Recent Longevity News for the week ending 6/7/17

Olive oil nutrient linked to processes that prevent cancer in brain - Science Daily, 6/2/17 - "They found that oleic acid prevents a cell protein, known as MSI2, from stopping production of miR-7. In this way, the olive oil component supports the production of miR-7, which helps prevent tumours from forming" - Note: Olive oil is 76% omega-9 (oleic acid).

Vitamin D Supplements May Raise Sex Hormone Levels in Men - Medscape, 6/1/17 - "Testosterone is converted to estradiol, and SHBG binds testosterone and estradiol, Dr Lerchbaum observed, but only the unbound fraction of hormones is biologically active. Effectively, the lower SHBG levels result in more bioavailable testosterone. "We think that low SHBG levels should be an advantage for these men because they have more biologically active hormone." ... Maybe. Sufficient estradiol levels are important for the feedback mechanism with hypothalamus and the pituitary gland (LH and FSH levels) ... It may be speculated that the decrease in SHBG and the resultant increases in free testosterone levels might help improve the hypogonadism problem and fertility in these" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

The Whole Truth About Whole Fruits - WebMD, 5/31/17 - "Conversely, drinking fruit juice every day had the opposite effect, increasing the chances of diabetes by 21 percent. One possible reason: the spikes in blood sugar that the concentrated sugars in juice can cause"

Babies Don’t Need Juice, Pediatricians Say - NBC News, 5/22/17 - ""Fruit juice offers no nutritional benefits for infants younger than 1 year," it said. Juice is loaded with sugar and calories and doesn't have the fiber that whole fruit has"

Lower targets for systolic blood pressure suggested by study - Science Daily, 5/31/17 - "They found significant linear associations between systolic blood pressure and risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality, with the lowest risk at a systolic blood pressure of 120 to 124 mm Hg"

Healthy arteries may be possible with aging - AHA, 5/30/17 - "The most important factors of achieving healthy vascular function were staying lean, or having a low body mass index, and avoiding diabetes ... The other lifestyle measures, such as maintaining favorable cholesterol levels, also came into play ... those who achieved six out of seven of the American Heart Association’s Life Simple 7 healthy heart goals were 10 times more likely to achieve healthy vascular aging than those who achieved zero to one of the measures"

Long-term Metformin May Reduce Coronary Calcium - Medscape, 5/30/17 - "The prevalence and severity of coronary artery calcium (CAC) after 14 years of metformin therapy were significantly lower in men, but not women, who started on the drug for prediabetes ... although it is "hard to be sure" why the metformin effect is lacking in women, previous studies have shown that metformin reduces testosterone levels in women but not in men. "Whether there's a metabolic difference between women and men that might count for a differential effect of metformin is a possibility, but we really don't know the answer."" - See metformin at The Antiaging Store.

Common antioxidant could slow symptoms of aging in human skin - Science Daily, 5/30/17 - "The effects we are seeing are not temporary. Methylene blue appears to make fundamental, long-term changes to skin cells ... In addition to methylene blue, the researchers also tested three other known antioxidants: N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NAC), MitoQ and MitoTEMPO (mTEM) ... In these experiments, methylene blue outperformed the other three antioxidants, improving several age-related symptoms in cells from both healthy donors and progeria patients. The skin cells (fibroblasts, the cells that produce the structural protein collagen) experienced a decrease in damaging molecules known as reactive oxygen species, a reduced rate of cell death and an increase in the rate of cell division throughout the four-week treatment" - Note:  The problem is that methylene blue isn't available to purchase anywhere.  The other three (N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NAC), MitoQ and MitoTEMPO (mTEM)) are.  See MitoQ at Amazon.com.

Statins associated with improved heart structure and function - Science Daily, 5/26/17 - "Statins have other beneficial, non-cholesterol lowering, effects. They can improve the function of the blood vessels, reduce inflammation, and stabilise fatty plaques in the blood vessels. Studies in mice and small studies in humans have shown that statins also reduce the thickness of heart muscle but this needed to be confirmed in a larger study ... In terms of how statins might reduce the thickness and volume of the heart, Dr Aung said several studies have demonstrated that statins reduce oxidative stress and dampen the production of growth factors which stimulate cell growth. Statins also increase the production of nitric oxide by the cells lining the blood vessels, leading to vasodilatation, improved blood flow, lower blood pressure, and lower stress on the heart, which is less likely to become hypertrophied ... The findings raise the issue of extending statin prescriptions to anyone above the age of 40"

Abstracts from this week:

Anti-Fatigue Effect of Green Tea Polyphenols (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate (EGCG) - Pharmacogn Mag. 2017 Apr-Jun;13(50):326-331 - "The data showed that EGCG prolonged exhaustive swimming time, decreasing the levels of blood lactic acid, serum urea nitrogen, serum creatine kinase and malondialdehyde, which were accompanied by corresponding increase in liver and muscle glycogen contents, and superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase activities" - [Nutra USA] - See EGCG at Amazon.com.

