I've seen involve the LI 160 extract sold in the US under the Kira® brand.
• St. John's Wort and Plavix May Be Risky Combo - WebMD, 3/8/05 - "St. John's wort, used by many for depression, increases the effect - and the bleeding risk - of Plavix, a widely used blood thinner"
• St. John's Wort - Imatinib Drug Interactions - Medscape, 12/17/04 - "Coadministration of imatinib with St. John's wort may compromise imatinib's clinical efficacy"
• St. John’s Wort: Good for More than Depression - Healthwell, 10/21/04 - "SDs are a group of conditions characterized by several ongoing physical symptoms that cannot be explained by any identifiable illness ... Among those participants receiving SJW, 44% reported being completely improved, compared with only 25% in the placebo group. In contrast, 45% of the participants in the placebo group felt unchanged or worse compared with 17% in the SJW group. By the end of the study, one half of the participants taking SJW had improved so much that they were no longer considered to have SD"
• St. John's Wort Thwarts Cancer Drug - WebMD, 10/26/04
• St John's Wort May Reduce Bioavailability of Conventional Medications - Doctor's Guide, 7/6/04
• St. John's Wort Depletes Cancer-Fighting Drug - WebMD, 3/26/04 - "when St. John's wort is taken in combination with Gleevec, it caused the amount of Gleevec in the blood to drop by 30%"
• Caution: St. John's Wort Ingredients Vary - WebMD, 2/10/04
• What's Really In Your St. John's Wort Tablets? - Intelihealth, 2/9/04 - "Actual amounts of hypericin ranged from 1.7 to 38.5 percent of the claimed amount"
• St. John's Wort -  Natural Foods Merchandiser, 10/03 - "Recently, in a large trial comparing SJW with the conventional antidepressant imipramine, researchers concluded SJW is as effective as imipramine and is better tolerated by patients.13 In a newer, larger trial (240 participants) comparing SJW directly with fluoxetine, researchers concluded SJW was as effective and safer than fluoxetine, particularly in patients suffering depression and anxiety"
• St John's Wort Alters Enzymes Involved in the Metabolism of About 50% of Over-the-Counter and Prescription Medications - Doctor's Guide, 9/18/03 - "long-term administration of St John's wort may result in diminished clinical effectiveness or increased dosage requirements for all CYP 3A4 substrates, which represent at least half of marketed medications" - The way I understand it, the enzyme that SJW increases protects the liver.  JAMA always seems to be biased against supplements, which might be why they didn't mention that.  Have they ever mentioned the pitfalls of prescription drugs?
• St. John's Wort Increases Metabolism Via CYP 3A4 - Medscape, 9/16/03
• St. John's Wort for Depression - Clinical Psychiatry News, 1/03 - "Most St. John's wort preparations are standardized to the hypericin component. This compound has been shown to reduce 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) receptor density; weakly inhibits reuptake of 5-HT, norepinephrine, and dopamine; and binds to -aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors ... It also has MAO inhibitor activity ... In biochemical and animal studies, the researchers wrote, hyperforin also inhibits the synaptosomal uptake of 5-HT, noradrenaline, dopamine, glutamate, and GABA"
• St. John's Wort May Help Depression in Children - Clinical Psychiatry News, 1/03
• Antidepressants Aren't All They're Cracked Up to Be - Clinical Psychiatry News, 1/03 - "The fact is, the stringent inclusion and exclusion criteria routinely used in pharmacologic antidepressant clinical trials enable investigators to paint an unrealistically rosy picture of the drugs' performance. This renders the trials largely irrelevant to real-world clinical practice" - That's an important consideration with the Pfizer (makers of Zoloft) funded St. John's wort study.
• St. John's Wort and Chemo Don't Mix - WebMD, 8/20/02 - "Taking St. John's wort during chemotherapy could jeopardize the effectiveness of cancer treatment" - Again, I'm not a doctor but the way I understand it, SJW increases an enzyme that protects the liver.  It seems like that would be a good thing for most people.  Again, why didn't the media mention that instead of being so one sided?
