Recent Longevity News for the week ending 4/17/19

Mid-life resting heart rate of 75 plus beats/minute linked to doubling in early death risk - Science Daily, 4/16/19 - "But a resting heart rate of 75+ bpm in 1993 was nevertheless associated with around a twofold higher risk of death from any cause, from cardiovascular disease, and from coronary heart disease, compared with a resting heart rate of 55 or below ... every additional beat increase in rate was associated with a 3 per cent higher risk of death from any cause, a 1 per cent higher risk of cardiovascular disease, and a 2 per cent higher risk of coronary heart disease"

Burger King’s Impossible Whopper tastes even better than the real thing - Washington Post, 4/16/19 - "At a Burger King in the Academy neighborhood, the store has already sold out of its supply, twice, in the week or so since the Impossible Whopper was introduced, said assistant manager Nikiesha Harvey. People have been calling and coming in from all parts of the country to order one, or a dozen, some as far away as California and Florida, she said ... Part of this trickeration can be attributed to Impossible Foods, the San Francisco Bay-area start-up that this year rolled out a new formula for its plant-based patties. The company has substituted soy protein for wheat protein to give the patty a more beeflike texture. It has also added methyl cellulose, a plant-based binder, to make the burger juicier. And this is in addition to the not-so-secret ingredient, heme, which Impossible Foods produces by injecting the DNA of a soy plant into genetically engineered yeast, which is then fermented ... After eating more than a dozen Impossible-branded burgers in St. Louis — including Red Robin’s thick-cut version, which had none of the chin-dribbling juices you desire from a big, sloppy grilled hamburger — I’ve come to the conclusion that the producer of this meat alternative is a master illusionist. After one bite, you swear the Impossible patty tastes just like beef. After a second bite, you begin to sense the illusion behind the science. After a third, you’re ready to invest in the whole enterprise. With time, the illusion becomes its own alternative reality: The product is close enough to beef that your brain is willing to fill in the rest of the flavors, even if somewhere in the dark recesses of your cerebral cortex, you know it’s all a lie."

Is Honey Healthy? Here's What Experts Say - Time, 4/16/19 - "Research has linked honey to an improvement in gut microbial balance, coughing and other respiratory conditions. Because of honey’s trace nutrients, the sweetener has been thought to have antibacterial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, along with healing potential for ailments such as sore throats, digestive disorders and burns, Friedman says ... But it’s important to consider the full nutritional picture. To get many of these benefits, “we’d have to eat a lot of honey,” says Friedman. “And unfortunately, consuming a lot of honey means consuming a lot of calories.” ... So what’s the best type to buy? “It depends on what flavors you’re looking for and how you’re using it. Manuka honey has a stronger and distinct taste that might not make it great for using in baking, for example,” she says. Darker honey is also said to be higher in antioxidants, she notes, but it tends to have a more intense, bitter flavor that not everyone enjoys. “Buckwheat is one variety that has been highlighted for a robust nutrient profile.”"

Regular cannabis users require up to 220% higher dosage for sedation in medical procedures - Science Daily, 4/15/19 - "patients who smoked or ingested cannabis on a daily or weekly basis required 14% more fentanyl, 20% more midazolam, and 220% more propofol to achieve optimum sedation for routine procedures, including colonoscopy"

Brain Damage From Alcohol Continues After Abstinence - Medscape, 4/15/19 - "alcohol use disorder (AUD) ... The researchers found diffuse microstructural changes in white matter in the men with AUD compared with the control persons. These changes primarily affected the right hemisphere and the frontal region of the brain. These changes progressed during 2 to 6 weeks of abstinence ... The study was not designed to look further in time, also due to the fact that our results were unexpected"

Probiotics May Reduce Rehospitalization in Bipolar Disorder - Medscape, 4/15/19 - "Patients receiving the probiotic had a significantly decreased risk of being hospitalized. About 24% of patients were rehospitalized in the treatment group, compared with approximately 73% in the placebo group. Also, individuals receiving the probiotic were rehospitalized for much shorter periods of time (2.8 vs 8.3 days) ... Another part of this study that was quite interesting, which I haven't really seen in a lot of trials to date, was that the researchers looked at a number of biomarkers to establish what's called a neuroinflammatory index. They looked at a group of antigens to things like gliadin, toxoplasmosis, or the Mason‐Pfizer monkey virus. They stratified their sample and found that individuals with high neuroinflammatory markers who received the probiotic had a 90% reduced risk of being rehospitalized for mania." - See probiotic products at Amazon.com.

