Recent Longevity News for the week ending 9/14/16

Older Drug May Help Type 1 Diabetics' Heart Health - WebMD, 9/6/16 - "An inexpensive medication normally given to people with type 2 diabetes may help preserve heart health in people with the less common form of diabetes -- type 1 ... Metformin is the standard first-line treatment for type 2 diabetes to help bring blood sugar levels down. It also appears to help repair damaged blood cells by increasing the number of blood vessel (vascular) stem cells" - See metformin at The Antiaging Store.

Abstracts from this week:

Prenatal supplementation with DHA improves attention at 5 y of age: a randomized controlled trial - Am J Clin Nutr. 2016 Sep 7 - "Prenatal exposure to DHA may contribute to improved sustained attention in preschool children" - See docosahexaenoic acid at Amazon.com.

Effects of metformin on blood pressure in nondiabetic patients: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials - J Hypertens. 2016 Sep 7 - "Pooled results showed that metformin had a significant effect on SBP (mean difference -1.98 mmHg; 95% confidence interval -3.61, -0.35; P = 0.02), but not on DBP (mean difference -0.67 mmHg; 95% confidence interval -1.74, 0.41; P = 0.22). In subgroup analysis, we found that the effect of metformin on SBP was significant in patients with impaired glucose tolerance or obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m), with a mean reduction of 5.03 and 3.00 mmHg, respectively" - See metformin at The Antiaging Store.

Effects of Complementary Combination Therapy of Korean Red Ginseng and Antiviral Agents in Chronic Hepatitis B - J Altern Complement Med. 2016 Sep 7 - "This study suggests the possibility of Korean Red Ginseng as a complementary therapy for chronic hepatitis B" - See ginseng at Amazon.com.

A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial to Assess the Efficacy and Safety of Ethyl-Ester Omega-3 Fatty Acid in Taiwanese Hypertriglyceridemic Patients - J Atheroscler Thromb. 2016 Sep 6 - "Omacor®, a prescription ethyl-ester omega-3 fatty acid for the treatment of hypertriglyceridemia ... After a five-week diet lead in period patients with triglycerides =200-1000 mg/dL were randomized to receive Omacor®, a concentrated preparation of omega-3 eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) plus docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in a dose of 1 g twice daily (2 g Omacor®), 2 g twice daily (4 g Omacor®) or placebo, for eight weeks ... the percentage change in triglyceride serum levels in both the Omacor® 4 g/day (－32.1%) and 2 g/day (－29.7%) groups was larger than in the placebo group (－5.4%)" - See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.

The effect of dietary intake of coenzyme Q10 on skin parameters and condition: Results of a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind study - Biofactors. 2016 Aug 22 - "with 33 healthy subjects. Our objective was to investigate the effects of 12 weeks of daily supplementation with 50 and 150 mg of CoQ10 on skin parameters and condition. Study was conducted with a water-soluble form of CoQ10 with superior bioavailability (Q10Vital® ) ... We determined significantly reduced wrinkles and microrelief lines, and improved skin smoothness. Supplementation with CoQ10 did not significantly affect skin hydration and dermis thickness" - [Nutra USA] - See ubiquinol products at Amazon.com.

Clinical Evidence of Effects of Lactobacillus plantarum HY7714 on Skin Aging: A Randomized, Double Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study - J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2015 Dec 28;25(12):2160-8 - "Participants took 1 × 10(10) CFU/day of HY7714 (probiotic group) or a placebo (placebo group) for 12 weeks. Skin hydration, wrinkles, skin gloss, and skin elasticity were measured every 4 weeks during the study period. There were significant increases in the skin water content in the face (p < 0.01) and hands (p < 0.05) at week 12 in the probiotic group. Transepidermal water loss decreased significantly in both groups at weeks 4, 8, and 12 (p < 0.001 compared with baseline), and was suppressed to a greater extent in the face and forearm in the probiotic group at week 12. Volunteers in the probiotic group had a significant reduction in wrinkle depth at week 12, and skin gloss was also significantly improved by week 12. Finally, skin elasticity in the probiotic group improved by 13.17% (p < 0.05 vs. controls) after 4 weeks and by 21.73% (p < 0.01 vs. controls) after 12 weeks. These findings are preliminary confirmation of the anti-aging benefit to the skin of L. plantarum HY7714 as a nutricosmetic agent" - [Nutra USA] - See Garden of Life Primal Defense ULTRA, 180 Capsules at Amazon.com.

Effect of Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation on Arterial Elasticity in Patients with Familial Hypercholesterolaemia on Statin Therapy - Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases, Oct. 2016 - "We carried out an 8-week randomized, crossover intervention trial to test the effect of 4 g/d ω3-FA supplementation (46% eicosapentaenoic acid and 38% docosahexaenoic acid) on arterial elasticity in 20 adults with FH on optimal cholesterol-lowering therapy. Large and small artery elasticity were measured by pulse contour analysis of the radial artery. ω3-FA supplementation significantly (P<0.05 in all) increased large artery elasticity (+9%) and reduced systolic blood pressure (-6%) and diastolic blood pressure (-6%), plasma triglycerides (-20%), apoB concentration (-8%). In contrast, ω3-FAs had no significant effect on small artery elasticity" - [Nutra USA] - See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.

Probiotic mixture VSL#3 reduce high fat diet induced vascular inflammation and atherosclerosis in ApoE(-/-) mice - AMB Express. 2016 Dec;6(1):61 - "ApoE(-/-) mice were fed high fat diet alone or with VSL#3 or a positive control treatment, telmisartan or both for 12 weeks. All treatments reduced atherosclerotic plaques significantly compared to high fat diet alone. VSL#3 significantly reduced proinflammatory adhesion molecules and risk factors of plaque rupture, reduced vascular inflammation and atherosclerosis to a comparable extent to telmisartan; and VSL#3 treated mice had the most distinctly different intestinal microbiota composition from the control groups. Combining the VSL#3 and telmisartan brought no further benefits. Our findings showed the therapeutic potential of VSL#3 in reducing atherosclerosis and vascular inflammation" - [Nutra USA] - See probiotic products at Amazon.com. 

Health Focus (Macular Degeneration):