Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 11/21/12.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

In People with Hand Osteoarthritis, Chondroitin Sulphate Therapy for 6 Months Improves Pain and Function Compared With Placebo - Medscape, 11/20/12 - "Osteoarthritis of the finger joints is present in about 10% of individuals aged 40 to 49, rising to 92% in individuals over 70 years of age ... Patients were of either sex, aged 40 years and older and given 800 mg of chondroitin sulphate as a single tablet each day or placebo for a total period of 6 months. The chondroitin preparation contained highly purified chondroitins 4 and 6 sulphate of fish origin ... Improvement in the patient's assessment of global hand pain on the VAS was significantly more pronounced in the chondroitin sulphate group than in the placebo group. The decrease in the FIHOA score demonstrated similar pattern. The relative benefit of chondroitin sulphate on both primary end points became evident only after 3 months of treatment. No serious adverse reaction occurred in any study patients" - See chondroitin sulfate at Amazon.com.

High Vitamin D levels in pregnancy may protect mother more than baby against multiple sclerosis - Science Daily, 11/19/12 - "scientists reviewed information about 291,500 blood samples from 164,000 people collected since 1975 in the northern half of Sweden ... women who had high levels of vitamin D in their blood had a 61 percent lower risk of developing MS, compared to those who had low levels of vitamin D in their blood ... No association was found between the mother's vitamin D level and whether her child would later develop MS ... our study suggests the protective effect may start in later pregnancy and beyond" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Pain medication addiction reaching epidemic level - Science Daily, 11/19/12 - "In 2011, hydrocodone was the most prescribed drug in America ... This is really a state problem or even a national problem"

Certain jobs linked to increased breast cancer risk - Science Daily, 11/19/12 - "across all sectors, women in jobs with potentially high exposures to carcinogens and endocrine disrupters had an elevated breast cancer risk. Sectors with increased risk included agriculture, bar/gambling, automotive plastics manufacturing, food canning and metal-working. Importantly, premenopausal breast cancer risk was highest in the automotive plastics and food canning industries"

The 10 Germiest Places in a Restaurant Hint: Bathroom Isn't No. 1 - ABC News, 11/16/12 - "Seats ... Menus ... Lemon Wedges ... Salt and Pepper Shakers ... Tables ... Rims of Glasses ... Bathroom Door Knobs ... Bathroom Faucets ... Ketchup Bottles ... Salad Bar Tongs"

Fetus suffers when mother lacks vitamin C - Science Daily, 11/16/12 - "Maternal vitamin C deficiency during pregnancy can have serious consequences for the fetal brain. And once brain damage has occurred, it cannot be reversed by vitamin C supplements after birth ... Even marginal vitamin C deficiency in the mother stunts the fetal hippocampus, the important memory centre, by 10-15 per cent, preventing the brain from optimal development" - See vitamin C at Amazon.com.

Eating more fish could reduce postpartum depression - Science Daily, 11/15/12 - "Low levels of omega-3 may be behind postpartum depression ... Because omega-3 is transferred from the mother to her fetus and later to her breastfeeding infant, maternal omega-3 levels decrease during pregnancy, and remain lowered for at least six-weeks following the birth" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Vitamin D deficiency linked to type 1 diabetes - Science Daily, 11/15/12 - "The six-year study of blood levels of nearly 2,000 individuals suggests a preventive role for vitamin D3 in this disease ... This study used samples from millions of blood serum specimens frozen by the Department of Defense Serum Registry for disease surveillance ... Based mainly on results of this study, Garland estimates that the level of 25(OH)D needed to prevent half the cases of type 1 diabetes is 50 ng/ml ... While there are a few conditions that influence vitamin D metabolism, for most people, 4000 IU per day of vitamin D3 will be needed to achieve the effective levels" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Arginine and proline enriched diet may speed wound healing in diabetes - Science Daily, 11/15/12 - "Researchers divided 18 rats into three groups that were either fed a standard diet, a high-protein diet, or a high protein diet supplemented with arginine and proline (ARG+PRO) ... Rats on both high protein diets had better nitrogen balance than those on the standard diet. However, the wounds of the rats on the ARG+PRO diet showed more new blood vessel growth on day 5. New blood vessel growth is an essential part of wound healing as the blood vessels supply nutrition and oxygen to growing tissue ... arginine and proline supplementation could offer new hope for effective treatment in diabetic patients with chronic wounds" - See L-arginine products at Amazon.com and proline at Amazon.com.