The FDA Just Approved a New Prescription Weight-Loss Drug. Here's How It Works - Time, 1/15/19 - "Previously approved weight-loss drugs typically work by targeting the brain to suppress appetite or simulate feelings of fullness. Plenity, by contrast, helps fill the stomach when taken before a meal. Each pill contains a mix of cellulose and citric acid, which, when hydrated in the stomach, expands to form a hydrogel with the consistency of chewed food. The capsules can fill about a quarter of the stomach without contributing any calories, helping people feel full from eating less, according to the company. The gel then passes through the digestive system just like regular food ... “It creates a sense of satiety, but it’s not a compound that enters the bloodstream and goes to the brain,” Apovian says. “In that respect, it’s so unique because it’s actually benign and safe, in terms of side effects that can cause issues centrally. It’s a very safe, low-risk alternative.”

The disturbing links between too much weight and several types of cancer

High-Dose Vitamin D Benefit in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer - Medscape, 4/10/19 - "Half of the patients were randomly assigned to additionally receive a standard dose of vitamin D (400 International Units [IU] per day) and the other half to receive a very high dose of vitamin D (8000 IU/day for 2 weeks and 4000 IU/day thereafter) ... patients who got high-dose vitamin D were 36% less likely to die or have disease progression during 22.9 months of follow-up ... Patients in that group also had a median delay of 13 months until disease worsened compared with the 11-month median delay ... "The average level remained deficient at around 18 ng/mL throughout the trial for those taking the low dose. In contrast, with those taking the high dose, we very quickly raised their levels into the sufficient range" — above 30 ng/mL —after about 2 months, and patients maintained sufficient levels at that dose, Ng said" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

High Rates of B Vitamin Deficiency in Teens With Mental Illness - Medscape, 4/10/19 - "Levels of vitamin B9 and B12 deficiency are high in children and particularly adolescents with psychiatric disorders ... Deficiencies in these two vitamins lead to hyperhomocysteinemia, which has been linked to neurovascular and neurodegenerative disorders and psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia and affective disorders, as well as cognitive impairment ... To determine levels of deficiency of vitamin B9 and B12, the investigators retrospectively examined the records of all child and adolescent psychiatric inpatients between 2015 and 2017 at their center ... Vitamin B9 deficiency was detected in 42.4% of the patients, and 19.2% were deficient in vitamin B12; 11.0% were deficient in both vitamins" - See B complex supplements at Amazon.com.

Marijuana Edibles May Be More Harmful Than Thought - Medscape, 4/10/19 - "When he arrived at the hospital by ambulance, the 70-year-old man said he felt like he was dying. He was pale, nauseated, and reported severe chest pain. "He had had hallucinations at home," says his doctor, Alexandra Saunders, MD, chief medical resident for Dalhousie University in St John, New Brunswick, Canada. Soon, the medical team confirmed he'd had a heart attack ... He had eaten a marijuana-laced lollipop, given to him by a friend who thought it might help him sleep"

Aging gracefully: Study identifies factors for healthy memory at any age - Science Daily, 4/10/19 - "The study found that adults with healthy memory were more likely to be female, educated, and engage in more social activities, such as hosting a dinner party, and novel cognitive activities, such as using a computer or learning a second language. For adults age 55 to 75, healthy memory was associated with lower heart rate, higher body mass index, more self-maintenance activities, and living companions. Adults over 75 had faster gait and fewer depressive symptoms"

