Recent Longevity News for the week ending 5/17/17

Tomato extract fights stomach cancer, ripe for further study - Science Daily, 5/13/17 - "whole tomato extracts from two different Southern Italy cultivars inhibit gastric cancer cell growth and malignant features ... Treatment with the whole tomato extracts affected key processes within the cells hindering their migration ability, arresting cell cycle through the modulation of retinoblastoma family proteins and specific cell cycle inhibitors, and ultimately inducing cancer cell death through apoptosis" - See Jarrow Lyco-Sorb (contains Lyco-O-Mato) at Amazon.com.

Zinc acetate lozenges may increase the recovery rate from the common cold by three-fold - Science Daily, 5/11/17 - "According to a meta-analysis of three randomized controlled trials, zinc acetate lozenges may increase the rate of recovery from the common cold three fold. On the fifth day, 70 percent of the zinc lozenge patients had recovered compared with 27 percent of the placebo patients ... The dose of zinc in the three studies was between 80 to 92 mg/day ... Even though there is strong evidence that properly formulated zinc acetate lozenges can increase the rate of recovery from the common cold by 3 fold, many zinc lozenges on the market appear to have either too low doses of zinc or they contain substances that bind zinc ions, such as citric acid" - See zinc acetate lozenges at Amazon.com.

Link between common brain disease and gut microbiome - Science Daily, 5/10/17 - "Bacteria in the gut microbiome drive the formation of cerebral cavernous malformations (CCMs), clusters of dilated, thin-walled blood vessels in the brain that can cause stroke and seizures ... altering the microbiome in CCM patients may be an effective therapy for this cerebrovascular disease"

The Potential Role of Zinc Supplementation on Pressure Injury Healing in Older Adults - Medscape, 5/8/17 - "This review has raised the question of whether or not the RDA for older adults should be re-evaluated in order to adjust for impaired absorption in Zn. Optimal Zn nutriture would improve the quality of life in older adults with wounds ... In conclusion, for older adults, the clinical application of supplementation of Zn along with calories, protein, and other nutrients in PIs improves outcomes, shortens healing time, and decreases comorbidities" - See Jarrow Zinc Balance at Amazon.com.

Abstracts from this week:

Synbiotic supplementation and the effects on clinical and metabolic responses in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial - Br J Nutr. 2017 May 11:1-8 - "After the 8-week intervention, compared with the placebo, synbiotic supplementation resulted in a significant reduction in serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels (-1427·8 (sd 3267·2) v. +2833·4 (sd 5639·7) ng/ml, P=0·001). In addition, compared with the placebo, synbiotic supplementation improved disease activity score-28 joints (DAS-28) (-1·6 (sd 0·8) v. -0·3 (sd 0·5), P<0·001) and visual analogue scales (VAS) pain (-30·4 (sd 18·7) v. -11·5 (sd 15·9), P<0·001). In addition, a significant elevation in plasma nitric oxide (NO) (+0·8 (sd 4·4) v. -2·6 (sd 4·5) µmol/l, P=0·008), and significant reductions in insulin values (-13·8 (sd 26·4) v. +4·2 (sd 28·2) pmol/l, P=0·01), homoeostasis model of assessment-estimated insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (-0·5 (sd 1·0) v.+0·1 (sd 1·1), P=0·03) and homoeostatic model assessment-β-cell function (HOMA-B) (-9·4 (sd 17·9) v. +3·3 (sd 18·9), P=0·01) following supplementation with the synbiotic compared with the placebo. Compared with the placebo, synbiotic supplementation also resulted in a significant increase in plasma GSH (+36·6 (sd 63·5) v. -58·5 (sd 154·4) µmol/l, P=0·005). Overall, our study demonstrated that synbiotic supplementation for 8 weeks among patients with RA had beneficial effects on hs-CRP, DAS-28, VAS, NO, insulin levels, HOMA-IR, HOMA-B and GSH levels" - See synbiotic supplements at Amazon.com.

Statin Use, Serum Lipids, and Prostate Inflammation in Men with a Negative Prostate Biopsy: Results from the REDUCE Trial - Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2017 May 9 - "Given the possible role for inflammation in prostate cancer, the inverse association between statins and prostate inflammation suggests a mechanism linking statins with lower advanced prostate cancer risk"

Lower Serum Vitamin D Level Was Associated with Risk of Dry Eye Syndrome - Med Sci Monit. 2017 May 10;23:2211-2216 - "A significant association between serum 25(OH)D level and DES incidence was detected in this study"

Dietary Protein Intake and Stroke Risk in a General Japanese Population: The Hisayama Study - Stroke. 2017 May 9 - "the risks of total stroke and ischemic stroke significantly decreased by 40% (95% confidence interval, 12%-59%) and 40% (5%-62%), respectively, in subjects with the highest quartile of vegetable protein intake compared with those with the lowest one. In contrast, subjects with the highest quartile of animal protein intake had a 53% (4%-77%) lower risk of intracerebral hemorrhage"

Effect of Long-term Metformin and Lifestyle in the Diabetes Prevention Program and its Outcome Study on Coronary Artery Calcium - Circulation. 2017 May 5 - "coronary artery calcium (CAC) ... CAC severity and presence were significantly lower among men in the metformin versus the placebo group (age-adjusted mean CAC severity: 39.5 vs 66.9 AU, p=0.04; CAC presence: 75% vs 84%, p=0.02), but no metformin effect was seen in women" - See metformin at The Antiaging Store.

n-3 Polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation restored impaired memory and GABAergic synaptic efficacy in the hippocampus of stressed rats - Nutr Neurosci. 2017 May 8:1-14 - "Supplementation with n-3 PUFA improved dendritic architecture and restored the frequency of inhibitory post-synaptic currents of hippocampal pyramidal neurons of rats from stress group. In addition, n-3 PUFA supplementation improved spatial memory. Our results demonstrate that n-3 PUFA supplementation had three beneficial effects on stressed rats: prevented or compensated dendritic atrophy in CA3; restored the probability of GABA release in CA1; and improved spatial memory. We argue that n-3 PUFA supplementation can be used in treating stress-related psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety" - See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.

Effect of Valerian in Preventing Neuropsychiatric Adverse Effects of Efavirenz in HIV-Positive Patients: A Pilot Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial - Ann Pharmacother. 2017 Jun;51(6):457-464 - "Several neuropsychiatric adverse effects of efavirenz are known. Preventing these adverse effects may improve patients' adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) ... Patients received valerian (530 mg) or placebo nightly 1 hour before sleep for 4 weeks ... In the first 4 weeks of ART including efavirenz, valerian significantly improved sleep and anxiety in HIV-positive patients. Valerian may be considered as a potential option in preventing neuropsychiatric adverse effects of efavirenz in HIV-positive patients" - See Valerian Nighttime at Amazon.com. 

Health Focus (Deprenyl/Selegiline):