Month of birth effect: Give pregnant women vitamin D supplements to ward off multiple sclerosis, say researchers - Science Daily, 11/14/12 - "The risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) is highest in the month of April, and lowest in October ... there is now a strong case for vitamin D supplementation of pregnant women in countries where ultraviolet light levels are low between October and March ... The analysis indicated a significant excess risk of 5% among those born in April compared with what would be expected. Similarly, the risk of MS was 5 to 7% lower among those born between October and November, the data indicated" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Tablets – especially iPads – offer reading magic to people with vision loss - The Daily, 11/14/12 - "All of the subjects gained at least 42 words per minute using the iPad 2 on the 18-point font setting. Kindles set to the same font produced gains of at least 12 words a minute"

Are Common Chemicals Affecting Your Fertility? - WebMD, 11/14/12 - "These chemicals, called persistent organochlorine pollutants, may persist in the environment for decades. Some, such as persistent lipophilic organochlorine pollutants, accumulate in fatty tissues in animals, while perfluorochemicals or PFCs are used in clothing, furniture, adhesives, food packaging, nonstick cooking surfaces, and electrical wire insulation ... The new study shows that men and women with high levels of these chemicals in their blood took longer to conceive than couples with lower levels"

Hormone affects distance men keep from unknown women they find attractive: Oxytocin may promote fidelity - Science Daily, 11/13/12 - "Men in committed relationships choose to keep a greater distance between themselves and an unknown woman they find attractive when given the hormone oxytocin ... The findings suggest oxytocin may help promote fidelity within monogamous relationships ... men in committed relationships who were given oxytocin kept a greater distance when approaching or being approached by an unknown woman they found attractive compared with those given a placebo. In contrast, oxytocin had no effect on single men" - See Oxy Pro (Oxytocin) Nasal Spray at International Anti-aging Systems and Oxytocin Factor.

‘It’s a crisis for Quebec women’ - montrealgazette.com, 11/13/12 - "Gilbert says there are days she can’t face going into work at the Royal Victoria Hospital, a renowned cancer centre in gynecology, and dealing with crying patients. “Put yourself in their place. … I have difficulty making eye contact with patients. I am ashamed to be in such a situation."

Vitamin D may prevent clogged arteries in diabetics - Science Daily, 11/13/12 - "blood vessels are less like to clog in people with diabetes who get adequate vitamin D. But in patients with insufficient vitamin D, immune cells bind to blood vessels near the heart, then trap cholesterol to block those blood vessels ... in diabetes patients with low vitamin D -- less than 30 nanograms per milliliter of blood -- the macrophage cells were more likely to adhere to the walls of blood vessels, which triggers cells to get loaded with cholesterol, eventually causing the vessels to stiffen and block blood flow ... We looked at blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes control, body weight and race. But only vitamin D levels correlated to whether these cells stuck to the blood vessel wall" - See vitamin D 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):

Multivitamins in the prevention of cancer in men: the Physicians' Health Study II randomized controlled trial - JAMA. 2012 Nov 14;308(18):1871-80 - "A large-scale, randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial (Physicians" Health Study II) of 14 641 male US physicians initially aged 50 years or older (mean [SD] age, 64.3 [9.2] years), including 1312 men with a history of cancer at randomization, enrolled in a common multivitamin study that began in 1997 with treatment and follow-up through June 1, 2011 ... In this large prevention trial of male physicians, daily multivitamin supplementation modestly but significantly reduced the risk of total cancer" - I think this was the following which I published last month:

• Multivitamins Cut Cancer Risk in Men, Study Finds - ABC News, 10/17/12 - "a new study of almost 15,000 men over 50 suggests popping that daily supplement could cut cancer rates by 8 percent ... It's unclear whether the results apply to women or men under 50 ... First, the new study randomly assigned men to two groups, one of which took a daily Centrum Silver® while the other took a placebo pill ... Second, it followed the men, who were 65 years old on average, over 11 years – a longer follow-up than previous studies and sufficient time for cancer to develop ...Other trials have tested a single vitamin such as calcium or vitamin A, E or D in large doses, which is very different from how people normally get the vitamins and minerals they need from food" - Yeah but I wouldn't call Centrum Silver a top of the line supplement.  Click here and click on "Product Labeling" for ingredients.  Some examples; it's only has the synthetic dl-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate form of vitamin E plus there are 8 forms of that vitamin.  There are over 600 carotenoids and some claim taking just one of those can cause a deficiency of the others, etc.  See Garden of Life, Vitamin Code, 50 & Wiser Men at Amazon.com and Garden of Life, Vitamin Code, 50 & Wiser Women at Amazon.com.