Melatonin's heart protective effects not related to its antioxidant properties - Science Daily, 4/9/19  - "Antiarrhythmic agents are substances that treat irregular electrical activity in the heart. Melatonin has previously been shown to have antiarrhythmic effects, with the assumption that this was due to its known antioxidant properties ... One group of rats was given 10 mg of melatonin daily for seven days, while another received a placebo. Researchers then measured the electrical activity in the rats' hearts before, during and after a cardiac event. They later examined the hearts for measures of oxidative stress and antioxidant activity ... Ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular fibrillation (VF) are two kinds of dangerous irregular electrical activity in the heart that can result from a heart attack. Incidence of both VT and VF was reduced in melatonin-treated rats. A marker of antioxidant activity was also higher in the treated rats. However, there was no association between the presence of oxidative stress and incidence of irregular electrical activity ... In previous work, the research team observed that blocking melatonin-specific receptors removed the antiarrhythmic benefit of melatonin. When taken together with this current study, these results suggest that melatonin's protective effects for the heart "are related to its antiarrhythmic action, and this effect is related not to antioxidative properties but to melatonin receptor stimulation,"" - See melatonin at Amazon.com.

Could eating garlic reduce aging-related memory problems? - Science Daily, 4/8/19 - "Consuming garlic helps counteract age-related changes in gut bacteria associated with memory problems, according to a new study conducted with mice. The benefit comes from allyl sulfide, a compound in garlic known for its health benefits ... the researchers gave oral allyl sulfide to mice that were 24 months old, which correlates to people between 56 and 69 years of age. They compared these mice with 4- and 24-month-old mice not receiving the dietary allyl sulfide supplement ... The researchers observed that the older mice receiving the garlic compound showed better long- and short-term memory and healthier gut bacteria than the older mice that didn't receive the treatment. Spatial memory was also impaired in the 24-month-old mice not receiving allyl sulfide ... The researchers also found that oral allyl sulfide administration produces hydrogen sulfide gas -- a messenger molecule that prevents intestinal inflammation -- in the gut lumen" - See aged garlic at Amazon.com.

Dietary supplement boosts cognitive function in vegetarians - Science Daily, 4/8/19 - "Vegetarians who take the dietary supplement creatine may enjoy improved brain function ... Creatine is a chemical stored in the muscles and brain that helps build lean muscle ... One group took a daily creatine supplement for four weeks, and the other group did not. Before and after the trial, all participants took the ImPACT test, a widely used standardized measure of neurocognitive function. The vegetarian supplement group scored higher on the ImPACT test than the group that ate 10 or more servings of meat, poultry or seafood per week. "Meat eaters did not show any significant improvement of cognition following supplementation because [their] creatine levels were already elevated [from their diet],"" - See creatine at Amazon.com.

Medical-Grade Honey as an Alternative to Surgery - Medscape, 4/7/19 - "The properties of ALH include autolytic debridement, bacterial growth inhibition, anti-inflammatory mediation, and cytokine release, making it a viable option for wound management for patients with contraindications to surgery. However, surgical debridement should remain a tenet of wound care in appropriate patients." - See honey at Amazon.com.

Gum bacteria implicated in Alzheimer's and other diseases - Science Daily, 4/7/19 - "The researchers compared brain samples from deceased people with and without Alzheimer's disease who were roughly the same age when they died. They found P. gingivalis was more common in samples from Alzheimer's patients, evidenced by the bacterium's DNA fingerprint and the presence of its key toxins, known as gingipains ... In studies using mice, they showed P. gingivalis can move from the mouth to the brain and that this migration can be blocked by chemicals that interact with gingipains ... P. gingivalis commonly begins to infiltrate the gums during the teenage years. About one in five people under age 30 have low levels of the bacterium in their gums. While it is not harmful in most people, if it grows to large numbers the bacteria provoke the body's immune system to create inflammation, leading to redness, swelling, bleeding and the erosion of gum tissue ... The best way to prevent P. gingivalis from growing out of control is by brushing and flossing regularly and visiting a dental hygienist at least once a year"

