Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 2/6/13.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Low vitamin D levels may increase risk of Type 1 diabetes - Science Daily, 2/4/13 - "researchers conducted a prospective case-control study of U.S. military personnel on active duty, using blood samples from the Department of Defense Serum Repository, which contains more than 40 million samples collected from 8 million military personnel since the mid-1980s ... The researchers found that white, non-Hispanic, healthy young adults with higher serum levels (>75 nmol/L) of vitamin D had about half the risk of developing type 1 diabetes than those with the lowest levels of vitamin D (<75 nmol/L) ... The risk of type 1 diabetes appears to be increased even at vitamin D levels that are commonly regarded as normal, suggesting that a substantial proportion of the population could benefit from increased vitamin D intake ... Whereas it is premature to recommend universal use of vitamin D supplements for prevention of type 1 diabetes, the possibility that many cases could be prevented by supplementation with 1,000-4,000 IU/day, which is largely considered safe, is enticing" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Beef up: Middle-aged men may need more to maintain muscle mass - Science Daily, 2/4/13 - "Canada's Food Guide now suggests that consuming about 3oz (0.80 g/kg/d) of meat per serving is adequate to provide protein at the recommended level ... However, our work shows that the quantity of beef needed to maximize the renewal of new muscle proteins was at least 6oz in middle-aged men. Our findings have clear ramifications for the current recommendations regarding protein to prevent muscle loss in aging"

Calcium Supplements Linked to Mortality Risk in Men, But Not Women - Medscape, 2/4/13 - "Compared with individuals who took no calcium, men who consumed 1000 mg or more of supplemental calcium per day had a significant 20% increased risk of CVD death, a risk that was driven by a significant 19% increased risk of heart-disease death ... taken from an analysis of the National Institutes of Health--AARP Diet and Health Study, a study that included 388 229 men and women 50 to 71 years of age from six US states ... mean follow-up of 12 years"

Baby Boomers' Overall Health Worse Than Their Parents - Medscape, 2/4/13 - "Despite their longer life expectancy over previous generations, US baby boomers have higher rates of chronic disease, more disability, and lower self-rated health than members of the previous generation at the same age ... As to comparative disability, more than twice as many baby boomers used walking assist devices (6.9% vs 3.3%), more were limited in their work by disability (13.8% vs 10.1%), and 13.5% vs 8.8% were coping with some type of functional limitation ... In addition, more baby boomers are obese compared with the previous generation (38.7% vs 29.4%), and they reported exercising significantly less often (35.0% vs 49.9% exercised >12 times per month) ... Moderate drinking was more common among the boomers compared with the previous generation (67.3% vs 37.2%) ... Hypertension, too, was more common (43.0% vs 36.4%) ... the present study demonstrates a clear need for policies that expand efforts at prevention and healthy lifestyle promotion in the baby boomer generation"

Better Midlife Fitness Linked to Lower Dementia Risk - Medscape, 2/4/13 - "Dementia is the second most feared disease after cancer ... study included 19,458 individuals participating in the Cooper Clinic Longitudinal Study at the Cooper Institute ... followed for an average of 25 years ... participants with the highest fitness level (quintile 5) at midlife had a 36% reduction in risk of developing dementia from any cause during follow-up than those in the lowest fitness category (quintile 1) ... animal studies have suggested that increased fitness and activity correlates with a reduction in brain atrophy and loss of cognition, and changes in amyloid have been seen with regular activity"

Omega-3-Rich Ground Beef Available Soon - Science Daily, 2/4/13 - "The U.S. currently does not have a recommended daily intake of omega-3s, though many doctors and nutritionists recommend between 1,200-1,600 milligrams daily ... A quarter-pound hamburger made of the enriched ground beef has 200 milligrams of omega-3s" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com which has 765 milligrams of omega-3 in one capsule.  So you'd have to eat 3.825 hamburgers to get the omega-3 in one capsule.  At 330 calories per hamburger, that's 1262 calories compared to 10 calories for the capsule.  Plus I'm sure with the mark-up for the designer beef it's not going to be cost effective either.