Grape seed proanthocyanidin extracts alleviate oxidative stress and ER stress in skeletal muscle of low-dose streptozotocin- and high-carbohydrate/high-fat diet-induced diabetic rats - Mol Nutr Food Res. 2012 Nov 17 - "Although ER stress in pancreas, liver, and adipose tissue was reported to be a novel event linked to the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus, there is much less information on this event in skeletal muscle ... This study focuses on the effects of a strong antioxidant, grape seed proanthocyanidin extracts (GSPE), on skeletal muscle in diabetic rats induced with low dose streptozotocin- and a high-carbohydrate/high-fat diet. After 16 wk of GSPE treatment, diabetic rats showed decreased plasma glucose levels and insulin resistance ... These findings suggest that GSPE may have auxiliary therapeutic potential for type 2 diabetes mellitus by decreasing oxidative stress and ER stress in skeletal muscle" - See Jarrow Formulas OPCs + 95 at Amazon.com.

Effects of Lutein Supplement on Serum Inflammatory Cytokines, ApoE and Lipid Profiles in Early Atherosclerosis Population - J Atheroscler Thromb. 2012 Nov 15 - "Early atherosclerosis patients (n= 65) were randomized to receive placebo (A+P, n= 31) or 20 mg/d lutein (A+L, n= 34) for 3 months ... An increase in serum lutein after supplementation can reduce inflammatory cytokines and regulate serum lipids, which may pay important roles in early atherosclerosis" - See lutein at Amazon.com or Jarrow Formulas, CarotenALL at Amazon.com or Garden of Life, Radical Fruits Antioxidant Complex at Amazon.com.  Note:  There are over 600 carotenoids.  I read at least one study that claims that taking large doses of just one carotenoid can cause a deficiency of the others.

Calcium supplementation and kidney stone risk in osteoporosis: a systematic literature review - Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2012 Nov 6 - "According to our results, calcium supplements in the treatment of osteoporosis alone or in combination with another type of treatment does not significantly increase the risk of nephrolithiasis or renal colic"

Fetal growth, omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids, and progression of subclinical atherosclerosis: preventing fetal origins of disease? The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study - Am J Clin Nutr. 2012 Nov 14 - "Impaired fetal growth is independently associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events in adulthood ... Dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids is associated with a slower rate of increase in carotid intima-media thickness in those with impaired fetal growth" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Caffeinated and caffeine-free beverages and risk of type 2 diabetes - Am J Clin Nutr. 2012 Nov 14 - "observed 74,749 women from the Nurses' Health Study (NHS, 1984-2008) and 39,059 men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS, 1986-2008) ... sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), and carbonated artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs) ... caffeinated and caffeine-free SSB intake was significantly associated with a higher risk of T2D in the NHS (RR per serving: 13% for caffeinated SSB, 11% for caffeine-free SSB; P < 0.05) and in the HPFS (RR per serving: 16% for caffeinated SSB, 23% for caffeine-free SSB; P < 0.01). Only caffeine-free ASB intake in NHS participants was associated with a higher risk of T2D (RR: 6% per serving; P < 0.001). Conversely, the consumption of caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee was associated with a lower risk of T2D [RR per serving: 8% for both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee in the NHS (P < 0.0001) and 4% for caffeinated and 7% for decaffeinated coffee in the HPFS (P < 0.01)]. Only caffeinated tea was associated with a lower T2D risk among NHS participants"

Dietary fish oil reduces glomerular injury and elevated renal hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid levels in the JCR:LA-cp rat, a model of the metabolic syndrome - Br J Nutr. 2012 Nov 15:1-9 - "These results suggest a potential role for dietary fish oil to improve dysfunctional renal eicosanoid metabolism associated with kidney damage during conditions of the MetS" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Epigallocatechin gallate affects survival and metabolism of human sperm - Mol Nutr Food Res. 2012 Nov;56(11):1655-64 - "estrogen receptor (ER) ... These results provide a novel mechanism involving ERs through which low doses of EGCG exerted benefits to sperm physiology, also detected data evidence the adverse action of high EGCG concentrations probably related to its prooxidant and antiestrogenic potential" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.