Vitamin B12 is identified as the inhibitor of a key enzyme in hereditary Parkinson's disease - Science Daily, 4/4/19 - "Right now, specific, powerful inhibitors of the kinase activity of LRRK2 do in fact exist. Yet many of them cause undesirable side effects or produce very unclear clinical results ... AdoCbl, one of the active forms of vitamin B12, acts as an inhibitor of the kinase activity of LRRK2 in cultured cells and brain tissue. It also significantly prevents the neurotoxicity of the LRRK2 variants associated with Parkinson's in cultured cells of primary rodents, as well as in various genetically modified models used to study this disease ... So according to the study, vitamin B12 has turned out to be a new class of modulator of the kinase activity of LRRK2, which, as Iban Ubarretxena pointed out, "constitutes a huge step forward because it is a neuroprotective vitamin in animal models and has a mechanism unlike that of currently existing inhibitors. So it could be used as a basis to develop new therapies to combat hereditary Parkinson's associated with pathogenic variants of the LRRK2 enzyme."" - See vitamin B12 at Amazon.com.

The Heart of a Swimmer vs. the Heart of a Runner - NYT, 4/3/19 - "It turned out, to no one’s surprise, that the athletes, whether runners or swimmers, enjoyed enviable heart health. Their heart rates hovered around 50 beats per minute, with the runners’ rates slightly lower than the swimmers’. But all of the athletes’ heart rates were much lower than is typical for sedentary people, signifying that their hearts were robust ... While all of the athletes’ left ventricles filled with blood earlier than average and untwisted more quickly during each heartbeat, those desirable changes were amplified in the runners. Their ventricles filled even earlier and untwisted more emphatically than the swimmers’ hearts did"

Poor Diets Are Linked to 20% of All Deaths Worldwide, Study Says. But These Foods Could Help - Time, 4/3/19 - "Eating too much sodium — which is linked to high blood pressure and heart conditions — was the largest cause of diet-related death globally, the researchers found. But on the whole, “the main problem we see is the low intake of healthy food,” rather than high intake of unhealthy food, Afshin says. Aside from over-eating sodium and trans fats, most of the top dietary risk factors were related to not eating enough nutritious foods, including whole grains, nuts and seeds, fruits, vegetables, polyunsaturated fats and legumes, Afshin says."

Liver, colon cancer cells thwarted by compounds derived from hops - Science Daily, 4/2/19 - "xanthohumol, known as XN ... XN had been shown to inhibit proliferation of a variety of cancer cell lines, and in this study, we demonstrated XN's ability to halt cell growth and kill two liver cancer cell lines and two colon cancer cell lines" - See xanthohumol at Amazon.com.

Virtual Realty App Helps Calm Fear of Heights - Medscape, 4/2/19 - "A self-guided virtual reality cognitive-behavioral therapy (VR-CBT) app can help alleviate symptoms of acrophobia ... underwent an intervention with a self-guided VR-CBT app called ZeroPhobia that uses low-cost cardboard goggles, together with CBT techniques ... To "ensure scalability," the VR-CBT app relies on participants' own smartphones and basic ($10) cardboard VR goggles ... A total of 193 participants qualified for the trial and were randomly assigned to either the VR-CBT app group or the wait-list control group (n = 96 and n = 97, respectively) ... In the intervention group, 59% of participants completed the posttest assessment, and 49% completed the follow-up. In the wait-list group, 91% completed the posttest assessment ... In the intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis, the VR-CBT group showed significant reduction in acrophobia symptoms compared with the control group on the AQ at posttest (b = −26.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], −32.12 to −21.34; t 191 = −9.79; P < .001; adjusted R2 = 0.52; effect size d = 1.14; 95% CI, 0.84-1.44) ... The number needed to treat (NNT) was 1.7 ... The VR-CBT group showed "significant" reduction in acrophobia symptoms and intervention effect compared with the control group on acrophobia symptoms (AHQ, b= −12.59; t 182 = −8.92; P < .001; d = 1.091; 95% CI, 0.787 – 1.393) ... General anxiety symptoms were reduced (Beck Anxiety Inventory: b = −3.87; t 182 = −2.62; P < .001; d = 0.370.087 – 656), and there was an increase in the sense of mastery (b = 1.01; t 182 = −2.00; P = .047; d = −0.11; −0.389 to 0.176)."

