Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 5/15/13.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Do Statins Protect Against Glaucoma? - Medscape, 5/13/13 - "open-angle glaucoma (OAG) ... used a nationwide healthcare claims database containing detailed medical records for more than 500,000 patients with hyperlipidemia to determine whether an association exists between statin use and the development of OAG ... the risk for OAG decreased 0.3% (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.997; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.994-0.999) for every additional month of statin use. Individuals with hyperlipidemia who took statins continuously for 2 years had an 8% (adjusted HR, 0.922; 95% CI, 0.870-0.976) lower OAG risk compared with those who received no statin therapy"

World first clinical trial supports use of Kava to treat anxiety - Science Daily, 5/13/13 - "Existing medications have a modest clinical effect and new effective options were needed for patients with anxiety ... Unlike some other options it has less risk of dependency and less potential for side effects ... Following the completion of the controlled phase, 26 per cent of the Kava group were classified as in remission from their symptoms compared to six per cent of the placebo group ... Kava was also well tolerated. Results showed no significant differences across the two groups for liver function which had previously been a concern for Kava's medicinal use. In addition there were no considerable adverse reactions that could be attributed to Kava and no difference in withdrawal or addiction between the groups ... An additional novel finding of the study ... Kava increased women's sex drive compared to those in the placebo group" - See kava at Amazon.com.

Obesity Trumps Alcohol in Liver Damage - Medscape, 5/13/13 - "In terms of liver-related morbidity and mortality, obesity is even more dangerous than alcohol consumption"

To drop 10 lbs. by Memorial Day, eat healthy carbs - MSNBC, 5/13/13 - It's a video.  See the brown rice noodle macaroni and cheese recipe at the top of my "Grains" page.

Intranasal Oxytocin Normalizes Core ASD Deficit - Medscape, 5/10/13 - "In autism, there are 3 basic deficits — social communication, repetitive behavior, and fixated or restricted interest, where children get fixated on a particular pattern or sensory stimulation and have difficulty paying attention to other, more socially relevant cues ... oxytocin has some effect on all 3 aspects of autism behavior, including now fixated interest ... ASD children process facial emotions differently from typically developing children, and if they are missing out on information about facial emotion, "that is a lot of information they're not able to take in, so this may have a cascading effect on developing appropriate emotional responses,"" - See Oxy Pro (Oxytocin) Nasal Spray at International Anti-aging Systems.

Hypomagnesemia and Non-recovery of Renal Function in AKI - Medscape, 5/9/13 - "acute kidney injury (AKI) ... Hypomagnesemia was an independent risk factor for non-recovery of renal function in a cohort of critically ill AKI patients" - See magnesium supplements at Amazon.com.

Carnitine Supplement May Improve Survival Rates of Children With Heart Defects - Science Daily, 5/8/13 - "The new study indicates that even without fixing the heart defect, high daily doses of carnitine in the first four weeks of life can prevent endothelial dysfunction. In fact, the laboratory lambs' ability to make nitric oxide is preserved even without the benefit of heart surgery and the responses to the chemical activity that enables blood vessel dilation is normalized"

Soy and tomato may be effective in preventing prostate cancer - Science Daily, 5/8/13 - "From the time they were 4 to 18 weeks old, the animals were fed one of four diets: (1) 10 percent whole tomato powder; (2) 2 percent soy germ; (3) tomato powder plus soy germ; and (4) a control group that ate neither tomato nor soy ... Eating tomato, soy, and the combination all significantly reduced prostate cancer incidence. But the combination gave us the best results. Only 45 percent of mice fed both foods developed the disease compared to 61 percent in the tomato group, and 66 percent in the soy group ... The results of the mouse study suggest that three to four servings of tomato products per week and one to two servings of soy foods daily could protect against prostate cancer" - See Jarrow Lyco-Sorb (contains Lyco-O-Mato) at Amazon.com.

