Recent Longevity News for the week ending 4/6/16

Anabolic steroid abuse is associated with increased systolic hypertension risk - Science Daily, 4/4/16 - "They measured the men's 24-hour ABPM every 20 minutes during the day and every 60 minutes through the night. Compared with the former abusers and the controls, the ongoing abusers' average day and night BPs were significantly ‒ roughly 8 to 10 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) ‒ higher"

Testosterone supplementation reduces heart attack risk in men with heart disease - Science Daily, 4/3/16 - "patients who received testosterone as part of their follow-up treatment fared much better than patients who didn't. Non-testosterone-therapy patients were 80 percent more likely to suffer an adverse event"

Coffee consumption linked to decreased risk of colorectal cancer - Science Daily, 4/1/16 - "The data showed that even moderate coffee consumption, between one to two servings a day, was associated with a 26 percent reduction in the odds of developing colorectal cancer after adjusting for known risk factors. Moreover, the risk of developing colorectal cancer continued to decrease to up to 50 percent when participants drank more than 2.5 servings of coffee each day. The indication of decreased risk was seen across all types of coffee, both caffeinated and decaffeinated"

Lower CV Risk -- With a Diabetes Drug - Medscape, 4/1/16 - "The IRIS trial showed that over about 5 years, there was a 24% reduction in stroke or myocardial infarction in patients taking pioglitazone. I told him that we can stop the metformin and sitagliptin, add in pioglitazone and empagliflozin, and continue the statin, the blood pressure medications, et cetera" - Speaking of the devil, this is on of the benefits I was thinking about when I wrote the note on the next study below.

More Evidence This Drug Raises Bladder Cancer Risk - WebMD, 3/30/16 - "When compared with other classes of diabetes drugs, the higher risk of bladder cancer linked to Actos was significant ... The controversy over Actos and Avandia is largely moot at this point, diabetes experts say, because newer and safer medications have supplanted them" - Note:  I'm not sure that what they call "safer medications" have the same benefits as Actos though.  Plus that bladder cancer claim has been going back and forth for years.

• Examination of use of diabetes drug pioglitazone and risk of bladder cancer - Science Daily, 7/21/15 - "There was no statistically significant increased risk of bladder cancer associated with pioglitazone use. However, a small increased risk, as previously observed, could not be excluded. The increased prostate and pancreatic cancer risks associated with ever use of pioglitazone merit further investigation to assess whether the observed associations are causal or due to chance, residual confounding, or reverse causality"

BPA Is Still Present in 60% of Cans in the U.S.: Study - Time, 3/30/16 - "all of the Campbell’s cans tested, 71% of those from Del Monte and 50% of sampled General Mills cans contained BPA. Amy’s Kitchen, Annie’s Homegrown, Hain Celestial Group and ConAgra have all transitioned away from BPA—and that was reflected in the test results in the report, as well; those tested in this study were free of BPA ... The question is ‘What did they replace it with?'"

Could a Low-Risk Surgery Help Chronic Heartburn? - WebMD, 3/29/16 - "this study found only one death associated with [this surgery] among nearly 9,000 patients ... during the study period of 1997 to 2013 ... Drugs known as proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs, can reduce stomach acid production ... But long-term use of such medications has been potentially linked to some serious health conditions, such as dementia ... studies comparing surgery to medication with proton pump inhibitors have found that surgery is superior to medication in aspects of symptom control and acid exposure in the esophagus ... most health insurers will pay for laparoscopic GERD surgery, which costs between $15,000 and $30,000 ... One of the questions patients have is, they don't want to take medications for the rest of their life, but the durability of this surgery is finite and [patients] may need a re-do ... Patients also need to know that occasionally they may need to get placed back on medications despite having the surgery."

Ask Well: Can Vinegar Aid Weight Loss? - NYT, 3/29/16 - "The weight loss claims hinge mostly on a 2009 clinical trial of obese Japanese adults that found those who consumed a beverage containing one or two tablespoons of vinegar every day lost two to four pounds after 12 weeks, while a comparison group given a plain beverage did not lose weight ... Several studies have shown that consuming small amounts of vinegar before a meal containing starches may blunt a rise in blood sugar afterward, reducing the glycemic response by 20 to 40 percent" - See Apple cider vinegar at Amazon.com - 1 Source Natural 500 mg tablet equals 2 tsb of vinegar.  4.5 tablets equals about 3 tablespoons by my calculations.