Excess sugar linked to cancer - Science Daily, 2/1/13 - "Dr Garcia Jimenez's laboratory was studying how cells in the intestine respond to sugars and signal to the pancreas to release insulin, the key hormone that controls blood sugar levels. Sugars in the intestine trigger cells to release a hormone called GIP that enhances insulin release by the pancreas ... the ability of the intestinal cells to secrete GIP is controlled by a protein called β-catenin, and that the activity of β-catenin is strictly dependent on sugar levels ... high (but not normal) sugar levels induce nuclear accumulation of β-catenin and leads to cell proliferation"

Coffee, Tea, and Fatal Oral/Pharyngeal Cancer - Medscape, 2/1/13 - "Intake of >4 cups/day of caffeinated coffee was associated with a 49% lower risk of oral/pharyngeal cancer death relative to no/occasional coffee intake (relative risk = 0.51, 95% confidence interval: 0.40, 0.64) (1 cup/day = 237 ml). A dose-related decline in relative risk was observed with each single cup/day consumed (P trend < 0.001). The association was not modified by sex, smoking status, or alcohol use. An inverse association for >2 cups/day of decaffeinated coffee intake was suggested (relative risk = 0.61, 95% confidence interval: 0.37, 1.01). No association was found for tea drinking. In this large prospective study, caffeinated coffee intake was inversely associated with oral/pharyngeal cancer mortality. Research is needed to elucidate biologic mechanisms whereby coffee might help to protect against these often fatal cancers"

Active duty military personnel prone to sleep disorders and short sleep duration - Science Daily, 1/31/13 - "the majority of participants (85.1 percent) had a clinically relevant sleep disorder. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was the most frequent diagnosis (51.2 percent), followed by insomnia (24.7 percent). Participants' mean self-reported home sleep duration was only 5.74 hours per night, and 41.8 percent reported sleeping five hours or less per night. According to the AASM, individual sleep needs vary; however, most adults need about seven to eight hours of nightly sleep to feel alert and well-rested during the day" - Note:  I'm a retired navy pilot (after being an army helo pilot in Vietnam).  The culture in the military seems to be that if you are getting eights hours of sleep then you can't possibly be doing your job.  Maybe they will wake-up and see that it's doing more harm than good.

Men taking long-acting chronic pain meds five times more likely to have low testosterone levels - Science Daily, 1/31/13 - "The study compared the use of short-acting opioids, which immediately release the pain medication and are taken every four to six hours, and long-acting opioids, which slowly release the pain medication and are taken every eight to 12 hours ... A healthy young man should have testosterone levels between 300 and 800 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dL); in this study, low testosterone, also known as hypogonadism, was defined as less than 250 ng/dL. Low testosterone levels have been associated with decreases in muscle mass, bone density (osteoporosis or osteopenia), cognition, mood, libido (sex drive) and general quality of life ... the odds of having low testosterone were 4.78 times greater for men taking a long-acting opioid than a short-acting opioid. Dose was not associated with an increased risk of low testosterone"

Silibinin, found in milk thistle, protects against UV-induced skin cancer - Science Daily, 1/30/13 - "A pair of University of Colorado Cancer Center studies published this month show that the milk thistle extract, silibinin, kills skin cells mutated by UVA radiation and protects against damage by UVB radiation -- thus protecting against UV-induced skin cancer and photo-aging ... When you have a cell affected by UV radiation, you either want to repair it or kill it so that it cannot go on to cause cancer. We show that silibinin does both" - See silymarin at Amazon.com.

Vegetarians 'cut heart risk by 32% - BBC News, 1/30/13 - "A study of 44,500 people in England and Scotland showed vegetarians were 32% less likely to die or need hospital treatment as a result of heart disease ... vegetarians had lower blood pressure, lower levels of "bad" cholesterol and were more likely to have a healthy weight"

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):

Effect of dietary resveratrol on the metabolic profile of nutrients in obese OLETF rats - Lipids Health Dis. 2013 Feb 4;12(1):8 - "the accumulation of abdominal white adipose tissues was markedly prevented in resveratrol diet-fed OLETF rats after 4 weeks of feeding ... Our study demonstrated that dietary resveratrol can prevent obesity through a change in the metabolic profile of nutrients in obese OLETF rats" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.

The effect of vitamin a supplementation on thyroid function in premenopausal women - J Am Coll Nutr. 2012 Aug;31(4):268-74 - "Serum TSH concentrations in vitamin A-treated subjects were significantly reduced; therefore, vitamin A supplementation might reduce the risk of subclinical hypothyroidism in premenopausal women"

