Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 4/24/13.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

More Evidence Berries Have Health-Promoting Properties - Science Daily, 4/21/13 - "researchers from the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University and University of Maryland Baltimore County recently fed rats a berry diet for 2 months and then looked at their brains after irradiation, a model for accelerated aging ... Berries seem to promote autophagy, the brain's natural housekeeping mechanism, thereby reducing the toxic accumulation" - See Garden of Life, Radical Fruits Antioxidant Complex at Amazon.com.

Coffee Consumption and Risk of Liver Cancer - Medscape, 4/22/13 - "searched Medline, EMBASE, ISI Web of Science and the Cochrane library for studies published up to May 2012 ... The summary odds ratio (OR) for high vs no/almost never drinkers was 0.50 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.42–0.59), with no significant heterogeneity across studies (Q = 16.71; P = 0.337; I2 = 10.2%). The ORs were 0.50 (95% CI: 0.40–0.63) for case–control studies and 0.48 (95% CI: 0.38–0.62) for cohort studies. The OR was 0.38 (95% CI: 0.25–0.56) in males and 0.60 (95% CI: 0.33–1.10) in females. The OR was 0.45 (95% CI: 0.36–0.56) in Asian studies and 0.57 (95% CI: 0.44–0.75) in European studies. The OR was 0.39 (95% CI: 0.28–0.54) with no adjustment for a history of liver disease and 0.54 (95% CI: 0.46–0.66) after adjustment for a history of liver disease"

Grape intake may protect against metabolic syndrome-related organ damage - Science Daily, 4/22/13 - "Natural components found in grapes, known as polyphenols, are thought to be responsible for these beneficial effects ... The grapes -- a blend of red, green and black varieties -- were provided as a freeze-dried grape powder and integrated into the animals' diets for 90 days ... three months of a grape-enriched diet significantly reduced inflammatory markers throughout the body, but most significantly in the liver and in abdominal fat tissue. Consuming grapes also reduced liver, kidney and abdominal fat weight, compared with those consuming the control diet ... Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that occur together -- increased blood pressure, a high blood sugar level, excess body fat around the waist or low HDL (the good cholesterol) and increased blood triglycerides" - See Jarrow Formulas, OPCs + 95 at Amazon.com.

Three PSA Tests Over Lifetime Sufficient for Many Men - Medscape, 4/18/13 - "just 3 PSA tests over the course of a lifetime is sufficient for many men ... This premise comes from a team led by Andrew Vickers, PhD, from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City ... The best age for this initial PSA test is around 45 years, unless there is a strong family history of prostate cancer. Age 40 might be too early, and age 50 might be too late to identify a man's risk of developing an aggressive cancer ... Men who were found to have a PSA level below 1 ug/L on the initial test would be advised to return for screening in their early 50s and again at age 60. At the age of 60, men who still had a PSA level below 1 ug/L would be exempt from further screening"

Nearly half of all deaths from prostate cancer can be predicted before age 50 - Science Daily, 4/16/13 - "Within 25 to 30 years, 44% of deaths from prostate cancer occurred in those with the top 10% of PSA levels at age 45-49, a PSA of about 1.5 ng / ml or more. The risk of prostate cancer death was more than 10 times greater in this group compared to men with the lowest 25% of PSA levels"

Drugs Can Cut Breast Cancer Risk for Some, Task Force Finds - WebMD, 4/15/13 - "One of the report's key findings was that studies of tamoxifen reported a decrease in breast cancer incidence from 23.5 per 1,000 women in the placebo group to 16.5 per 1,000 among women taking tamoxifen over a five-year period ... Tamoxifen is more effective at reducing breast cancer risk, but it has more side effects ... there were five fewer cancers per 1,000 women taking tamoxifen when compared with raloxifene ... For tamoxifen, 8.6 per 1,000 women experienced a blood clot compared with 4.6 per 1,000 in the "control" group ... The rates of endometrial cancer, or cancer of the uterus, and cataracts were also higher for women taking tamoxifen, but not for those taking raloxifene"

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):

Relationship Between Predictors of the Risk of Clinical Progression of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia and Metabolic Syndrome in Men With Moderate to Severe Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms - Urology. 2013 Apr 18 - "The percentage of participants with ≥1 predictor for the progression of BPH, the percentage of participants with a total prostate volume of ≥31 cm3, and the percentage of participants with a postvoid residual urine volume of ≥39 mL increased significantly with the increase in the number of components of the MetS (P = .003, P = .001, and P = .007, respectively). After adjusting for age and serum testosterone levels, the MetS was shown to be significantly associated with the presence ≥1 predictor for the progression of BPH" - Note: See my Insulin and Aging page.  High blood sugar seems to be associated with everything that's bad and this is just one more to add to the list.