Abstracts from this week:

Conflicting studies in the same publication within two weeks of each other:

• Metformin Improves Learning and Memory in the SAMP8 Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease - J Alzheimers Dis. 2019 Apr 3 - "A pilot clinical study found cognitive improvement with metformin in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Preclinical studies suggest metformin reduces Alzheimer-like pathology in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the current study, we used 11-month-old SAMP8 mice. Mice were given daily injections of metformin at 20 mg/kg/sc or 200 mg/kg/sc for eight weeks. After four weeks, mice were tested in T-maze footshock avoidance, object recognition, and Barnes maze. At the end of the study, brain tissue was collected for analysis of PKC (PKCζ, PKCι, PKCα, PKCγ, PKCɛ), GSK-3β, pGSK-3βser9, pGSK-3βtyr216, pTau404, and APP. Metformin improved both acquisition and retention in SAMP8 mice in T-maze footshock avoidance, retention in novel object recognition, and acquisition in the Barnes maze. Biochemical analysis indicated that metformin increased both atypical and conventional forms of PKC; PKCζ, and PKCα at 20 mg/kg. Metformin significantly increased pGSK-3βser9 at 200 mg/kg, and decreased Aβ at 20 mg/kg and pTau404 and APPc99 at both 20 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg. There were no differences in blood glucose levels between the aged vehicle and metformin treated mice. Metformin improved learning and memory in the SAMP8 mouse model of spontaneous onset AD. Biochemical analysis indicates that metformin improved memory by decreasing APPc99 and pTau. The current study lends support to the therapeutic potential of metformin for AD"

• Metformin Therapy Aggravates Neurodegenerative Processes in ApoE- /- Mice - J Alzheimers Dis. 2019 Mar 19 - "this study supports previous observations showing that metformin causes impairment of cognition"

Observational Study of Brain Atrophy and Cognitive Decline Comparing a Sample of Community-Dwelling People Taking Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors and Angiotensin Receptor Blockers Over Time - J Alzheimers Dis. 2019 Mar 18 - "The baseline association of ACEi and ARB use with total brain volume was similar in both groups. However, those taking an ARB had a slower rate of brain atrophy than those taking an ACEi (p = 0.031). Neither ACEi nor ARB use was associated with baseline cognitive function or cognitive decline ... These results support the theory that ARB may be preferable to ACEi to reduce brain atrophy"

Association of thyroid function with white coat hypertension and sustained hypertension - Biomed Res. 2019;40(1):1-7 - "they were divided into normotension (NT), white coat hypertension (WCH), masked hypertension (MHT), and sustained hypertension (SHT) groups ... The TSH concentration was significantly higher in the SHT group than in the NT group (P = 0.001). The FT3 concentration was higher in the SHT group than in the NT and MHT groups (P = 0.013, P = 0.008), while the FT4 concentration was significantly higher in the WCH group than in the NT group"

Metformin Attenuates Early-Stage Atherosclerosis in Mildly Hyperglycemic Oikawa-Nagao Mice - J Atheroscler Thromb. 2019 Apr 11 - "(Oikawa-Nagao Diabetes-Prone [ON-DP] and -Resistant [ON-DR]) ... Mildly hyperglycemic ON-DP and normoglycemic ON-DR female mice fed an atherogenic diet for 20 weeks (8-28 weeks of age). During the feeding period, one group of each mouse line received metformin in drinking water (0.1%), while another group received water alone as control ... metformin treatment significantly reduced atherosclerotic lesion formation in the ON-DP mice (59% of control), whereas no significant effect of metformin was observed in the lesion size of the ON-DR mice ... Metformin can attenuate early-stage atherogenesis in mildly hyperglycemic ON-DP mice. Pleiotropic effects of metformin, beyond its glucose-lowering action, may contribute to the antiatherogenic property in the early-stage atherosclerosis" - See metformin at the Antiaging Store.