Baker's Yeast Beta-Glucan Supplement Reduces Upper Respiratory Symptoms and Improves Mood State in Stressed Women - J Am Coll Nutr. 2012 Aug;31(4):295-300 - "Several studies have shown a baker's yeast beta-1,3/1,6-d-glucan, extracted from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is effective in reducing the incidence of cold and flu symptoms. This study evaluated the effect of a specific beta-glucan supplement (Wellmune) on upper respiratory tract symptoms and psychological well-being in women with moderate levels of psychological stress ... Healthy women (38 +/- 12 years old) prescreened for moderate levels of psychological stress, self-administered a placebo (n = 38) or 250 mg of Wellmune (n = 39) daily for 12 weeks ... Subjects in the Wellmune group reported fewer upper respiratory symptoms compared to placebo (10% vs 29%), better overall well-being (global mood state: 99 +/- 19 vs 108 +/- 23, p < 0.05), and superior mental/physical energy levels (vigor: 19.9 +/- 4.7 vs 15.8 +/- 6.3, p < 0.05)" - See beta-glucan products at iHerb.

Antioxidant effect of manganese on the testis structure and sperm parameters of formalin-treated mice - Andrologia. 2013 Feb 3 - "Manganese inhibits oxidative stress damage. The aim of this study was to investigate the protective role of manganese on testis structure and sperm parameters in adult mice exposed to formaldehyde (FA) ... FA significantly reduced the testicular weight, sperm count, motility, viability and normal morphology compared with control group ... However, manganese improved the testicular structure and sperm parameters in FA-treated mice testes" - See manganese products at iHerb.

Carotenoid intake and risk of colorectal adenomas in a cohort of male health professionals - Cancer Causes Control. 2013 Feb 1 - "Among 29,363 men who reported having a lower bowel endoscopy between 1986 and 2006, 3,997 cases of colorectal adenoma were identified in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Participants completed food frequency questionnaires every 4 years ... Total β-carotene and dietary β-carotene, lycopene and lutein/zeaxanthin intakes and the total carotenoid score were inversely associated with colorectal adenoma risk. The odds ratios (95 % confidence intervals) comparing the highest versus lowest quintile of intake were 0.78 (0.69-0.88) for total β-carotene, 0.72 (0.64-0.81) for dietary β-carotene, 0.83 (0.74-0.93) for lycopene, 0.86 (0.76-0.96) for lutein/zeaxanthin, and 0.87 (0.77-0.97) for the total carotenoid score. Associations for α-carotene and β-cryptoxanthin intakes were null" - See Garden of Life, Radical Fruits Antioxidant Complex at Amazon.com.

Effects of Green Tea, Black Tea, and Coffee Consumption on the Risk of Esophageal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies - Nutr Cancer. 2013 Jan;65(1):1-16 - "PubMed, ISI -Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Chinese VIP database up to October 2011 were searched and manual search for reference lists of relevant studies were conducted ... The pooled OR of EC was 0.77 [95% confidence intervals (95% CI): 0.57, 1.04] for highest vs. non/lowest green tea consumption; but it was statistically significant for case-control studies (OR = 0.70; 95% CI: 0.51, 0.96) and for studies conducted in China (OR = 0.64; 95% CI: 0.44, 0.95). No significant association was observed for the highest vs. non/lowest black tea consumption against EC risk (OR = 1.35; 95% CI: 0.86, 2.11). A borderline significantly inverse association of highest vs. non/lowest coffee consumption against EC risk was found (OR = 0.88; 95% CI: 0.76, 1.01). In conclusion, our data showed that both green tea and coffee consumption, but not black tea consumption, have protective effects on EC"

Intakes of Fruits, Vegetables, and Related Vitamins and Lung Cancer Risk: Results from the Shanghai Men's Health Study (2002-2009) - Nutr Cancer. 2013 Jan;65(1):51-61 - "investigated the association of intakes of fruits, vegetables, dietary vitamins A and C, and folate with lung cancer risk among 61,491 adult Chinese men who were recruited into the Shanghai Men's Health Study, a population-based, prospective cohort study. Baseline dietary intake was assessed through a validated food frequency questionnaire during in-home visits ... median follow-up of 5.5 yr ... Intakes of green leafy vegetables, β-carotene-rich vegetables, watermelon, vitamin A, and carotenoids were inversely associated with lung cancer risk; the corresponding HR (95% CI) comparing the highest with the lowest quartiles were 0.72 (0.53-0.98), 0.69 (0.51-0.94), 0.65 (0.47-0.90), 0.63 (0.44-0.88), and 0.64 (0.46-0.88). Intake of all fruits and vegetables combined was marginally associated with lower risk. Our study suggests that the consumption of carotenoid-rich vegetables is inversely associated with lung cancer risk" - See Garden of Life, Radical Fruits Antioxidant Complex at Amazon.com.