Cholesterol Drugs Might Boost Kidney Cancer Survival - WebMD, 5/7/13 - "Over three years, 10 percent of the patients who took statins died of their cancer, compared with 17 percent of those who did not take this type of drug ... Last year in a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Danish researchers studied 13 different cancers and found that in all types, the use of statins was associated with longer cancer specific survival"

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):

Egg consumption and risk of bladder cancer: a meta-analysis - Nutr Cancer. 2013;65(4):538-46 - "In conclusion, our findings suggest no significant association between egg consumption and bladder cancer risk, except for a possible positive relationship with the intake of fried eggs based on the limited number of studies"

A low dietary ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 Fatty acids may delay progression of prostate cancer - Nutr Cancer. 2013;65(4):556-62 - "High amounts of omega-6 fatty acids have been linked with increased prostate cancer risk, whereas omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to inhibit PCa growth. However, because omega-3 and omega-6 are both essential fatty acids and part of a complete diet, it is more relevant to determine the ideal ratio of the two that would allow patients to benefit from the therapeutic properties of omega-3 fatty acids. LNCaP prostate cancer cells were treated with dietary-based ratios of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids under hormone-deprivation conditions, and effects on various cellular processes were determined. A low omega-6 to omega-3 PUFA ratio can delay the progression of cells toward castration-resistance by suppressing pathways involved in prostate cancer progression, such as the Akt/mTOR/NFκB axis. It also suppresses the expression of cyclin D1, and activation of caspase-3 and annexin V staining shows induction of proapoptotic events. Taken together, our data demonstrates that maintaining a low omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids ratio can enhance efficacy of hormone ablation therapy" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Supplementation with selenium-enriched yeast attenuates brain metastatic growth - Nutr Cancer. 2013;65(4):563-70 - "Mice were fed experimental diets enriched (1 mg/kg) with sodium selenite (Se-S), seleno-1-methionine (Se-Meth), a yeast-derived organic form of selenium (Se-Yeast), or a control diet (Se < 0.05 mg/kg) for 20 wk ... Mice bearing brain metastatic tumors and fed Se-Yeast- or Se-S-enriched diets displayed a higher survival rate compared with other experimental and control groups. Importantly, Se-Yeast supplementation decreased the growth of brain metastatic tumors as determined by the measurement of the intensity of the bioluminescent signal emitted by K1735-Luc cells upon reaction with luciferin. Different chemical forms of Se have distinct effects on the development of brain metastases. Organic Se in the form of Se-Yeast may be a valuable agent in suppression of brain metastatic disease" - See se-methylselenocysteine at Amazon.com.

Inhibitory effects of isoflavones on tumor growth and cachexia in newly established cachectic mouse models carrying human stomach cancers - Nutr Cancer. 2013;65(4):578-89 - "Isoflavone treatment on the models induced tumor cytostasis, attenuation of cachexia, and prolonged survival whereas discontinuation of the treatment resulted in progressive tumor growth and weight loss" - See soy isoflavones at Amazon.com.

Phenethyl isothiocyanate inhibits androgen receptor-regulated transcriptional activity in prostate cancer cells through suppressing PCAF - Mol Nutr Food Res. 2013 May 10 - "The glucosinolate-derived phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) has recently been demonstrated to reduce the risk of prostate cancer (PCa) and inhibit PCa cell growth ... Our results indicate that PEITC inhibits AR-regulated transcriptional activity and cell growth of PCa cells through miR-17-mediated suppression of PCAF, suggesting a new mechanism by which PEITC modulates PCa cell growth"

Dietary patterns and the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma - Public Health Nutr. 2013 May 9:1-7 - "Population-based sample residing in Nebraska from 1999 to 2002 ... Our results suggest that a dietary pattern high in meats, fats and sweets may be associated with an increased risk of NHL"

Adiponectin Gene Variant Interacts with Fish Oil Supplementation to Influence Serum Adiponectin in Older Individuals - J Nutr. 2013 May 8 - "Individuals homozygous for the +45 T-allele aged >58 y had a 22% increase in serum adiponectin concentration compared with baseline after the highest dose (P-treatment effect = 0.008). If substantiated in a larger sample, a diet high in n3 PUFAs may be recommended for older individuals, especially those of the +45 TT genotype who have reported increased risk of hypoadiponectinemia, type 2 diabetes, and obesity" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

A Whey Protein Hydrolysate Promotes Insulinotropic Activity in a Clonal Pancreatic β-Cell Line and Enhances Glycemic Function in ob/ob Mice - J Nutr. 2013 May 8 - "In conclusion, an 8-wk oral administration of WPH improved blood glucose clearance, reduced hyperinsulinemia, and restored the pancreatic islet capacity to secrete insulin in response to glucose in ob/ob mice. Hence, it may be useful in diabetes management" - See whey protein at Amazon.com.

Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D associated with pulmonary function in Canadian adults with excess adiposity - Am J Clin Nutr. 2013 May 8 - "cross-sectional study included 3359 adults aged ≥18 who participated in the Canadian Health Measures Survey, and a 2-stage multiple linear regression analysis was conducted ... Hypovitaminosis D may be a risk factor for lung dysfunction, especially for overweight and obese men" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Dietary glycine and blood pressure: the International Study on Macro/Micronutrients and Blood Pressure - Am J Clin Nutr. 2013 May 8 - "The study was a cross-sectional epidemiologic study that involved 4680 persons aged 40-59 y from 17 random population samples in the People's Republic of China, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States ... glycine, but not alanine, was significantly related to BP. Estimated average BP differences associated with a 2-SD higher glycine intake (0.71 g/24 h) were 2.0-3.0-mm Hg systolic BP (z = 2.97-4.32) stronger in Western than in East Asian participants. In Westerners, meat was the main dietary source of glycine but not in East Asians (Chinese: grains/flour and rice/noodles; Japanese: fish/shellfish and rice/noodles)" - See L-glycine products at iHerb.

Associations Between Frailty and Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D Concentrations in Older Australian Men: The Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project - J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2013 May 8 - "Cross-sectional analysis of the Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project, a large epidemiological study conducted in Sydney, Australia, between January 2005 and May 2007 ... 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D and 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were independently associated with frailty in older men. This suggests that there might be a number of different biological mechanisms for how low vitamin D status might contribute to the frailty syndrome. In addition, the possibility that improving vitamin D status may specifically influence the incidence and progression of frailty needs to be explored" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Associations of dietary glycaemic index and glycaemic load with food and nutrient intake and general and central obesity in British adults - Br J Nutr. 2013 May 9:1-11 - "In conclusion, we found independent positive associations of dietary GI and GL with general and central obesity in British adults"

Carbohydrate intake and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease - Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2013 May 7 - "Epidemiological studies, clinical trials, and animal studies continue to point to excess dietary carbohydrate, and especially fructose, in contributing to the risk factors for NAFLD"

Consumption of sugary foods and drinks and risk of endometrial cancer - Cancer Causes Control. 2013 May 9 - "Women in the highest quartile of added sugar intake had significantly increased endometrial cancer risk (OR = 1.84, 95 % CI 1.16-2.92). Among women with waist-to-hip ratio ≥0.85, risk was significantly higher for the highest versus lowest tertile of added sugar intakes (OR = 2.50, 95 % CI 1.38-4.52). The association with added sugar also became stronger when analyses were restricted to never users of hormone replacement therapy (OR = 2.03; 95 % CI 1.27-3.26, for highest versus lowest tertile)" - Note:  This is another one that I added to my Insulin and Aging page.

Relationship Between Oral Health and Frailty in Community-Dwelling Elderly Individuals in Brazil - J Am Geriatr Soc. 2013 May 6 - "One thousand three hundred seventy-four community-dwelling individuals representing 998,528 individuals aged 60 and older in the city of São Paulo, Brazil ... Oral health measures were number of teeth, use of dental prostheses, need for dental prostheses, presence of decayed teeth, clinical attachment loss of 4 mm or greater, and periodontal pocket of 4 mm or greater ... The need for dental prostheses was significantly associated with frailty, independent of socioeconomic and general health status"

Associations Between Vitamin D and Self-Reported Respiratory Disease in Older People from a Nationally Representative Population Survey - J Am Geriatr Soc. 2013 May 6 - "Health Survey for England 2005 ... Low serum 25(OH)D concentrations are associated with respiratory disease. Ensuring adequate 25(OH)D levels is of public health importance for older populations living in northern latitudes and may be an effective way to prevent concurrent respiratory infections and related complications in older people" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Optimal Blood Pressure for Cognitive Function: Findings from an Elderly African-American Cohort Study - J Am Geriatr Soc. 2013 May 6 - "Systolic BP (SBP) of approximately 135 mmHg and diastolic BP (DBP) of approximately 80 mmHg were associated with optimal cognitive function after adjusting for other variables ... High and low BP were associated with poorer cognitive performance. A joint optimal region of SBP and DBP for cognitive function has been identified, which may provide useful clinical information on optimal BP control in cognitive health and lead to better quality of life for elderly adults"

Neat Tech Stuff / "How To's":

• Pyrex Easy Grab 2 quart casserole with glass cover - These are great for that macaroni and cheese recipe I put out a couple weeks ago.  It takes two of these for the recipe.