Insulin sensitivity, and β-cell function in relation to hemoglobin A1C - Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2013 Apr 16 - "As A1C increased to ≥5.7%, a sharp decrease in insulin sensitivity and β-cell function, measured as disposition index, was observed ... Caucasian individuals with A1C ≥5.7% exhibit both core pathophysiological defects of type 2 diabetes i.e. insulin resistance and β-cell dysfunction"

L-Carnitine in the Secondary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis - Mayo Clin Proc. 2013 Apr 15 - "A systematic review and meta-analysis of 13 controlled trials (N=3629) was conducted to determine the effects of L-carnitine vs placebo or control on mortality, ventricular arrhythmias (VAs), angina, heart failure, and reinfarction ... Compared with placebo or control, L-carnitine is associated with a 27% reduction in all-cause mortality, a 65% reduction in VAs, and a 40% reduction in anginal symptoms in patients experiencing an acute myocardial infarction" - See GPLC at Amazon.com.

Hypertension, Pulse, and Other Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Vitamin D Status in Finnish Men - Am J Hypertens. 2013 Apr 18 - "This study investigated baseline (n=2,271) 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and baseline and 4 year (n=1,957) CVD risk in a cohort of Finnish middle-aged male smokers ... Change in pulse rate over time continued to be significantly associated with lower 25(OH)D baseline levels" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Effects of Mixed Dietary Supplements on Total Plasma Homocysteine Concentrations (tHcy): A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial - Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2012 Aug 1;82(4):260-266 - "Two-hundred and thirty-six hospitalized, acutely ill older patients, who were part of a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial, were assigned to receive a daily oral nutritional supplement drink containing 1.3 mg of vitamin B2, 1.4 mg of vitamin B6, 1.5 μg of B12, 200 μg of folic acid, or a placebo, for 6 weeks ... A mixed nutrient supplement containing physiological amounts of B vitamins significantly reduced plasma tHcy concentrations in older patients recovering from acute illness" - Note: The date says last August but it just showed up in the RSS feed for some reason.

Dietary flavonoids intake and risk of type 2 diabetes: A meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies - Clin Nutr. 2013 Mar 26 - "searched PubMed through March 2013 for relevant cohort studies that assessed total flavonoids and type 2 diabetes risks ... The summary relative risk (RR) of type 2 diabetes for the highest intake of total flavonoids compared with the lowest was 0.91 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.87-0.96). Furthermore, an increase in the total flavonoids intake of 500mg/d was associated with a significant risk reduction of 5% (RR=0.95, 95% CI: 0.91-0.98)" - See Garden of Life, Radical Fruits Antioxidant Complex at Amazon.com.

Neat Tech Stuff / "How To's":

• Garmin nüvi 3597LMTHD Review & Rating | PCMag.com, 4/18/13 - "The Garmin nüvi 3597LMTHD ($379.99 direct) is the best automotive GPS navigation device you can buy today" - See Garmin nüvi 3597LMTHD 5-Inch Portable Bluetooth Vehicle GPS with Lifetime Maps and HD Traffic at Amzaon.com available on May 3, 2013.

Health Focus (Uric Acid):

Alternative News:

• Polyphenols may reduce risk of gout: Study - Nutra USA, 12/13/10 - "Gout is a painful form of arthritis caused by disturbances in uric acid metabolism, when an overload of uric acid leads to the formation of urate crystals in bodily tissues, especially the joints – leading to recurring attacks of joint inflammation ... Hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance can lead to increased uric acid re-absorption in the kidneys, which in turn can lead to a rise in serum uric acid concentration ... these results suggest that Oligonol lowers serum uric acid through inhibition of xanthine oxidase, and may be effective for prevention and treatment of hyperuricemia and/or gout" - See oligonol at Amazon.com.
• Vitamin C May Prevent Hyperuricemia, Gout - Medscape, 9/26/08 - "Hyperuricemia is considered a precursor of gout, which is the most common inflammatory arthritis in adult men ... An association was observed between greater vitamin C intake and lower prevalence of hyperuricemia defined as > 6 mg/dL. The multivariable odds ratio for hyperuricemia for the highest intake of vitamin C (>1000 mg/d) compared to the lowest (<90 mg/d) was 0.34 ... These findings support a potential role of vitamin C in the prevention of hyperuricemia and gout" - See vitamin C products at Amazon.com.

