Recent Longevity News for the week ending 6/13/18

Hormone therapy may lead to improved cognitive function - Science Daily, 5/30/18 - "the combination of transdermal estradiol and an oral progesterone can slow down cognitive decline. This is the first known study to evaluate the effect of hormone therapy on MCI"

Adequate Vitamin D Levels Prior to Conception Improve Birth Odds - Medscape, 6/11/18 - "women with adequate preconception vitamin D concentrations were also more likely to achieve a clinical pregnancy, at a risk ratio (RR) of 1.10 ... Similarly, women with adequate preconception vitamin D concentrations were more likely to achieve a live birth, at an RR of 1.15, compared to women with insufficient vitamin D concentrations" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Loneliness is bad for the heart - Science Daily, 6/9/18 - "The study investigated whether poor social network was associated with worse outcomes in 13,463 patients with ischaemic heart disease, arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm), heart failure, or heart valve disease ... Loneliness was associated with a doubled mortality risk in women and nearly doubled risk in men. Both men and women who felt lonely were three times more likely to report symptoms of anxiety and depression, and had a significantly lower quality of life than those who did not feel lonely"

Fish Oil May Protect the Youngest Hearts - WebMD, 6/8/18 - "In the study from Australia, infants were given a daily fish oil supplement or a placebo from birth to 6 months. When they were 5 years old, researchers found that the children who had been given fish oil had smaller waists than the youngsters who were given a placebo. A larger waist circumference is a known risk factor for heart disease, according to the American Heart Association." - See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.

More Teens Than Ever Would Try Marijuana - WebMD, 6/6/18 - "One in four U.S. high school seniors would try marijuana or use it more often if it was legal ... These findings fly in the face of the Big Marijuana argument that somehow fewer young people will use marijuana if it is legalized" - Note:  I take a lot of flak for my stance against pot.  Ask me if I care.  I don't care what Dr. Sanjay Gupta says.  Never underestimate the stupidity of the American voter.

Common diabetes drug found safe for most diabetics with kidney disease - Science Daily, 6/5/18 - "there has been a longstanding concern in the medical community about prescribing metformin for people with both diabetes and CKD because it may cause lactic acidosis ... Lactic acidosis is a rare but serious complication, occurring when lactate -- a product of glucose breakdown -- builds up in the bloodstream, producing symptoms such as severe muscle pain, cramps, nausea and weakness. Because patients with CKD may be at increased risk of metformin-associated lactic acidosis, health care providers historically avoided prescribing metformin in this population ... Past studies show that metformin has multiple benefits beyond controlling blood sugar, including less weight gain, a lower risk of heart attack and even higher long-term survival than other medications that patients take to control blood sugar ... Overall, Grams and her colleagues found an association between metformin use and acidosis only in patients with severely decreased kidney function, defined as an eGFR of less than 30 mL/min/1.73 m2. A normal eGFR is considered to be over 90 mL/min/1.73 m2" - See metformin at the Antiaging Store.

Cocaine, Marijuana Use Linked to Mortality in Young MI Patients - Medscape, 6/5/18 - "Among adults age 50 years and younger, those who reported use of cocaine or marijuana just before the MI, or who were positive for use of cocaine or marijuana on toxicology — making up about 10% of this population of young MI patients – were twice as likely to die of cardiovascular (CV) or all causes during a median 11-year follow-up"

As CBD Oil Flirts with Mainstream, Questions Mount - WebMD, 6/5/18 - "Now she does, with the help of a new bedtime ritual -- a ''snack" of two gummy bears containing CBD. CBD, or cannabidiol, is a substance from marijuana that lacks the ''high'' of the THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) also found in marijuana ... "There is basically anecdotal evidence that CBD is effective for a lot of things," says Gomez of the Brightfield Group marketing firm. Yet, currently, ''there is not too much in terms of peer-reviewed published research." ... The strongest use for CBD is seizure reduction in epilepsy, experts agree. In April, an FDA advisory panel recommended approval of the drug Epidiolex, an oral CBD solution, for treating seizures in two rare forms of epilepsy ... Although CBD isn't psychoactive, there can be side effects. In the Epidiolex studies, side effects included sleepiness, fatigue, less appetite, weight gain, and diarrhea"