Protective effects of melatonin against oxidative injury in rat testis induced by wireless (2.45 GHz) devices - Andrologia. 2012 Nov 12 - "In conclusion, wireless (2.45 GHz) EMR caused oxidative damage in testis by increasing the levels of lipid peroxidation and decreasing in vitamin A and E levels. Melatonin supplementation prevented oxidative damage induced by EMR and also supported the antioxidant redox system in the testis" - See melatonin at Amazon.com.

Health Focus (Melatonin):

Specific Recommendations:

• melatonin at Amazon.com
• melatonin at Amazon.com
• melatonin at Amazon.com
• melatonin at Amazon.com

News & Research:

• Night-Shift Work Ups the Risk for Various Cancers in Men - Medscape, 10/31/12 - "The study compared 3137 men with cancer and 512 matched control subjects who completed a detailed questionnaire about occupational work and lifestyle from 1979 to 1985 ... Compared with men who never worked at night, men who worked night shifts had an increased risk for prostate cancer (odds ratio [OR], 2.77), non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (OR, 2.31), pancreatic cancer (OR, 2.27), rectal cancer (OR, 2.09), colon cancer (OR, 2.03), bladder cancer (OR, 1.74), and lung cancer (OR, 1.76) ... "When I first proposed the light-at-night hypothesis, it linked circadian disturbance to hormone disruption and breast cancer," Dr. Stevens explained. Since then, circadian disruption has been linked to many other adverse effects, it has been demonstrated that melatonin has a direct effect on tumor growth, and some of the latest research he has been involved with has shown that circadian disruption has an epigenetic impact"
• Melatonin and exercise work against Alzheimer's in mice - Science Daily, 9/26/12 - "The mice were divided into one control group and three other groups which would undergo different treatments: exercise -unrestricted use of a running wheel-, melatonin -a dose equivalent to 10 mg per kg of body weight-, and a combination of melatonin and voluntary physical exercise ... After six months, the state of the mice undergoing treatment was closer to that of the mice with no mutations than to their own initial pathological state. From this we can say that the disease has significantly regressed ... The results, which were published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, show a general improvement in behaviour, learning, and memory with the three treatments ... These procedures also protected the brain tissue from oxidative stress and provided good levels of protection from excesses of amyloid beta peptide and hyperphosphorylated TAU protein caused by the mutations" - Note:  That's a huge amount of melatonin though but then on the other hand it was a short six month period but on the third hand, mice have a much shorter life span so it might interpolate to a much longer time span for humans.
• Light from self-luminous tablet computers can affect evening melatonin, delaying sleep - Science Daily, 8/27/12 - "To produce white light, these electronic devices must emit light at short wavelengths, which makes them potential sources for suppressing or delaying the onset of melatonin in the evening, reducing sleep duration and disrupting sleep. This is particularly worrisome in populations such as young adults and adolescents, who already tend to be night owls ... Melatonin suppression after a one-hour exposure to the tablet was not significantly affected. However, after a two-hour exposure there was significant suppression"
• Melatonin might help in controlling weight gain and preventing heart diseases associated to obesity - Science Daily, 4/28/11 - "melatonin -a natural hormone produced by the body- helps in controlling weight gain -even without reducing the intake of food-, improves blood lipid profile -as it reduces triglicerids-, increases HDL cholesterol and reduces LDL cholesterol ... analyzed in young Zucker diabetic obese rats the effects of melatonin on obesity, dyslipidemia and high blood pressure associated to obesity. Melatonin was found to be beneficial for young rats that had not still developed any methabolic or heart disease"