Health Focus (Oxytocin):

Where to purchase:

• Oxy Pro (Oxytocin) Nasal Spray at International Anti-aging Systems
• Oxytocin Factor

News and Research:

• Oxytocin Makes Schizophrenia Patients More Socially Savvy - Medscape, 4/29/13 - "oxytocin, delivered as an intranasal spray, significantly improved the ability of patients with schizophrenia to tell when people were being sarcastic or lying ... oxytocin significantly improved the ability of the schizophrenia patients to interpret paralinguistic cues and to understand the different mental states" - See Oxy Pro (Oxytocin) Nasal Spray at International Anti-aging Systems.
• Oxytocin, Social Sharing and Recovery from Trauma - Science Daily, 12/18/12 - "'social sharing of emotions' (SSE) ... SSE, like the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) -- known variously as 'the hug hormone', 'the moral molecule' and 'the natural love drug' -- has a calming and bonding function in humans. So a team of researchers decided to examine whether it followed that administering oxytocin might ease this therapeutic and powerful 'social sharing of emotions' ... What they found was that OT did not make people more talkative -- the word counts in the letters were the same -- but it did increase the participants' willingness to share the specific component that is responsible for the therapeutic effects of social sharing: emotions. As the researchers note, "the findings are the more remarkable because they were obtained among men, who may be less inclined than women to express their emotions." ... there may be further implications for human health, related to OT's antagonistic effect on the stress hormone cortisol"
• Oxytocin produces more engaged fathers and more responsive infants - Science Daily, 12/10/12 - "oxytocin administration to fathers increases their parental engagement, with parallel effects observed in their infants ... The fathers received the nasal sprays in a solitary room while their infant was cared for in another room. After 40 minutes, fathers and infants were reunited and engaged in face-to-face play that was micro-coded for parent and child's social behavior ... after oxytocin administration, fathers' salivary oxytocin rose dramatically, more than 10 fold, but moreover, similar increases were found in the infants' oxytocin. In the oxytocin conditions, key parenting behavior, including father touch and social reciprocity, increased but infant social behavior, including social gaze and exploratory behavior, increased as well"
• The 'Love Hormone' as Sports Enhancer - NYTimes.com, 11/21/12 - "Until recently, though, scientists had not considered whether a substance that promotes cuddliness and warm, intimate bonding might also play a role in competitive sports ... Being part of a team involves emotions, as for instance when a team scores, and these emotions are associated with brain chemicals ... when one of the first shooters threw his arms in the air to celebrate a goal, his teammates were far more likely to subsequently shoot successfully than when no exuberant gestures followed a goal ... Oxytocin facilitates the ability to read other people’s emotions, and it deepens bonds between group members and heightens suspicion of and antagonism toward those outside the group"
• 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"
• Hormone, oxytocin, shows potential as weight-loss treatment - Science Daily, 6/25/12 - "In an obese animal model, the investigators found that daily injections of oxytocin reduced the amount of food the animals consumed, as well as decreased their body weight during, and for nine days after, treatment ... Similar results were observed with oxytocin administered by implanted mini pumps. This drug-delivery method also reduced fat in the liver, improved glucose tolerance, and decreased abdominal fat, which is a major risk factor for heart and blood-vessel, or cardiovascular disease. Additionally, the mini pumps decreased the size of fat-storage cells, or adipocytes, but did not adversely affect blood pressure or activity levels"
• 'Trust' hormone oxytocin found at heart of rare genetic disorder - Science Daily, 6/23/12 - "those with WS had three times as much of the hormone as those without the syndrome ... Those test results suggest that increased levels of oxytocin are linked to both increased desire to seek social interaction and decreased ability to process social cues, a double-edged message that may be very useful at times, for example, during courtship, but damaging at others, as in WS"
• Oxytocin improves brain function in children with autism - Science Daily, 5/19/12 - "oxytocin -- a naturally occurring substance produced in the brain and throughout the body -- increased brain function in regions that are known to process social information in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) ... Oxytocin has recently received attention for its involvement in regulating social abilities because of its role in many aspects of social behavior and social cognition in humans and other species ... The team found that oxytocin increased activations in brain regions known to process social information. Gordon said these brain activations were linked to tasks involving multiple social information processing routes, such as seeing, hearing, and processing information relevant to understanding other people"
• How long will your love last? Check your oxytocin - Fox News, 2/24/12 - "Researchers measured levels of oxytocin in people who had recently begun relationships. Six months later, the couples with the higher levels of oxytocin tended to still be together, while the others had split ... In both singles and couples, levels of oxytocin did not depend on an individual's gender, body weight, height, smoking status, use of contraceptive pills or sexual activity ... Couples with higher levels of oxytocin exhibited more affection during interviews, such as touching and eye-gazing" - See Oxytocin Factor or oxytocin 6x5iu tablets at International Anti-aging Systems.