Stressful jobs are associated with a higher risk of heart rhythm disorders - Science Daily, 6/4/18 - "The study found that being stressed at work was associated with a 48% higher risk of atrial fibrillation, after adjustment for age, sex, and education"

Sleep paralysis and hallucinations are prevalent in student athletes - Science Daily, 6/4/18 - "Occasional sleep paralysis was reported by 18 percent of the sample, and 7 percent reported that this happens at least once per week" - Note: The first time I had sleep paralysis was after about three days without sleep because of the workload in Vietnam. It was too hot to sleep and I was laying in my sweat thinking I was awake but I must have been sleeping. Then I thought I heard voices of my mother and grandparents coming to visit me at my hooch. I knew that was impossible. I tried to sit up but I couldn't move for about two minutes. You have no idea how scary that it.  I thought it was schizophrenia so I was afraid to tell anyone. I was also working out a lot which may have contributed to it.  I never realized it was this common.

How to Increase Your Chances of Having a Long, Healthy Life - NYT, 6/4/18 - "Dr. Murray said that medical practice also needs some serious tweaking. “Primary care providers are too focused on diagnosing disease and treating it,” he said. “They need to focus on the big contributors to risk, like high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which are easy to detect and easy to treat. Patients should demand it and, if they do, doctors will provide it.”"

Growing number of fatal car crashes linked to drug use - NBC, 6/3/18 - "The report raises serious concerns at a time when the U.S. is facing an epidemic of opioid usage and as more and more states legalize marijuana for medical and recreational usage ... But what federal data shows is that, where tests were performed, 44 percent of drivers fatally injured in a crash tested positive for drugs in 2016, up from 28 percent a decade earlier. Of those who tested positive for drugs in the latest study, 38 percent had used marijuana, 16 percent had used some form of opioid, and 4 percent tested positive for a combination of both"

New study says more than one alcoholic drink a day could shorten your life. Now, what? - NYT, 5/30/18 - "A glass of red wine a day keeps the doctor away, right? Not so fast. A large-scale European study recently published in the journal Lancet says the heart-healthy benefits from moderate drinking are slight, while the risk of stroke and other fatal heart conditions are significant. “These data support limits for alcohol consumption that are lower than those recommended in most current guidelines,” the authors said ... Fatalities caused by alcohol-impaired drivers accounted for close to 10,000 deaths in 2014 (about 30 percent of all driving fatalities), according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Alcohol also plays a significant role in homicides and suicides. One NIAAA study found that four in 10 convicted killers said they were under the influence of alcohol when they committed homicide. And about 25 percent of suicides are alcohol-related ... When it comes to non-traumatic-alcohol-related deaths, liver disease is at the top ... every 10 grams (slightly less than one drink) of alcohol consumed per day by a women increased her risk of breast cancer by 7 percent; a more recent study found a 12 percent increased risk"

Green tea molecule could prevent heart attacks - Science Daily, 5/11/18 - "a compound found in green tea, currently being studied for its ability to reduce amyloid plaques in the brain in Alzheimer's disease, also breaks up and dissolves potentially dangerous protein plaques found in the blood vessels ... Researchers found that epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), most commonly associated with green tea, binds to the amyloid fibres of apoA-1. This converts the fibres to smaller soluble molecules that are less likely to be damaging to blood vessels" - See epigallocatechin-3-gallate at Amazon.com.