Fish Oil-Supplemented Parenteral Nutrition in Patients Following Esophageal Cancer Surgery: Effect on Inflammation and Immune Function - Nutr Cancer. 2013 Jan;65(1):71-75 - "inflammation [serum procalcitonin (PCT) ... PCT level was notably lower and CD4(+)/CD8(+) ratio was markedly higher in the ω-3 PUFAs group ... ω-3 PUFAs supplemented PN can reduce inflammation and improve immune function in patients following esophageal cancer surgery" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Supplementation with n3 Fatty Acid Ethyl Esters Increases Large and Small Arterial Elasticity in Obese Adults on a Weight Loss Diet - J Nutr. 2013 Jan 30 - "carry out a 12-wk randomized, single-blind trial to test the effect of a 25% energy deficit weight loss diet alone (WL) (n = 12) or WL plus 4 g/d Omacor (46% EPA and 38% DHA) supplementation (WL+FAEE) (n = 13) on arterial elasticity in obese adults. Large (C1) and small artery elasticity (C2) were measured ... Supplementation with n3 FAEEs improves C1 and C2 independent of weight loss in obese adults" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Risk of hospitalization or death from ischemic heart disease among British vegetarians and nonvegetarians: results from the EPIC-Oxford cohort study - Am J Clin Nutr. 2013 Jan 30 - "Vegetarians had a 32% lower risk"

Association of vitamin D deficiency with incidence of type 2 diabetes in high-risk Asian subjects - Am J Clin Nutr. 2013 Jan 30 - "tested the hypothesis that baseline 25(OH)D is associated with the incidence of T2D in high-risk subjects for up to 5 y of follow-up, independently of obesity, baseline IR, and β cell function ... Of the participants, 10.5% had a serum 25(OH)D deficiency (<10 ng/mL), 51.6% had an insufficiency (10.0-19.9 ng/mL), and 38.0% had a sufficiency (≥20 ng/mL), and the incidence of T2D at 32.3 +/- 15.6 mo (+/-SD) declined accordingly: 15.9%, 10.2%, and 5.4%, respectively (P < 0.001). After adjustment for age, sex, blood pressure, lifestyles, family history, season, parathyroid hormone, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, the participants with 25(OH)D deficiency had an increased risk of T2D independently of BMI, HOMA2-IR, and IGI; the HRs were 2.06 for 25(OH)D 10-19.9 ng/mL compared with ≥20 ng/mL (95% CI: 1.22, 3.49) and 3.23 for 25(OH)D <10 ng/mL compared with ≥20 ng/mL (95% CI: 1.66, 6.30)" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Consumption of artificially and sugar-sweetened beverages and incident type 2 diabetes in the Etude Epidemiologique aupres des femmes de la Mutuelle Generale de l'Education Nationale-European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort - Am J Clin Nutr. 2013 Jan 30 - "It has been extensively shown, mainly in US populations, that sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D), but less is known about the effects of artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs) ... A total of 66,118 women were followed from 1993, and 1369 incident cases of T2D were diagnosed during the follow-up ... Compared with nonconsumers, women in the highest quartiles of SSB and ASB consumers were at increased risk of T2D with HRs (95% CIs) of 1.34 (1.05, 1.71) and 2.21 (1.56, 3.14) for women who consumed >359 and >603 mL/wk of SSBs and ASBs, respectively. Strong positive trends in T2D risk were also observed across quartiles of consumption for both types of beverage (P = 0.0088 and P < 0.0001, respectively) ... No association was observed for 100% fruit juice consumption"

Is there a dose-response relation of dietary glycemic load to risk of type 2 diabetes? Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies - Am J Clin Nutr. 2013 Jan 30 - "24 prospective cohort studies identified by August 2012 ... the GL was positively associated with RR of T2D of 1.45 (95% CI: 1.31, 1.61) for a 100-g increment in GL ... After we accounted for several sources of heterogeneity, findings from prospective cohort studies that related the GL to T2D appear robust and consistently indicate strong and significantly lower T2D risk in persons who consume lower-GL diets"

Statins and colorectal cancer risk: a longitudinal study - Cancer Causes Control. 2013 Jan 30 - "After multivariable adjustment, initiators of statins had a lower incidence rate of CRC as compared to initiators of glaucoma drugs [hazard ratio (HR) 0.79; 95 % CI 0.69-0.90]. In sex-stratified analyses we observed a protective effect in men (HR 0.77; 95 % CI 0.67-0.88) but not in women (HR 0.96; 95 % CI 0.82-1.1)"