• The Body Odd - Frozen with fear? How the love hormone gets you moving - MSNBC, 2/13/12 - "a new study shows how the brain speedily delivers the hormone oxytocin — which new mothers have in elevated levels, starting with childbirth — to where it's needed, freeing them to protect their young. ... The study, done in rats, revealed that oxytocin rushes to the brain region governing fear ... The findings "could have implications for autism, anxiety and fear disorders," ... Oxytocin's dampening effect on fear is especially relevant for lactating mothers, who have high oxytocin levels, and can best defend their offspring from a threat when not frozen in terror. Similarly, during childbirth, elevated oxytocin delivery to the amygdala "may be important in reducing anxiety and fear levels,"
• Testosterone makes us less cooperative and more egocentric - Science Daily, 1/31/12 - "people given a boost of the hormone oxytocin tend to be cooperative ... the hormone testosterone has the opposite effect -- it makes people act less cooperatively and more egocentrically"
• A Love Drug? Oxytocin, the 'Cuddle Chemical' to Scientists, Makes Mothers More Kind, Say Researchers - ABC News, 1/11/12 - "There is hope that the hormone could be used to help patients suffering from a range of psychiatric disorders that affect social interactions, including autism and schizophrenia ... They found a clear correlation between the levels of oxytocin and the amount of attention each new mother paid to her baby. The first trimester of the pregnancy turned out to be the most important because higher levels of the hormone during that period coincided with much more bonding and affection after the birth ... At about the same time as the Israel study, Paul Zak of Claremont University in California was giving doses of oxytocin, and a placebo, to participants who were instructed to split a sum of money with a stranger. The results were "overwhelming," according to that study. Those given oxytocin offered 80 percent more money than those given a placebo ... in the first hour or two after getting the hormone, the monkeys actually became more selfish. It took a couple of hours for them to become more social and compassionate" - Click here to purchase Oxytocin Factor or see oxytocin 6x5iu tablets at International Antiaging Systems.
• Oxytocin helps people feel more extroverted: Study finds people more sociable, open, trusting after taking oxytocin - Science Daily, 12/9/11 - "an intranasal form of oxytocin can improve self-perception in social situations ... oxytocin can change how people see themselves, which could in turn make people more sociable ... Under the effects of oxytocin, a person can perceive themselves as more extraverted, more open to new ideas and more trusting ... Specifically, oxytocin administration amplified personality traits such as warmth, trust, altruism and openness"
• New role for hormone oxytocin in brain - Science Daily, 11/2/11 - "Much of the body's chemistry is controlled by the brain -- from blood pressure to appetite to food metabolism ... a team of scientists led by Dr. Gil Levkowitz of the Weizmann Institute has revealed the exact structure of one crucial brain area in which biochemical commands are passed from the brain cells to the bloodstream and from there to the body. In the process, they discovered a surprising new role for the "hormone of love," showing that it helps to direct the development of this brain structure ... The scientists showed that oxytocin, one of the two major hormones secreted in the adult neurohypophysis, is involved in the development of this brain area already in the embryo. At this stage, the oxytocin governs the formation of new blood vessels" - Note:  I'm still trying to figure out what they're trying to say.
• Hormone oxytocin flies off shelves as a his-and-hers sex drug - The Daily, 10/10/11 - "“Absolutely, it’s worth a try,” Eric Braverman, a New York physician who recommends an oxytocin supplement to patients struggling in relationships, told The Daily. “And we know that people produce less oxytocin as they get older, so for them to stay intimate, a supplement can be a godsend.” ... But while some couples swear by the supplement, experts caution that there’s not enough evidence to show that synthetic oxytocin — the kind sold over-the-counter, as opposed to that produced by the human body or used by hospitals to induce labor — can actually impact the brain" - Related article:
  • The Oxytocin Diaries, Our reporter spends a week on the friskiness hormone to see how it affects her - The Daily, 10/10/11
• Psychologists discover oxytocin receptor gene's link to optimism, self-esteem - Science Daily, 9/14/11 - "UCLA life scientists have identified for the first time a particular gene's link to optimism, self-esteem and "mastery," the belief that one has control over one's own life -- three critical psychological resources for coping well with stress and depression ... The gene Taylor and her colleagues identified is the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR). Oxytocin is a hormone that increases in response to stress and is associated with good social skills such as empathy and enjoying the company of others ... An increase in oxytocin tends to lead to more social behavior, especially under stress and especially in females, earlier research has indicated ... OXTR likely interacts with other genes"
• The dark side of oxytocin - Science Daily, 8/1/11