• Room light before bedtime may impact sleep quality, blood pressure and diabetes risk - Science Daily, 1/13/11 - "exposure to electrical light between dusk and bedtime strongly suppresses melatonin levels and may impact physiologic processes regulated by melatonin signaling, such as sleepiness, thermoregulation, blood pressure and glucose homeostasis ... researchers evaluated 116 healthy volunteers aged 18-30 years who were exposed to room light or dim light in the eight hours preceding bedtime for five consecutive days. An intravenous catheter was inserted into the forearms of study participants for continuous collection of blood plasma every 30-60 minutes for melatonin measurements. Results showed exposure to room light before bedtime shortened melatonin duration by about 90 minutes when compared to dim light exposure. Furthermore, exposure to room light during the usual hours of sleep suppressed melatonin by greater than 50 percent"
• Too much light at night at night may lead to obesity, study finds - Science Daily, 10/11/10 - "mice exposed to a relatively dim light at night over eight weeks had a body mass gain that was about 50 percent more than other mice that lived in a standard light-dark cycle ... Something about light at night was making the mice in our study want to eat at the wrong times to properly metabolize their food ... So how does light at night lead to changes in metabolism? The researchers believe the light could disrupt levels of the hormone melatonin, which is involved in metabolism. In addition, it may disrupt the expression of clock genes, which help control when animals feed and when they are active"
• Melatonin: The Fountain Of Youth? - Science Daily, 6/22/09 - "Melatonin can slow down the effects of aging. A team at laboratoire Arago in Banyuls sur Mer (CNRS / Université Pierre et Marie Curie) has found that a treatment based on melatonin can delay the first signs of aging in a small mammal ... studied the long-term effects of melatonin on the Greater White-toothed shrew, a small nocturnal insectivorous mammal. Under normal conditions, this animal shows the first signs of aging after reaching 12 months, mainly through the loss of circadian rhythm in its activities. By continuously administering melatonin, starting a little before 12 months, the appearance of these first signs was delayed by at least 3 months, which is a considerable period in relation to the lifespan of this shrew ... Melatonin is now known to play several beneficial roles. These include being an antioxidant, an anti-depressant, and helping to remediate sleep problems"
• Low Melatonin Associated with Increased Risk of Breast Cancer in Postmenopausal Women - Science Daily, 6/15/08 - "women with the lowest levels of melatonin had a statistically significantly higher incidence of breast cancer than those with the highest levels"
• Night Shift Work May Cause Cancer - WebMD, 11/30/07 - "They note that shift work may raise cancer risk by suppressing production of melatonin, a chemical involved in the circadian rhythm"
• High Melatonin Content Can Help Delay Aging, Mouse Study Suggests - Science Daily, 4/24/07 - "Therefore, the researcher asserts, daily melatonin intake in humans from the age of 30 or 40 could prevent – or, at least, delay – illnesses related to aging, free radicals and inflammatory processes, such as many neurodegenerative disorders (e.g. Parkinson's disease) and complications linked to other illnesses, like diabetes"
• Salivary Melatonin May Help Fight Gum Disease - Science Daily, 9/13/06 - "the melatonin may fight against infection and inflammation possibly due to its antioxidant, anti-aging and immunoenhancing ability"
• Grapes May Help With Sleep - WebMD, 6/19/06 - "The juicy fruit might be packing melatonin, a sleep hormone"
• Another Grape Excuse To Hit The Bottle - Science Daily, 6/16/06 - "the grapes used to make some of the most popular red wines contain high levels of the sleep hormone melatonin"
• Melatonin Improves Mood In Winter Depression - Science Daily, 5/2/06 - "melatonin, a naturally occurring brain substance, can relieve the doldrums of winter depression, also known as seasonal affective disorder, or SAD"