The association between daily calcium intake and sarcopenia in older, non-obese Korean adults: the fourth Korea national health and nutrition examination survey (KNHANES IV) 2009 - Endocr J. 2013 Jan 26 - "The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between daily calcium intake and sarcopenia. We analyzed data for older adults (over 60 years) from the fourth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) conducted in 2009 ... assessed using a nutrition survey that used a 24-hour recall method ... We found that daily calcium intake was negatively correlated with total body fat percentage and positively correlated with appendicular skeletal mass (p<0.001). Participants with sarcopenia appear to have significantly lower daily calcium intakes than participants without sarcopenia (p<0.001). The unadjusted prevalence of sarcopenia according to daily calcium intake tertiles were 6.3%, 4.3%, and 2.7% in tertiles 1, 2, and 3, respectively. After adjustment for age, sex, BMI, total energy intake, and lifestyle factors, compared with those in the lowest tertile of daily calcium intake, participants in the highest tertile had an odds ratio for sarcopenia of 0.295 (95% confidence interval, 0.087-0.768; p for trend = 0.014)"

Effect of Pioglitazone Versus Metformin on Cardiovascular Risk Markers in Type 2 Diabetes - Adv Ther. 2013 Jan 22 - "The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the effect on C-reactive protein (CRP) after a 16-week treatment period with either pioglitazone or metformin ... Pioglitazone treated patients were found to have statistically significantly larger decreases in mean CRP levels (-0.4 mg/dL) compared to those treated with metformin (-0.2 mg/dL) (P = 0.04), as well as greater reductions in levels of mean fasting plasma glucose (-27 vs. -9 mg/dL; P = 0.01), serum insulin (-2 vs. -1.9 mU/L; P = 0.014), homeostatic model assessment (HOMA) (-1.2 vs. -0.9; P = 0.015), and E-selectin (-12.4 vs. +3.4 μg/mL; P = 0.01). Mean glycated hemoglobin (HbA(1c)) levels decreased in both treatment groups from baseline to week 16 (-0.4% in the pioglitazone group, -0.2% in the metformin group; P = 0.36). Pioglitazone treatment was also found to be associated with a statistically significant increase in total cholesterol levels (+10 mg/dL in the pioglitazone arm, -3 mg/dL in the metformin arm; P = 0.05) and a decrease in liver enzyme levels" - See pioglitazone at OffshoreRx1.com.

Pycnogenol® Supplementation Improves Health Risk Factors in Subjects with Metabolic Syndrome - Phytother Res. 2013 Jan 28 - "In the 6-month study Pycnogenol® supplementation 150 mg/day decreased waist circumference, TG levels, blood pressure and increased the HDL cholesterol levels in subjects. Pycnogenol lowered fasting glucose from baseline 123 +/- 8.6 mg/dl to 106.4 +/- 5.3 after 3 months and to 105.3 +/- 2.5 at the end of the study (p < 0.05 vs controls). Men's waist circumference decreased with Pycnogenol from 106.2 +/- 2.2 cm [41.8 inches] to 98.8 +/- 2.3 cm [38.9 inces] and to 98.3 +/- 2.1 after 3 and 6 months. Women's waist decreased from 90.9 +/- 1.6 cm to 84.6 +/- 2.1 cm and to 83.6 +/- 2.2 cm after 3 and 6 months. Both genders waist circumference reduction was significant as compared to controls at both time points. In addition, plasma free radicals decrease in the Pycnogenol group was more effective than in the control group (-34.6%; p < 0.05)" - See Pycnogenol 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
• The Neurocognitive Effects of Hypericum perforatum Special Extract (Ze 117) during Smoking Cessation - Phytother Res. 2012 Dec 19 - "We assessed the neurocognitive effects of Remotiv® (Hypericum perforatum Special Extract - Ze 117), Nicabate CQ Nicotine Replacement therapy (NRT) and combined NRT/HP during conditions of smoking abstinence in 20 regular smokers aged between 18 and 60 years over a period of 10 weeks during smoking cessation. A Spatial Working Memory (SWM) task was completed at baseline, 4 weeks prior to quitting, as well as at the completion of the study, following the 10 weeks of treatment. Brain activity was recorded during the completion of the SWM task using Steady-State Probe Topography. Reaction time and accuracy on the SWM task were not found to be significantly different between treatment groups at retest. Differences in SSVEP treatment profiles at retest are discussed, including stronger SSVEP Amplitude increase in posterior-parietal regions for the HP and NRT groups and greater fronto-central SSVEP Phase Advance in the HP group"
• 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