Guaraná, a Highly Caffeinated Food, Presents in vitro Antitumor Activity in Colorectal and Breast Cancer Cell Lines by Inhibiting AKT/mTOR/S6K and MAPKs Pathways - Nutr Cancer. 2017 Jun 1:1-11 - "Guaraná decreased the colony formation and cell growth in MCF-7 and HT-29 cells. Guaraná did not affect normal cells. In conclusion, guaraná could be an important agent in antitumor pharmacologic therapies by inhibiting the mTOR and MAPKs pathways" - See guaraná at Amazon.com.

Vitamin B6 Intake and the Risk of Colorectal Cancer: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies - Nutr Cancer. 2017 Jun 1:1-9 - "Dose-response meta-analysis based on five eligible studies showed that for each additional 3 and 5 mg of vitamin B6 intake, the risk would decrease by 11% (RR: 0.89, 95%CI: 0.81-0.98) and 17% (RR: 0.83, 95%CI: 0.71-0.97), respectively" - See Best Naturals Vitamin B-6 25 mg 250 Tablets at Amazon.com.

Efficiency of Use of Dietary Supplement Arteroprotect® In Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases - International Journal of Pharmaceutical Science Invention, Feb. 2017 - "In study group there was a significant reduction in mean values of cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL- cholesterol, as well as an increase in mean values of HDL-cholesterol, whereas in the control group there was a significant decrease in the mean values of all observed laboratory parameters. This indicates a significant impact ARTEROprotect® in terms of sinergistic effect with a statin. In fact, earlier studies have shown that as many as 56,2% of respondents who receive statin do not reach the target value of LDL-cholesterol" - Note:  The Nutra USA article claims that ARTEROprotect® contains 45 mcg of vitamin K2 and and 20 mg of octacosanol which is Policosanol.  See vitamin K2 at Amazon.com and Policosanol at Amazon.com.

Chemical Composition and Immuno-Modulatory Effects of Urtica dioica L. (Stinging Nettle) Extracts - Phytother Res. 2017 May 24 - "These observations suggest that stinging nettle is an interesting candidate for the development of phytopharmaceuticals or dietary supplements for cotreatment of various inflammatory diseases, particularly inflammatory bowel diseases" - See stinging nettle products at Amazon.com.

Korean Red Ginseng Extract Enhances the Anticancer Effects of Sorafenib through Abrogation of CREB and c-Jun Activation in Renal Cell Carcinoma - Phytother Res. 2017 May 22 - "Our results clearly demonstrate that KRGE can enhance the anticancer activity of sorafenib and may have a substantial potential in the treatment of RCC" - See ginseng at Amazon.com.

Sarcopenic obesity, weight loss, and mortality: the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing - Am J Clin Nutr. 2017 May 24 - "The risk of all-cause mortality was significantly greater in participants who experienced weight loss over 4 y (HR: 2.21; 95% CI: 1.32, 3.71) and/or reduced hand grip strength (HR: 1.53; 95% CI: 10.07, 2.17) than in those with stable weight and grip strength, with the highest risk in those with both weight loss and reduced strength (HR: 3.77; 95% CI: 2.54, 5.60).Conclusions: Sarcopenic obesity did not confer any greater risk than sarcopenia alone. Weight loss combined with sarcopenia presented the greatest risk of mortality"

High-Protein Foods and Physical Activity Protect Against Age-Related Muscle Loss and Functional Decline - J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2017 May 25 - "Higher intakes of protein-source foods (red meat, poultry, fish, dairy, and soy, nuts, seeds and legumes) were associated with higher %SMM over 9 years, particularly among women. Men and women with higher intakes of foods from animal sources had a higher % SMM regardless of activity; beneficial effects of plant-based protein foods were only evident in physically active adults. Active subjects with higher intakes of animal or plant protein-source foods had 35% lowest risks of functional decline. Among less active individuals, only those consuming more animal protein-source foods had reduced risks of functional decline (HR: 0.7l" - See BulkSupplements Pure L-Leucine Powder (1 Kilogram).

The use of statins alone, or in combination with pioglitazone and other drugs, for the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease/non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and related cardiovascular risk. An Expert Panel Statement - Metabolism. 2017 Jun;71:17-3 - "The suggestion of this Expert Panel is that, pending forthcoming randomized clinical trials, physicians should consider using a PPARgamma agonist, such as pioglitazone, or, statin use in those with NAFLD/NASH at high CVD or HCC risk, alone and/or preferably in combination with each other or with ezetimibe, for the primary or secondary prevention of CVD, and the avoidance of cirrhosis, liver transplantation or HCC, bearing in mind that CVD is the main cause of death in NAFLD/NASH patients" 

Health Focus (Alzheimer's Disease):