• Melatonin Most Effective For Sleep When Taken For Off-hour Sleeping - Science Daily, 5/1/06 - "sleep efficiency during the six hour, 40 minute episodes was significantly higher in the groups that took melatonin during times when the body was not producing melatonin. At those times, participants taking 5.0mg of melatonin had a sleep efficiency of 83 percent and those taking 0.3mg melatonin had a sleep efficiency of 84 percent"
• Melatonin may cut hypertension - Nutra USA, 2/2/06 - "A 10 per cent decline of BP over daytime values is considered appropriate to reduce the cardiovascular risk ... During placebo use only 39 per cent of the subjects reached this value, but this rate surged to 84 per cent during melatonin administration"
• Study Demonstrates Role Of Exercise In Modifying Melatonin Levels; Increase Believed To Offer Breast Cancer Protection - Science Daily, 12/3/05
• Stopping Jet Lag Before It Starts - WebMD, 11/2/05 - "The body clocks of those who took melatonin adapted better to the new schedule. The higher dose of melatonin fared best in that regard, but not by much. Plus, people who took the higher dose were sleepier in the evenings after taking the pill"
• Travelers Can Avoid Jet Lag By Resetting Their Body Clocks - Science Daily, 11/2/05
• Melatonin to Fight Insomnia: Timing Is Key - WebMD, 10/25/05 - "melatonin was most effective in resetting the body's internal, or circadian, clock when it was timed to the individual's sleep patterns ... If you only want to induce sleep you can take it about two hours before you want to go to sleep"
• Melatonin May Reduce the Pain of Irritable Bowel Syndrome - Medscape, 10/14/05 - "Use of 3 mg of melatonin once daily for two weeks in IBS patients is associated with improvement in bowel pain and rectal distension thresholds for urgency and pain but not with a change in stool frequency, type, or quality of life"
• Popular Supplement Melatonin Found To Have Broader Effects In Brain Than Once Thought - Science Daily, 2/11/05 - "In experiments on the Japanese quail, the researchers found that melatonin switches on a recently discovered hormone called gonadotropin inhibitory hormone (GnIH), which has been found to have the opposite effect to the key hormone priming the body for sex – gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH). In birds, switching off GnRH causes the gonads – testes and ovary – to shrink as part of the birds' yearly cycle"
• U.S. Study Sees Little Benefit From Melatonin - HealthDay, 12/22/04 - "The one area where melatonin did seem to work was with a group of people with a condition called "delayed sleep phase syndrome," which means that otherwise healthy people have a biological quirk that prevents a normal sleep cycle"
• Melatonin Decreases Migraine Frequency and Intensity - Medscape, 9/9/04 - "Of 32 patients who completed the study, 25 patients (78.1%) had at least a 50% reduction in headache frequency from baseline, eight patients (25%) had no headaches, and none of the patients had increased headaches after three months of therapy"
• Nightime Melatonin Supplementation May Be Useful in the Treatment of Essential Hypertension - Doctor's Guide, 2/4/04 - "2.5 mg/day ... mean sleep systolic blood pressure decreased by 6 mm Hg and mean sleep diastolic blood pressure decreased by 4 mm Hg ... Repeated melatonin significantly increased sleep efficiency from 80% to 85% and increased actual sleep time from 5.6 to 6.1 hours. Melatonin therapy also reduced sleep latency from 33 to 22 minutes"
• Jet Lag Hormone Lowers Blood Pressure - WebMD, 1/20/04
• Melatonin May Cut Hypertension Risk - HealthDay, 1/19/04 - "The men were randomly assigned to receive either a placebo, a single dose of melatonin or 2.5 milligrams of melatonin one hour before bedtime for three weeks ... those taking the hormone each night throughout the three weeks had lower nighttime systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Systolic blood pressure (the top number in the reading) decreased by an average of six millimeters of mercury while the diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) decreased by an average of four millimeters of mercury" - See melatonin at Amazon.com.

