Recent Longevity News for the week ending 9/21/16

Corydalis yanhusuo extract for use as an adjunct medicine for low to moderate chronic pain - Science Daily, 9/14/16 - "Corydalis yanhusuo, or YHS, has widely used for centuries as a pain treatment ... YHS seems to not lose its potency over time, as happens with many analgesics ... The researchers analyzed YHS pain relief properties in mouse tests that monitor acute, persistent inflammatory and chronic neuropathic pain, respectively, while in vitro tests revealed its mechanism of action as a prominent dopamine receptor blocker. Interestingly, in mice that have no dopamine D2 receptor, YHS effect is weakened in neuropathic pain ... YHS kept its potency while morphine lost its" - See Corydalis yanhusuo at Amazon.com.

Metformin influences nitrogen and urea metabolism - Science Daily, 9/14/16 - "metformin intake lowers the levels of the harmful LDL cholesterol by activating the AMPK protein complex ... metformin also modulates the body's nitrogen and urea metabolism ... the activation of the AMPK pathway by metformin affects nitrogen and urea metabolism through a further enzyme***, which thus lowers the citrulline levels ... Accordingly, the scientists suspect that the additional intake of citrulline could have a positive effect on the cardiovascular system in patients being treated with metformin" - See BulkSupplements Pure L-Citrulline Powder at Amazon.com.

Omega-3, omega-6 supplement improves reading for children - Science Daily, 9/14/16 - "study included 154 schoolchildren from western Sweden in grade 3, between nine and ten years old. The children took a computer-based test (known as the Logos test) that measured their reading skills in a variety of ways, including reading speed, ability to read nonsense words and vocabulary ... The children were randomly assigned to receive either capsules with omega-3 and omega-6, or identical capsules that contained a placebo (palm oil) for 3 months ... After three months, all children received real omega-3/6 capsules for the final three months of the study ... Even after three months, we could see that the children's reading skills improved with the addition of fatty acids, compared with those who received the placebo" - Note:  Most American's get about 20 time the omega-6 they need.  See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.

Brains of 'Super-Agers' Look Decades Younger - WebMD, 9/14/16 - "These super-agers were between the ages of 60 and 80. They scored as well on memory tests as adults who were 40 to 50 years younger, the investigators found ... Imaging studies showed the brains of the super-agers had a youthful appearance ... Many of the brain regions of super-agers were similar in size to those of the younger adults ... In some cases, there was no difference in thickness between super-agers and young adults"

Abstracts from this week:

n-3 Fatty acids preserve muscle mass and insulin sensitivity in a rat model of energy restriction - Br J Nutr. 2016 Sep 13:1-12 - "dietary n-3 PUFA prevent the loss of muscle mass associated with energy restriction, probably by an improvement in the insulin-signalling pathway activation, in relation to enrichment of plasma membranes in n-3 LC-PUFA" - See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.

Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), an organosulfur compound, is effective against obesity-induced metabolic disorders in mice - Metabolism. 2016 Oct;65(10):1508-21 - "These data suggest that MSM has beneficial effects on multiple metabolic dysfunctions, including hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, and inflammation. Thus, MSM could be the therapeutic option for the treatment of obesity-related metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes and fatty liver diseases" - See methylsulfonyl methane at Amazon.com.

Curcumin, The Golden Nutraceutical: Multitargeting for Multiple Chronic Diseases - Br J Pharmacol. 2016 Sep 17 - "Numerous studies have indicated that curcumin is a highly potent antimicrobial agent and has been shown to be active against various chronic diseases including various types of cancers, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurological and autoimmune diseases. Further, this compound has also been shown to be synergistic with other nutraceuticals such as resveratrol, piperine, catechins, quercetin, and genistein" - See curcumin products at Amazon.com.

Thyroid function and the risk of dementia: The Rotterdam Study - Neurology. 2016 Sep 16 - "Higher TSH was associated with lower dementia risk in both the full and normal ranges of thyroid function (hazard ratio [HR] 0.90, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.83-0.98; and HR 0.76, 95% CI 0.64-0.91, respectively). This association was independent of cardiovascular risk factors. Dementia risk was higher in individuals with higher free thyroxine (HR 1.04, 95% CI 1.01-1.07). Absolute 10-year dementia risk decreased from 15% to 10% with higher TSH in older women. Higher TSH was associated with better global cognitive scores"

A 6-month, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluating the ability of a marine complex supplement to promote hair growth in men with thinning hair - J Cosmet Dermatol. 2016 Aug 9 - "placebo-controlled study was to confirm the beneficial effects of a similar marine complex supplement in adult male subjects with thinning hair (Viviscal® Man ... At Day 90, subjects indicated a significant improvement in three of six quality of life measures as well as a significant overall improvement in quality of life. After 180 days, significant increases were observed for total hair count, total hair density, and terminal hair density (for each, P = 0.001). The investigator assessments revealed significant improvements in terminal and vellus hair count and terminal hair density. Hair pull test results were significantly lower (fewer hairs removed) for study drug vs. placebo at Days 90 (P < 0.05) and 180 (P < 0.01). There were no reports of treatment-emergent adverse events" - [Nutra USA] - See Viviscal® Man at Amazon.com.

Health Focus (Mediterranean Diet):