• St. John's Wort: Effective, with Caveats - Nutrition Science News, 3/02 - "Using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, 47 percent of those taking St. John's wort improved compared with 40 percent of those taking the sertraline ... Hyperforin increases the effectiveness of norepinephrine, dopamine, L-glutamate, and gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA), as well as serotonin. Researchers in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Frankfurt in Germany concluded, "no other antidepressant compound exhibits a similar broad uptake-inhibiting profile.""
• Hypericum, Drug Interactions, and Liver Effects - Medical Herbalism, Medical Herbalism (2000)11(2):16) - "The specific enzyme system whose activity was increased in the test subjects is the CYP3A, part of the p450 microsomal enzyme system, responsible for Phase I detoxification in the liver"
• Prozac and I'm sure others alter the P450 enzymes also.  See:
• Characterising Fluvoxamine Metabolism - Doctor's Guide, 4/19/02 - "the higher fluvoxamine doses inhibited CYP1A2 and CYP2C19 by approximately 75 to 80 per cent. The inhibition with the lower doses was around 40 to 50 per cent"
• A Novel Mechanism For St John's Wort Drug Interactions - Doctor's Guide, 1/25/02
• Depression Management - ContinuingEducation.com, exp. 12/31/02 - "The results of at least one trial suggest that Hypericum, used in higher doses, may be considered a therapeutic alternative in patients with moderate to severe depression"
• Evaluation of the Association Between St. John's Wort and Elevated Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone - Medscape, 12/01 - "This study suggests a probable association between St. John's wort and elevated TSH levels ... In one patient, TSH dropped from 18.63 to 5.37 µU/ml 1 month after discontinuing St. John's wort, and subsequently to 1.32 µU/ml 6 months later. In the second patient, TSH decreased from 14.76 to 3.23 µU/ml 1 month after discontinuation of the herb ... Although the similarities between St. John's wort and tricyclic antidepressant drugs are less clear, it has been postulated that tricyclic antidepressants interfere with the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis through noradrenergic or serotonergic systems, indirectly decreasing T4 or triiodothyronine (T3) levels in the blood"
• Is St. John's wort an effective treatment for depression? - Nutrition Science News, 9/01
• St. John's Wort Vs. Drugs - Nutrition Science News, 6/01 - "Yet recent clinical trials have shown that St. John's wort works as well as Prozac, Zoloft and other leading antidepressant drugs for treating mild to moderate depression"
• Hypericin May Be Potential Candidate For Treating Esophageal Cancer - Doctor's Guide, 5/22/01 - "Hypericin, the active ingredient in St. John’s Wort, a popular herbal remedy for depression, may be a potential candidate for treating esophageal and other tumors"
• Effects of long-term administration of hypericum extracts on the affinity and density of the central serotonergic 5-HT1 A and 5-HT2 A receptors - Pharmacopsychiatry 1997 Sep;30 Suppl 2:113-6 - "the number of both 5-HT1 A and 5-HT2 A receptors were significantly increased by 50% compared to controls"
• Popular Herb Works for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - WebMD, 8/17/00
• Herb May Curb PMS - WebMD, 8/7/00
• St. John's Wort Passes Muster - Nutrition Science News, 4/00
• Hypericum, Drug Interatcions, and Liver Effects  - MedHerb.com, 2/00 - "Endogenous hormones metabolized by the CYP3A enzyme system - estradiol, estriol, testosterone, cortisol"
• Study 20 - The Hypericum Homepage - "Both serum-cortisol and serum-prolactin were lowered significantly after three weeks of treatment with hypericum extract in male rats."
• Natural Remedies for Depression - Nutrition Science News, 2/99
• Antidepressant Can Change Personality Traits In Healthy People - Doctor's Guide, 3/2/98
• Scientists Study How Light Activates St. John's Wort Chemical - Doctor's Guide, 12/4/97
• Hypericum (St. John's Wort) & Depression Home Page
• Brain's Serotonin System Declines With Age, Researchers Report - Doctor's Guide, 10/29/97
• St. John's Wort may offer herbal relief for depression - CNN, 8/3/96
• Study: Anti-depressant helps relieve severe PMS - CNN, 9/23/97

No pathinfo