Biomarkers of Dietary Omega-6 Fatty Acids and Incident Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality: An Individual-Level Pooled Analysis of 30 Cohort Studies - Circulation. 2019 Apr 11 - "linoleic acid (LA) and arachidonic acid (AA) ... Higher levels of LA were significantly associated with lower risks of total CVD, cardiovascular mortality, and ischemic stroke, with hazard ratios per interquintile range of 0.93 (95% CI: 0.88-0.99), 0.78 (0.70-0.85), and 0.88 (0.79-0.98), respectively, and nonsignificantly with lower CHD risk (0.94; 0.88-1.00). Relationships were similar for LA evaluated across quintiles. AA levels were not associated with higher risk of cardiovascular outcomes; comparing extreme quintiles, higher levels were associated with lower risk of total CVD (0.92 ... In pooled global analyses, higher in vivo circulating and tissue levels of LA and possibly AA were associated with lower risk of major cardiovascular events. These results support a favorable role for LA in CVD prevention" - Note: This surprised me. Many studies claim that the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 should be 3:1 yet most Americans are consuming 10 - 20:1 which they claim is harmful.  I just report the studies.

The Effect of Branched Chain Amino Acids-Enriched Nutritional Supplements on Activities of Daily Living and Muscle Mass in Inpatients with Gait Impairments: A Randomized Controlled Trial - J Nutr Health Aging. 2019;23(4):348-353. doi: 10.1007/s12603-019-1172-3 - "Participants in the intervention group (RJ group) received nutritional supplements (jelly foods comprising 2500 mg BCAA and 20 IU vitamin D) twice a day until hospital discharge ... The primary outcome was the motor components of the Functional Independence Measure (FIM-m), and the secondary outcome was skeletal muscle mass index ... FIM-m was significantly elevated in the RJ group and the control group , but no difference was noted between the two groups. Only the RJ group showed a significant increase in skeletal muscle mass index, and the amount of variation was significantly different between the two groups (the control group decreased an average of 2.2% and the RJ group increased an average of 4.3%" - See BCAA at Amazon.com..

When and How to Diagnose and Treat Vitamin D Deficiency in Adults: A Practical and Clinical Update - J Diet Suppl. 2019 Apr 7:1-19 - "The symptoms of vitamin D deficiency are unspecific and very common. Therefore, physicians may easily suspect vitamin D deficiency, measure 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, and sometimes overprescribe supplementation. Hypovitaminosis D could rarely be treated by increasing consumption of foods naturally containing and fortified with vitamin D. Special attention should be given to vitamin D supplementation to prevent adverse effects. No safe and well-defined threshold of ultraviolet exposure allows adequate vitamin D synthesis without increasing the risk of skin cancer" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Cardioprotective Effect of the Mitochondrial Unfolded Protein Response During Chronic Pressure Overload - J Am Coll Cardiol. 2019 Apr 16;73(14):1795-1806 - " Boosting the UPRmt with nicotinamide riboside (which augments NAD+ pools) in cardiomyocytes in vitro or hearts in vivo significantly mitigated the reductions in mitochondrial oxygen consumption induced by these stresses. In mice subjected to pressure overload, nicotinamide riboside reduced cardiomyocyte death and contractile dysfunction. Myocardial tissue from patients with aortic stenosis also showed evidence of UPRmt activation, which correlated with reduced tissue cardiomyocyte death and fibrosis and lower plasma levels of biomarkers of cardiac damage (high-sensitivity troponin T) and dysfunction (N-terminal pro–B-type natriuretic peptide)." - [Nutra USA] - See nicotinomide riboside at Amazon.com.

Supplementation with Robuvit® in post-traumatic stress disorders associated to high oxidative stress - Minerva Med. 2018 Oct;109(5):363-368 - "After 4 weeks, the percentages of subjects with recurrent memories and dreams, transient walking-dissociative states and reactive flashbacks/hallucinations, alarm reactions and intense emotional distress, emotional numbness, social disinterest and detachment were significantly lower in the subjects treated with Robuvit® (P<0.05%). Sleeping problems, irritability, and fatigue were also significantly reduced with supplementation." - [Nutra USA] - See Robuvit® at Amazon.com.