Abstracts:

• Melatonin Prolonged Release : In the Treatment of Insomnia in Patients Aged ≥55 years - Drugs Aging. 2012 Oct 9 - "Melatonin prolonged release (PR) 2 mg is approved for the treatment of primary insomnia characterized by poor sleep quality in patients aged ≥55 years in the EU and elsewhere ... Administration of melatonin PR 2 mg 1-2 h before bedtime mimics the natural secretion pattern of melatonin, thereby leading to improvements in the circadian regulation of the sleep-wake cycle. In older adults, melatonin PR 2 mg had no effect on psychomotor functions, memory recall or driving skills during the night or the next morning relative to placebo, and was associated with significantly less impairment on many of these tasks relative to zolpidem 10 mg alone or in combination with melatonin PR 2 mg. In 3-week and 6-month, randomized, double-blind clinical trials in patients with primary insomnia aged ≥55 years, melatonin PR 2 mg 1-2 h before bedtime was associated with significant improvements relative to placebo in many sleep and daytime parameters, including sleep quality and latency, morning alertness and health-related quality of life. Melatonin PR 2 mg was very well tolerated in clinical trials in older patients, with a tolerability profile that was similar to that of placebo. Short- or longer-term treatment with melatonin PR 2 mg was not associated with dependence, tolerance, rebound insomnia or withdrawal symptoms" - See Source Naturals, Melatonin, Peppermint Flavored Sublingual, 2.5 mg, 240 Tablets.
• Melatonin prevents testicular damage in hyperlipidaemic mice - Andrologia. 2012 Jan 20 - "Hyperlipidaemia was induced in ApoE-knockout C57BL/6J male mice fed with high-fat diet alone (group A), or with high-fat diet and melatonin (group B) ... The results suggest that melatonin may be potential to attenuate testicular damage by improving histopathological changes and reducing germ cell apoptosis in hyperlipidaemic mice"
• Melatonin improves the restoration of endothelium-derived constricting factor signalling and inner diameter in the rat femoral artery after cessation of L-NAME treatment - J Hypertens. 2010 Sep;28 Suppl 1:S19-2 - "Although melatonin did not accelerate blood pressure reduction, it attenuated EDCF-contractions and oxidative load and enlarged arterial diameter. These effects may be beneficial for cardiovascular protection"
• Continuous light and L-NAME-induced left ventricular remodelling: different protection with melatonin and captopril - J Hypertens. 2010 Sep;28 Suppl 1:S13-8 - "In hypertension induced by a combination of continuous light and L-NAME treatment, melatonin and captopril protect the heart against pathological left ventricular remodelling differently"
• Cardiac hypertrophy and remodelling: pathophysiological consequences and protective effects of melatonin - J Hypertens. 2010 Sep;28 Suppl 1:S7-12 - "Whereas melatonin did not reduce left ventricular hypertrophy in spontaneously hypertensive rats or in nitric oxide-deficient hypertension, it did have other beneficial effects, e.g. it curtailed oxidative damage to the heart that resulted in an attenuation of left ventricular fibrosis. In contrast to the findings in hypertensive rats, melatonin administration was effective in overcoming cardiac enlargement resulting from induced hyperthyroidism or chronic hypoxia exposure. In addition, in these situations, melatonin also conferred protection against free radical-mediated damage at the level of cardiomyocytes. Collectively, the results of the publications summarized herein along with numerous other published reports on other aspects of cardiovascular physiology indicate that, when damage to the heart is a result of free radicals, melatonin is clearly protective. This is not unexpected considering the now well documented potent antioxidative actions of both melatonin and its metabolites. In general, melatonin improves cardiovascular physiology and heart function"
• Urinary melatonin and risk of incident hypertension among young women J Hypertens. 2010 Jan 19 - "During 8 years of follow-up, a total of 125 women developed hypertension. The relative risk for incident hypertension among women in the highest quartile of urinary melatonin (>27.0 ng/mg creatinine) as compared with the lowest quartile (<10.1 ng/mg creatinine) was 0.49 (95% confidence interval 0.28-0.85, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: First morning melatonin levels are independently and inversely associated with incident hypertension; low melatonin production may be a pathophysiologic factor in the development of hypertension"
• Melatonin Treatment for Insomnia in Pediatric Patients with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (January) - Ann Pharmacother. 2009 Dec 22 - "Available data suggest that melatonin is a well-tolerated and efficacious treatment option for pediatric patients with chronic SOI and ADHD"
• Dietary correlates of urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin concentrations in the Nurses' Health Study cohorts2 - Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Aug 12 - "In multivariate analyses, we found no significant associations between the intake of various nutrients, including tryptophan and urinary melatonin concentrations. A higher intake of meat, particularly red meat, was associated with lower concentrations of aMT6s (adjusted mean concentrations of aMT6s across increasing quartiles of red meat intake were 17.9, 17.0, 18.1, and 15.3 ng/mg creatinine; P for trend = 0.02). In contrast, neither intake of poultry (including turkey) nor fish was associated with aMT6s concentrations ... Although no specific nutrients were associated with altered concentrations of melatonin, our findings raise the possibility that several specific foods, including red meat, could affect cancer risk through the lowering of melatonin concentrations"