Older men with higher levels of sex hormones could be less religious, study suggests - Science Daily, 5/30/18 - "men with higher levels of the sex hormones testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in their bodies had weaker religious ties"

Abstracts from this week:

Effects of Panax ginseng on Obesity in Animal Models: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis - Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2018 May 15;2018:2719794 - "Our meta-analysis indicated that oral administration of P. ginseng significantly inhibits weight gain and improves serum lipid profiles in animal obesity models" - See ginseng at Amazon.com.

Reductions of intimate partner violence resulting from supplementing children with omega-3 fatty acids: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, stratified, parallel-group trial - Aggress Behav. 2018 May 20 - "a community sample of children were randomized to receive either a fruit drink containing 1 gm of omega-3 fats (Smartfish Recharge; Omega-3 group, n = 100) or the same fruit drink without omega-3's (Placebo group, n = 100) ... Caregivers of children in the omega-3 group reported long-term reductions in psychological aggression in a group × time interaction. Improvements in adult psychological aggression were correlated with improvements in child externalizing behavior scores. No differences were reported for child maltreatment. This study is the first to show that omega-3 supplementation in children can reduce inter-partner psychological aggression among adult caregivers not receiving supplements. Findings suggest that improving child behavior through omega-3 supplementation could have long-term benefits to the family system as a whole" - [Nutra USA] - See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.

l-Carnitine Supplementation in Recovery after Exercise - Nutrients. 2018 Mar 13;10(3) - "Given its pivotal role in fatty acid oxidation and energy metabolism, l-carnitine has been investigated as ergogenic aid for enhancing exercise capacity in the healthy athletic population. Early research indicates its beneficial effects on acute physical performance, such as increased maximum oxygen consumption and higher power output. Later studies point to the positive impact of dietary supplementation with l-carnitine on the recovery process after exercise. It is demonstrated that l-carnitine alleviates muscle injury and reduces markers of cellular damage and free radical formation accompanied by attenuation of muscle soreness. The supplementation-based increase in serum and muscle l-carnitine contents is suggested to enhance blood flow and oxygen supply to the muscle tissue via improved endothelial function thereby reducing hypoxia-induced cellular and biochemical disruptions. Studies in older adults further showed that l-carnitine intake can lead to increased muscle mass accompanied by a decrease in body weight and reduced physical and mental fatigue. Based on current animal studies, a role of l-carnitine in the prevention of age-associated muscle protein degradation and regulation of mitochondrial homeostasis is suggested" - [Nutra USA] - See l-carnitine at Amazon.com.

Longevity extension in Drosophila through gut-brain communication - Scientific Reportsvolume 8, Article number: 8362 (2018), 30 May 2018 - "With age, the body become less efficient at handling environmental stresses leading to a myriad of physiological imbalances including elevated inflammation, oxidative stress, metabolic dysregulation and mitochondrial damage. There will never be a single therapeutic or dietary solution to manage the mounting chronic diseases associated with aging; however, maintaining a healthy gut microbiota through the use probiotic and prebiotic supplements can delay chronic disease onset and promote longevity by simultaneously affecting each of the main triggers of aging" - [Nutra USA] - See prebiotics and probiotics at Amazon.com.

Oral Omega-3 Supplementation Lowers Intraocular Pressure in Normotensive Adults - Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2018 May 1;7(3):1 - "These findings justify further investigation into the therapeutic potential of omega-3 supplementation for reducing IOP, to prevent and/or treat conditions with IOP elevation, including ocular hypertension and glaucoma" - [Nutra USA] - See omega-3 supplements at Amazon.com.

I was in the hospital for a kidney stone and they gave me MiraLax along with a stool softener.  Works better than anything I've ever tried.  My bowel movements were destroyed forever from eating c-rations for a year and a half in Vietnam.  This combo is a lifesaver.

• Veterans increasingly filing disability claims due to MRE exposure - duffelblog.com, 3/21/17 - “There honestly wasn’t a day that went by where I didn’t eat at least one — even at home,” he said, noting that he now averages just one bowel movement per month. “This [lack of] shit isn’t funny anymore.”

Health Focus (Interleukin 6 (IL-6)):