Recent Longevity News for the week ending 8/2/17

Green tea ingredient may ameliorate memory impairment, brain insulin resistance, and obesity - Science Daily, 7/28/17 - "EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate), the most abundant catechin and biologically active component in green tea, could alleviate high-fat and high-fructose (HFFD)-induced insulin resistance and cognitive impairment ... mice in the HFFD group took longer to find the platform compared to mice in the control group. The HFFD+EGCG group had a significantly lower escape latency and escape distance than the HFFD group on each test day. When the hidden platform was removed to perform a probe trial, HFFD-treated mice spent less time in the target quadrant when compared with control mice, with fewer platform crossings. The HFFD+EGCG group exhibited a significant increase in the average time spent in the target quadrant and had greater numbers of platform crossings, showing that EGCG could improve HFFD-induced memory impairment" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.

More Data on Omega-3s and Cognitive Function - Medscape, 7/27/17 - "Their results showed a statistically significant relationship between omega-3 EPA + DHA status, hippocampal brain perfusion, and scoring on memory testing ... The researchers concluded that this positive relationship means that relatively simple dietary changes could favorably impact cognitive functioning" - See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.

Field Treatment of Actinic Keratosis on the Scalp - Medscape, 7/27/17 - "A meta-analysis evaluation[4] of AK therapies based on complete clearance rates ranked topical treatments from highest efficacy to lowest efficacy as follows: 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) 5%; 5-FU 0·5%; photodynamic therapy (PDT) with aminolaevulinic acid; imiquimod; ingenol mebutate and methyl aminolaevulinate PDT (equal ranking); diclofenac with hyaluronic acid; cryotherapy" - Note:  I had one of these on a cheek and four cryotherapy tries didn't work.  5-fluorouracil (5-FU) 5% did.  I was so impressed on how it improved my skin that I do it again about every three years.  It's pretty gross until it heals.  See what it did to this guy: https://youtu.be/PFpLdrKL4ZY .  I get it at: https://www.inhousepharmacy.vu/p-739-efudix-cream.aspx .  A dermatologist told me it could scar so don't self-medicate like I do.  I'm not rich enough to afford a civilian dermatologist and the military dermatologist won't prescribe it again.

Abstracts from this week:

Effect of Red Ginseng on Genotoxicity and Health-Related Quality of Life after Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Patients with Epithelial Ovarian Cancer: A Randomized, Double Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial - Nutrients. 2017 Jul 19;9(7) - "health-related quality of life (HRQL) ... there were no differences in adverse events between placebo and red ginseng groups. In terms of HRQL, red ginseng was associated with improved emotional functioning and decreased symptoms of fatigue, nausea and vomiting, and dyspnea, reduced anxiety and interference affecting life and improved daytime somnolence" - See red ginseng extract at Amazon.com.

Vitamin D Supplementation Improves Quality of Life and Physical Performance in Osteoarthritis Patients - Nutrients 2017, 9(8), 799 - "Vitamin D2 supplementation for six months reduced oxidative protein damage, decreased pain (VAS), improved quality of life, and improved grip strength and physical performance in osteoarthritis patients" - [Nutra USA] - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Efficacy of a Proprietary Trigonella foenum-graecum L. De-Husked Seed Extract in Reducing Menopausal Symptoms in Otherwise Healthy Women: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study - Phytother Res. 2017 Jul 14 - "There was a significant reduction in menopausal symptoms in the active group compared with placebo as assessed by total MENQOL score (p < 0.001); reflected by significant improvements in the vasomotor (p < 0.001), psychosocial (p < 0.001), physical (p < 0.001) and sexual symptoms (p < 0.001) domains. Vasomotor outcomes correlated with hot flushes, the active group reporting significantly less daytime hot flushes and night sweats at 12 weeks" - [Nutra USA] - See Trigonella foenum-graecum at Amazon.com.

The Role of Retinal Carotenoids and Age on Neuroelectric Indices of Attentional Control among Early to Middle-Aged Adults - Front. Aging Neurosci., 09 June 2017 - "While some age-related cognitive decline is to be expected in healthy aging, our data suggest that these effects may be less pronounced among adults with greater retinal carotenoid status, a marker of dietary patterns characterized by greater intake of green and leafy vegetables. Furthermore, these practices may provide neuro-cognitive benefit before the onset of older age, in early to middle adulthood. Future experimental clinical trials are needed to determine whether changes in retinal carotenoid status moderate the influence of age-related neurocognitive decline across the lifespan" - [Medline] - [Nutra USA] - See carotenoids at Amazon.com.

Amelioration of the Development of Osteoarthritis by Daily Intake of β-Cryptoxanthin - Biol Pharm Bull. 2017;40(7):1116-1120 - "Our results suggest that oral supplementation of β-cryptoxanthin would be beneficial for the maintenance of joint health and as prophylaxis against osteoarthritis" - See carotenoids at Amazon.com.

Lycopene Ameliorates Experimental Colitis in Rats via Reducing Apoptosis and Oxidative Stress - Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2017 Jul 19:1-9 - "The results obtained in this study indicate that lycopene may exert protective effects in experimental colitis and might, therefore, be useful for treatment of IBD" - See lycopene at Amazon.com.

Health Focus (Apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I)):