• The circadian melatonin rhythm and its modulation: possible impact on hypertension - J Hypertens. 2009 Aug;27 Suppl 6:S17-20 - "The chronic administration of melatonin to individuals with hypertension induces a measurable drop in night time systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Moreover, the higher the night time level of endogenous melatonin (estimated from urinary metabolite of melatonin, 6-hydroxymelatonin sulphate), the greater the reduction in arterial blood pressure at night. The implication of these findings is that melatonin may have utility as an antihypertensive agent"
• Effect of melatonin, captopril, spironolactone and simvastatin on blood pressure and left ventricular remodelling in spontaneously hypertensive rats - J Hypertens. 2009 Aug;27 Suppl 6:S5-10 - "It is concluded that although melatonin, in comparison with captopril, did not reverse left ventricle hypertrophy, it reversed left ventricular fibrosis. This protection by melatonin may be caused by its prominent antioxidative effect"
• Urinary melatonin levels and postmenopausal breast cancer risk in the nurses' health study cohort - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2009 Jan;18(1):74-9 - "An increased concentration of urinary aMT6s was statistically significantly associated with a lower risk of breast cancer (odds ratio for the highest versus lowest quartile of morning urinary aMT6s, 0.62 ... Results from this prospective study add substantially to the growing literature that supports an inverse association between melatonin levels and breast cancer risk"
• Endocrine regulation of the course of menopause by oral melatonin: first case report - Menopause. 2007 Nov 8 - "The data obtained in this case report show that melatonin administration was able to delay the characteristic endocrine changes that occur during the course of menopause"
• Night Shift Work and the Risk of Endometrial Cancer - Cancer Res. 2007 Nov 1;67(21):10618-10622 - "Women who worked 20+ years of rotating night shifts had a significantly increased risk of endometrial cancer [MVRR, 1.47 ... obese women working rotating night shifts doubled their baseline risk of endometrial cancer (MVRR, 2.09; 95% CI, 1.24-3.52) compared with obese women who did no night work ... Women working rotating night shifts for a long duration have a significantly increased risk of endometrial cancer, particularly if they are obese. We speculate that this increased risk is attributable to the effects of melatonin on hormonal and metabolic factors"
• Acute effect of metformin on exercise capacity in active males - Diabetes Obes Metab. 2007 Oct 29 - "A single dose of metformin does not acutely influence maximal oxygen consumption or ventilatory threshold in healthy active males. The lower lactate concentration observed during continuous exercise with metformin was an unexpected finding considering that, in the resting state, metformin has been previously associated with a modest increase in lactate concentrations"
• Efficacy of prolonged release melatonin in insomnia patients aged 55-80 years: quality of sleep and next-day alertness outcomes - Curr Med Res Opin. 2007 Sep 14 - "PR-melatonin results in significant and clinically meaningful improvements in sleep quality, morning alertness, sleep onset latency and quality of life in primary insomnia patients aged 55 years and over"
• Effects of melatonin and rilmazafone on nocturia in the elderly - J Int Med Res. 2007 Sep-Oct;35(5):685-91 - "melatonin (2 mg/day; n = 20) or rilmazafone (2 mg/day; n = 22) for 4 weeks ... After 4 weeks' treatment, the number of nocturnal urinations was significantly decreased and the QoL score was significantly improved in both groups. There was no significant difference between the patient-reported effectiveness ratings between the two groups" - See melatonin at Amazon.com.
• Daily nighttime melatonin reduces blood pressure in male patients with essential hypertension - Hypertension. 2004 Feb;43(2):192-7 - "In patients with essential hypertension, repeated bedtime melatonin intake significantly reduced nocturnal blood pressure"-  See melatonin at Amazon.com.
• Melatonin-induced reduction in age-related accumulation of oxidative damage in mice - Biogerontology. 2003;4(3):133-9 - "The findings indicate that low-dose chronic administration of melatonin acts as a free radical scavenger and anti-aging agent"
• Antioxidative effects of melatonin in protection against cellular damage caused by ionizing radiation - Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 2000 Oct;225(1):9-22 - "The radioprotective effects of melatonin against cellular damage caused by oxidative stress and its low toxicity make this molecule a potential supplement in the treatment or co-treatment in situations where the effects of ionizing radiation are to be minimized."
• Evidence for a local action of melatonin on the rat prostate - J Urol 1998 Mar;159(3):1069-73 - "The results demonstrate putative melatonin receptors in the rat prostate and suggest a direct suppression by melatonin of testosterone-dependent prostate growth"