• Low Oxytocin Linked to Postpartum Depression - WebMD, 5/11/11 - "Sometimes called the “cuddle hormone” or the “hormone of love,” oxytocin has been the subject of much research interest for its ability to foster feelings of bonding and attachment ... New fathers who are given a whiff of oxytocin nasal spray, for example, are more likely to encourage their children to explore during playtime and are less likely to be hostile, compared to fathers given a placebo ... Lower oxytocin levels before birth were associated with a greater risk of postpartum depression"
• 'Love hormone' may treat daily headaches - MSNBC, 12/20/10 - "Of patients given a dose of oxytocin as a nasal spray, 50 percent reported their headache pain was reduced by half, and an additional 27 percent of these patients reported no pain after four hours. By comparison, 11 percent of patients who were given a placebo spray said their headache pain was cut by half after four hours, and none reported complete pain relief"
• 'Love Hormone' could help treat severe mental illness - MSNBC, 12.3.10 - "A small study published Oct. 1 in the journal Biological Psychiatry found that patients with schizophreniawho took oxytocin for three weeks along with their regular antipsychotic medication improved in their symptoms and hallucinated less than those who took a placebo with their antipsychotic ... Oxytocin is also being tested in clinical trials as a treatment for depression, borderline personality disorder and alcohol withdrawal ... One hypothesis is that oxytocin dampens the activity of the brain's fear center, the amygdala, thereby easing stress and anxiety ... Because of oxytocin's proposed blunting effects on the amygdala's activity, scientists have also hypothesized it would help those with PTSD ... oxytocin's trust effect could help those with schizophrenia, making them less paranoid ... researchers are investigating oxytocin's potential benefit for a number of other ailments, including headaches, constipation and skin damage"
• Hormone oxytocin bolsters childhood memories of mom's affections - Science Daily, 11/29/10
• Trust hormone associated with happiness: Human study suggests new role for oxytocin - Science Daily, 11/15/10 - "women who show large increases in oxytocin when they are trusted also report being more satisfied with life and less depressed"
• Oxytocin increases advertising’s influence: Hormone heightened sensitivity to public service announcements - Science Daily, 11/15/10
• Oxytocin and social contact reduce anxiety: Hormone may be less effective at relieving stress for isolated animals - Science Daily, 11/15/10
• Hormone oxytocin improves social cognition but only in less socially proficient individuals - Science Daily, 9/21/10
• Oxytocin makes people trusting, but not gullible, study suggests - Science Daily, 8/24/10 - "Oxytocin (OT) is a hormone that plays an important role in social behavior—it has even been nicknamed “the love hormone” and “liquid trust.” Increased levels of OT have been associated with greater caring, generosity, and trust ... volunteers who received the OT nasal spray were more trusting of the computer and the reliable partners—that is, they offered more money to the computer and the reliable partner than did volunteers who received the placebo nasal spray. However, OT did not have an effect when it came to sharing with a seemingly unreliable partner—the volunteers were not generous towards a potentially unreliable partner, regardless of which nasal spray they received. ... These findings suggest that OT fosters trust, but not gullibility: OT may make individuals more trusting, but only in certain situations"
• Study: A Dose of Oxytocin Increases the Cuddles - Time Magazine, 5/2/10
• 'Cuddle hormone' makes men more empathetic - BBC News, 4/30/10 - "Professor Kendrick said the oxytocin spray may prove to be useful in people with conditions associated with reduced social approachability and social withdrawal, such as schizophrenia ... The bottom line is it improved the ability of people to learn when they had positive feedback and that is pretty important because this might help improve the effectiveness of behavioural therapy or even be useful in people with learning difficulties"
• Hormone spray improves male sensitivity, German research finds - Science Daily, 4/29/10
• Love And Envy Linked By Same Hormone, Oxytocin - Science Daily, 11/12/09
• Protein That Regulates Hormones Critical To Women's Health Found In Pituitary - Science Daily, 1/12/09 - "Jackson's interest in the effects of oxytocin, also known as the "love hormone," ... Viagra acts in the posterior pituitary by enabling electrical impulses to release more oxytocin"
• 'Love Hormone' Promotes Bonding: Could It Treat Anxiety? - Science Daily, 2/8/08
• Study unwraps hormone, generosity connection - USATODAY.com, 12/17/07
• Hormone May Help Mom and Baby Bond - WebMD, 10/16/07
• ED Drugs May Boost Orgasm Hormone - WebMD, 8/27/07
• Viagra Increases Release Of Key Reproductive Hormone, Study Finds - Science Daily, 8/23/07
• Trust-building Hormone Short-circuits Fear In Humans - Science Daily, 12/8/05
• Hormone May Help Build Trust - WebMD, 10/17/05
• Trust Potion Not Just Fiction Anymore - WebMD, 6/1/05
• Scientists study ‘trust in a bottle’ - MSNBC, 6/1/05
• Hugs Can Do A Heart Good, Especially For Women, Who Get More Of A Protective Hormone, Study Finds - Intelihealth, 3/8/04
• Oxytocin May Curb Repetitive Behaviours In Autism Disorders - Doctor's Guide, 1/7/03
• Happily ever after? It's all in your head - CNN, 2/14/02 - See the video.  Claims that love is dependent on a cocktail of chemicals (dopamine, norepinephrine and PEA) and that oxytocin is responsible for bonding and that vasopressin is responsible for monogamy.
• When It Comes to Love, the Nose Knows - WebMD, 2/14/01 - "Oxytocin is the hormone thought to be responsible for this phase of love, as well as for mother-child bonding. Fallon calls it the "cuddling hormone," as it is released by touch "done with the right rhythm and pressure.""