Small Amounts of Inorganic Nitrate or Beetroot Provide Substantial Protection From Salt-Induced Increases in Blood Pressure - Hypertension. 2019 May;73(5):1042-1048 - "To reduce the risk of salt-induced hypertension, medical authorities have emphasized dietary guidelines promoting high intakes of potassium and low intakes of salt that provide molar ratios of potassium to salt of ≥1:1. However, during the past several decades, relatively few people have changed their eating habits sufficiently to reach the recommended dietary goals for salt and potassium ... the Dahl salt-sensitive rat, we found that supplemental dietary sodium nitrate confers substantial protection from initiation of salt-induced hypertension when the molar ratio of added nitrate to added salt is only ≈1:170. Provision of a low molar ratio of added nitrate to added salt of ≈1:110 by supplementing the diet with beetroot also conferred substantial protection against salt-induced increases in blood pressure. The results suggest that on a molar basis and a weight basis, dietary nitrate may be ≈100× more potent than dietary potassium with respect to providing substantial resistance to the pressor effects of increased salt intake. Given that leafy green and root vegetables contain large amounts of inorganic nitrate, these findings raise the possibility that fortification of salty food products with small amounts of a nitrate-rich vegetable concentrate may provide a simple method for reducing risk for salt-induced hypertension." - [Nutra USA] - - See beet root powder at Amazon.com.

Homocysteine Status Modifies the Treatment Effect of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Cognition in a Randomized Clinical Trial in Mild to Moderate Alzheimer's Disease: The OmegAD Study - J Alzheimers Dis. 2019 Apr 1 - "The effect of ω3-FA supplementation on MMSE and CDR appears to be influenced by baseline tHcy, suggesting that adequate B vitamin status is required to obtain beneficial effects of ω3-FA on cognition" - See B complex supplements at Amazon.com.

• Brain atrophy in cognitively impaired elderly: the importance of long-chain ω-3 fatty acids and B vitamin status in a randomized controlled trial - Am J Clin Nutr. 2015 Apr 15 - "folic acid, 0.8 mg; vitamin B-6, 20 mg; vitamin B-12, 0.5 mg ... B vitamin treatment slowed the mean atrophy rate by 40.0% compared with placebo"

Metformin Improves Learning and Memory in the SAMP8 Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease - J Alzheimers Dis. 2019 Apr 3 - "Diabetics are at an increased risk of developing dementia. Recent epidemiological studies suggest that metformin treatment prevents cognitive decline in diabetics ... Preclinical studies suggest metformin reduces Alzheimer-like pathology in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the current study ... Metformin significantly increased pGSK-3βser9 at 200 mg/kg, and decreased Aβ at 20 mg/kg and pTau404 and APPc99 at both 20 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg ... Metformin improved learning and memory in the SAMP8 mouse model of spontaneous onset AD. Biochemical analysis indicates that metformin improved memory by decreasing APPc99 and pTau"

Rethinking good cholesterol: a clinicians' guide to understanding HDL - Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2019 Mar 22 - "The "good cholesterol" label was coined decades ago on the basis of a presumed causal role of HDL cholesterol in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. However, this view has been challenged by the negative results of several studies of HDL cholesterol-raising drugs, creating a paradox for clinicians regarding the value of HDL cholesterol as a risk biomarker and therapeutic target, and seemingly contradicting decades of evidence substantiating an inverse relation between HDL cholesterol and cardiovascular disease risk ... HDL cholesterol is an imperfect biomarker of a highly complex and multifunctional lipid transport system, and we should now consider how new HDL markers more causally linked to cardiovascular complications could be adapted for clinical use. In the absence of a superior alternative, HDL cholesterol generally has value as a component of primary cardiovascular disease risk prediction models, including in people with type 2 diabetes. However, to avoid prognostic overgeneralisations, it is high time that the good cholesterol label is dropped" 

Health Focus (First line medications for hypertension):