Scientific secrets for successful aging? - Science Daily, 3/29/16 - "Now that these age-related metabolites have been identified, the decline in antioxidants and muscle strength suggest that it is important for individuals to consume foods high in antioxidants and to continue exercising, especially after the age of 65. This could help increase the levels of the related metabolites in the body and improve body conditions"

Abstracts from this week:

Association of breakfast consumption with body mass index and prevalence of overweight/obesity in a nationally-representative survey of Canadian adults - Nutr J. 2016 Mar 31;15(1):33 - "Among Canadian adults, breakfast consumption was not consistently associated with differences in BMI or overweight/obesity prevalence"

Diet low in advanced glycation end products increases insulin sensitivity in healthy overweight individuals: a double-blind, randomized, crossover trial - Am J Clin Nutr. 2016 Mar 30 - "A diet that is low in AGEs may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by increasing insulin sensitivity. Hence, a restriction in dietary AGE content may be an effective strategy to decrease diabetes and cardiovascular disease risks in overweight individuals"

Vitamin D, PTH, and calcium in relation to survival following prostate cancer - Cancer Causes Control. 2016 Mar 29 - "This study shows that levels of pre-diagnostic vitamin D above 85 nmol/L may improve survival in men with prostate cancer" - Note:  85 nmol/L = 34 ng/ml.  I'd still consider that way too low (see bullet below).  See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

• Low Vitamin D Linked to Aggressive, Advanced Prostate Cancers: Study - WebMD, 5/1/14 - "Normal vitamin D levels are in the range of 30 to 80 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml)"

Higher compared with lower dietary protein during an energy deficit combined with intense exercise promotes greater lean mass gain and fat mass loss: a randomized trial - Am J Clin Nutr. 2016 Mar;103(3):738-46 - "lean body mass (LBM) ... control diet (CON) or a higher-protein (2.4 g · kg(-1) · d(-1)) diet (PRO) ... LBM increased (P < 0.05) in the PRO group (1.2 ± 1.0 kg) and to a greater extent (P < 0.05) compared with the CON group (0.1 ± 1.0 kg). The PRO group had a greater loss of fat mass than did the CON group (PRO: -4.8 ± 1.6 kg; CON: -3.5 ± 1.4kg; P < 0.05). All measures of exercise performance improved similarly in the PRO and CON groups as a result of the intervention with no effect of protein supplementation. Changes in serum cortisol during the intervention were associated with changes in body fat (r = 0.39, P = 0.01) and LBM" - [Nutra USA]

Protective effects of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG against dyslipidemia in high-fat diet-induced obese mice - Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2016 Mar 23 - "Recent reports suggest that gut microbiota can be a major determinant of dyslipidemia and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and its modulation by treating probiotics is a valid strategy to exert a protective effect. In this study, high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice were orally administrated with Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) for 13 weeks. Significant reductions in the weights of the liver, mesenteric and subcutaneous adipose tissues were observed in LGG-treated HFD-fed mice compared to LGG-non-treated controls. The serum levels of triglyceride and cholesterol were also significantly reduced in LGG-treated mice. Gut microbial composition analysis showed that shifts in the diversity of dominant gut bacteria were caused by HFD and restored by LGG treatment. A remarkable decrease of hepatic fat content was also observed in LGG-treated mice, accompanied by downregulated expressions of lipogenic and pro-inflammatory genes in the liver. LGG-treated mice had lower expression levels of genes involved in cholesterol synthesis, but conversely, higher expression levels of cholesterol efflux-related genes compared to LGG-non-treated controls" - See probiotic products at Amazon.com.

Protective Effects of Panax notoginseng Saponins against High Glucose-Induced Oxidative Injury in Rat Retinal Capillary Endothelial Cell - Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2016;2016:5326382 - "Diabetic retinopathy, a leading cause of visual loss and blindness, is characterized by microvascular dysfunction. Hyperglycemia is considered the major pathogenic factor for diabetic retinopathy and is associated with increased oxidative stress in the retina ... Panax notoginseng Saponins (PNS) in retinal capillary endothelial cells (RCECs) ... These results indicate that PNS exerts a protective effect against high glucose-induced injury in RCECs, which may be partially attributed to its antioxidative function" - See ginseng at Amazon.com.

Dietary total antioxidant capacity is associated with plasmatic antioxidant capacity, nutrient intake and lipid and DNA damage in healthy women - Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2016 Mar 28:1-1 - "The aim of this study was to estimate the DTAC and its influence on plasma total antioxidant capacity (PTAC), and damage to lipids, proteins and DNA in healthy women. It was found a positive correlation between DTAC and PTAC in young and healthy subjects, where presumably the endogenous defenses are fully functional. DTAC and PTAC were positively correlated with the intake of known antioxidants, including vitamin C and polyphenols. The DTAC exhibited a negative correlation with lipid oxidative damage, while PTAC showed a negative correlation with DNA damage" 

Health Focus (Advance Glycation End Products):