Other News:

• Uric Acid Measurement Improves Prediction of Cardiovascular Mortality in Later Life - J Am Geriatr Soc. 2013 Mar 15 - "In individuals aged 70 and older without overt CVD, renal dysfunction, or diuretic use, serum uric acid greater than 7.0 mg/dL was associated with greater CVD mortality independent of classic CVD risk factors"
• Plasma Uric Acid Is Associated with Increased Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Independent of Diet and Metabolic Risk Factors - J Nutr. 2012 Nov 21 - "case-cohort nested in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Netherlands study ... After adjustment for established diabetes risk factors such as age, the HR (highest vs. lowest quartile of uric acid) for diabetes was 4.36 (95% CI: 3.22, 5.90). Further adjustment for adiposity attenuated the HR to 1.86 (95% CI: 1.32, 2.62). Additional adjustment for hypertension and biochemical markers, such as TG, slightly attenuated the association [HR = 1.43 (95% CI: 0.97, 2.10)]. A uric acid-related dietary pattern did not confound the association. In conclusion, this study supports that high uric acid concentrations are associated with increased diabetes risk, although a large part of the association can be explained by the degree of adiposity"
• Friend or Foe? Uric Acid a 'Probable Cause' of CVD - Medscape, 4/30/12 - "Using the electronic database of the HMO, Clalit, starting in 2002, Leiba et al compared a historical cohort of healthy adults (40–70 years) with low uric-acid levels (<3 mg/dL) with those who had normal values (3.1–6.8 mg/dL) during 10 years of follow-up ... After 10 years of follow-up, healthy subjects with normal uric-acid levels had a 53% higher risk of developing hypertension (HR 1.53; p<0.001) compared with the hypouricemic group ... the risks of developing new-onset diabetes and chronic kidney disease were almost doubled (HR 1.84, p<0.001; and HR 1.93, p=0.055, respectively) in the normal-uric-acid-level group compared with the hypouricemic group ... "What do you do about it? I can't imagine putting people with normal uric acid on allopurinol, so it comes back to the usual kind of lifestyle advice.""
• Uric acid may increase likelihood of severe osteoarthritis - Science Daily, 1/18/11 - "The researchers looked at 159 people, who had knee osteoarthritis but no history of gout, a type of arthritis triggered by uric acid crystals in the joints. The researchers found the severity of osteoarthritis in their knees to be strongly correlated with the amount of uric acid in their knees. The results, which are published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, show, despite the lack of gout history, above normal uric acid levels in 39 percent of the study population, and evidence of the form of inflammation in the joints that is typically triggered by uric acid crystals"
• Uric acid level and allopurinol use as risk markers of mortality and morbidity in systolic heart failure - Am Heart J. 2010 Nov;160(5):928-33 - "The allopurinol group and highest uric acid quartile had the highest total mortality (41.7 and 42.4 per 100 person-years, respectively) and combined morbidity/mortality (45.6 and 51.0 per 100 person-years, respectively). Allopurinol use and highest uric acid quartile were independently associated with mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 1.65, 95% CI 1.22-2.23, P = .001 and HR 1.35, 95% CI 1.07-1.72, P = .01, respectively) and combined morbidity/mortality (uric acid quartile 4 vs 1: HR 1.32, 95% CI 1.06-1.66, P = .02; allopurinol use: HR 1.48, 95% CI 1.11-1.99, P = .008) ... Elevated uric acid level was independently associated with mortality in patients with severe systolic HF, even when accounting for allopurinol use"
• Serum Uric Acid Linked With Development of Type 2 Diabetes - Science Daily, 10/2/09 - "The pooled crude relative risk (RR) of a 1 mg/dL increase in serum uric acid was 1.17"
• Gout Drug May Lower Blood Pressure - WebMD, 9/23/09 - "A new study suggests a direct link between a high-sugar diet and high blood pressure ... allopurinol could lower high blood pressure by lowering uric acid" - Note:  Kind of a confusing article.  Yeah, high blood sugar probably is a cause of high blood pressure and high uric acid but the article implies that allopurinol lowers blood pressure by lowering the uric acid not the blood sugar so why is it discussing blood sugar?  I've  written WebMD before about articles like that and they've agreed and changed it.  This one is minor I guess.
• Healthy People With Elevated Levels Of Uric Acid Are At Risk Of Developing Kidney Disease - Science Daily, 9/17/08 - "Elevated uric acid levels in the blood indicate an increased risk of new-onset kidney disease ... it may be appropriate to prescribe uric acid–lowering drugs, such as allopurinol and probenecid, to these otherwise healthy individuals ... individuals in the slightly elevated uric acid group were 1.26 times as likely to develop kidney disease as those in the low uric acid group. The odds of developing kidney disease among volunteers in the elevated uric acid group were 1.63 times greater than that of individuals in the low uric acid group"
• High Levels Of Uric Acid May Be Associated With High Blood Pressure - Science Daily, 8/26/08 - "In the study, half of the 30 teen-agers with newly diagnosed high blood pressure and higher than normal levels of uric acid in their blood underwent treatment with allopurinol twice a day for four weeks. The other half received a placebo (an inactive drug) on the same schedule. They then went without either drug for two weeks before receiving the opposite treatment for another four weeks ... blood pressures decreased to normal in 20 of the 30 teens when they were on allopurinol. By contrast, only 1 of the 30 teens had normal blood pressure when receiving placebo"