Abstracts:

• Oxytocin facilitates protective responses to aversive social stimuli in males - Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Oct 16 - "Our results therefore show that OXT can potentiate the protective and mnemonic impact of aversive social information despite reducing amygdala activity, and suggest that the insula may play a role in emotional modulation of memory"
• A link between oxytocin and serotonin in humans: Supporting evidence from peripheral markers - Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2012 Jan 30 - "Pharmacological studies indicate a functional interaction between the serotonergic and oxytocinergic systems. In particular, some selective serotonin (5-HT) reuptake inhibitors, such as citalopram and fluvoxamine, seem to exert part of their antidepressant effects through oxytocin (OT) release. Further, the administration of fenfluramine, a serotonergic agonist, to healthy subjects increases plasma OT levels. Interestingly, immunocytochemical and double-immunofluorescent techniques revealed a high degree of overlap between 5-HT transporter (SERT)-labeled fibers and OT-containing cells ... This result represents the first evidence of an interaction between OT and SERT, as measured by [(3)H]-Par binding, at peripheral levels in humans. Given the several activities mediated by both OT and 5-HT, such a relationship might provide new perspectives and insights into psychiatric disorders and/or social relationship disturbances, as well as novel treatment strategies overcoming and/or integrating the serotonergic paradigm"
• Oxytocin Mediates Social Neuroprotection After Cerebral Ischemia - Stroke. 2011 Sep 29 - "In the present study, adult male mice were socially isolated (housed individually) or socially paired (housed with an ovariectomized female); social pairing increased hypothalamic OT gene expression. To determine whether a causal relationship exists between increased OT and improved stroke outcome, mice were treated with exogenous OT or OT receptor antagonist beginning 1 week before induction of experimental stroke via middle cerebral artery occlusion ... Relative to social isolation, social housing attenuated infarct size, neuroinflammation, and oxidative stress following experimental stroke; the neuroprotective effect of social housing was eliminated by receptor antagonist treatment. In contrast, administration of OT to socially isolated mice reproduced the neuroprotection conferred by social housing. We further report evidence for a direct suppressive action of OT on cultured microglia, which is a key instigator in the development of neuroinflammation after cerebral ischemia"