Recent Longevity News for the week ending 9/23/15

TBI triggers liver to produce protein tied to inflammation; hypertension drug blocks it - Science Daily, 9/21/15 - "in an animal model, brain injury produces an inflammatory response in the blood and body's organs, especially the liver. The liver responds with increased production (up to a thousand-fold) of a protein that ramps up inflammation in the brain, leading to chronic inflammation, nerve cell death and reduced blood flow ... The investigators also discovered that in mice, small doses of telmisartan, a hypertension drug, blocked production of one of the molecules in the protein's biological pathway, leading to substantial reduction in inflammation. The brain can then possibly heal" - See my telmisartan as a first line treatment page.

Fruit and vegetables aren't only good for a healthy body; they protect your mind too - Science Daily, 9/16/15 - "Food items such as meat and sweets (sources of animal fats: saturated and trans fatty acids) were negatively scored, while nuts, fruits and vegetables (sources of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins and minerals respectively) were positively scored ... Questionnaires to assess dietary intake were completed at the start of the project and again after 10 years ... The Alternative Healthy Eating Index-2010 was associated with the greatest reduction of risk of depression but most of the effect could be explained by its similarity with the Mediterranean Diet"

Abstracts from this week:

Association of low baseline free thyroxin levels with progression of coronary artery calcification over four years in euthyroid subjects: The Kangbuk Samsung Health Study - Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2015 Sep 19 - "The odds ratios (OR) for CAC progression over four years (highest versus lowest quartile for baseline FT4) were 0.647 (95% CI 0.472-0.886) after adjustment for confounding factor ... In this cohort of euthyroid men and women, a low baseline FT4 level was associated with a high risk of CACS progression over four years"

Fish Oil Supplementation and Quality of Life in Stage II Colorectal Cancer Patients: A 24-Month Follow-Up Study - Nutr Cancer. 2015 Sep 18 - "Generalized estimating equations were performed to examine fish oil supplementation in relation to QoL, recurrence, and all-cause mortality. An increase in fish oil supplementation over 24 mo postdiagnosis was associated with an increase in the physical component score of the 12-item Medical Outcomes Short Form (β = 2.43, 95% CI: 0.10-4.76)" - See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.

Metformin use and risk of colorectal adenoma after polypectomy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2015 Sep 16 - "Compared to patients not receiving diabetes medications (n=1,578), metformin-only use (n=457) was associated with lower adenoma recurrence risk (adjusted hazard ratio (HR)=0.76" - See metformin at The Antiaging Store.

Are edible insects more or less 'healthy' than commonly consumed meats? A comparison using two nutrient profiling models developed to combat over- and undernutrition - Eur J Clin Nutr. 2015 Sep 16 - "palm weevil larvae and mealworm a significantly healthier score than beef (P<0.001) and chicken (P<0.001). No insects were statistically less healthy than meat" - Note:  Nice to know if you're ever a POW.

Curcumin inhibits lymphangiogenesis in vitro and in vivo - Mol Nutr Food Res. 2015 Aug 27 - "Curcumin, a dietary compound from turmeric, has potent antimetastatic effects ... The aim of this study is to investigate the effects and mechanisms of curcumin on lymphangiogenesis (formation of new lymphatic vessels), which plays a critical role in tumor metastasis ... Our results demonstrate that curcumin inhibits lymphangiogenesis in vitro and in vivo, which could contribute to the antimetastatic effects of curcumin" - See curcumin products at Amazon.com.

Resveratrol selectively induces apoptosis in malignant cells with the JAK2V617F mutation by inhibiting the JAK2 pathway - Mol Nutr Food Res. 2015 Aug 27 - "Resveratrol is a natural occurring polyphenol with several health promoting activities, including anticancer potential ... Resveratrol may have therapeutic potential against myeloproliferative neoplasms associated with the aberrant activation of the JAK2 pathway" - See ReserveAge Resveratrol Vegetarian Capsules, 500 Mg, 60-Count at Amazon.com.

n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Reduce Neonatal Hypoxic/Ischemic Brain Injury by Promoting Phosphatidylserine Formation and Akt Signaling - Stroke. 2015 Sep 15 - "n-3 PUFAs robustly protect against H/I-induced brain damage in neonates by activating Akt prosurvival pathway in compromised neurons. In addition, n-3 PUFAs promote the formation of membrane phosphatidylserine, thereby promoting Akt activity and improving cellular survival" - See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.

A dose-response meta-analysis reveals an association between vitamin B12 and colorectal cancer risk - Public Health Nutr. 2015 Sep 16 - "Every 4.5 μg/d increment in total and dietary vitamin B12 intake was inversely associated with CRC risk (total intake: RR=0.963; 95 % CI 0.928, 0.999; dietary intake: RR=0.914; 95 % CI 0.856, 0.977). The inverse association between vitamin B12 intake and CRC risk was also significant when vitamin B12 intake was over a dosage threshold, enhancing the non-linear relationship" - See vitamin B12 at Amazon.com. 

Reduced Symptoms of Inattention after Dietary Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation in Boys with and without Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder - Neuropsychopharmacology. 2015 Sep - "Participants consumed 10 g of margarine daily, enriched with either 650 mg of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)/docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) each or placebo ... EPA/DHA supplementation improved parent-rated attention in both children with ADHD and typically developing children ... EPA/DHA supplementation improved parent-rated attention in both children with ADHD and typically developing children ... this study offers support that omega-3 supplementation may be an effective augmentation for pharmacological treatments of ADHD" - [Nutra USA] - See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.

The impact of gut microbiota on brain and behaviour: implications for psychiatry - Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2015 Sep 12 - "Recently, the gut microbiota has been profiled in a variety of conditions including autism, major depression and Parkinson's disease ... The current narrative suggests that certain neuropsychiatric disorders might be treated by targeting the microbiota either by microbiota transplantation, antibiotics or psychobiotics" - See probiotic products at Amazon.com. 

Health Focus (Quercetin):