Recent Longevity News for the week ending 7/10/19

'First Evidence' Links Gut Bacteria, Fibromyalgia - Medscape, 7/9/19 - "women with fibromyalgia had significant differences in 19 species of gut bacteria compared with healthy controls. They also had higher serum levels of butyrate and lower levels of propionate ... Evidence is mounting on the critical role of the gut microbiota in a variety of pathologies, including, but not limited to, metabolic, cardiovascular, oncologic, neurologic, and psychiatric disorders" - See probiotic products at Amazon.com.

How to create the ice cream of your dreams - Washington Post, 7/9/19 - "Chill. “Everything has to be cold at all times,” says Rose Levy Beranbaum, the baking cookbook author whose new book, “Rose’s Ice Cream Bliss,” comes out next year. That applies throughout the entire process, because the faster you freeze, churn and store your ice cream, the smaller the ice crystals will be. Freeze your canister for the time recommended by the manufacturer, and ensure the base is thoroughly chilled, to around 40 degrees (in the case of Bauer's recipes, an overnight chill will let the cornstarch thicken the base a little more). Pre-freeze your storage containers, lids and solid mix-ins. And once the ice cream is out of the machine, work quickly to pack the ice cream so it doesn’t melt."

Antidepressant Use Cuts Deaths by a Third in Those With Diabetes - Medscape, 7/9/19 - "There was an approximate 35% reduction in deaths over the study period for all antidepressant classes except for reversible inhibitors of monoamine oxidase A"

Low LDL Means Higher Hemorrhagic Stroke Risk - Medscape,  7/8/19 - "individuals with LDL below 70 mg/dL had a 65% increased likelihood of ICH over 9 years"

Vitamin D Supplementation and Total Cancer Incidence and Mortality - Medscape, 7/5/19 - "In an updated meta-analysis of RCTs, vitamin D supplementation significantly reduced total cancer mortality but did not reduce total cancer incidence" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Are Paint Fumes a Health Concern? Here's What the Latest Science Says - Time, 7/5/19 - "water-based low- or zero-VOC paints—which are now easy to find—may be safer than older generations of pain. “However, paints may contain other chemicals such as binders, corrosion inhibitors and preservatives that may contribute to their toxicological properties,” she says. And research has found that even zero-VOC paints still emit chemical gasses ... So, even if you’re using these, Weisel says it’s a good idea to open windows and doors and turn on a fan. This can increase ventilation and carry away any potentially harmful fumes. Once paint has fully dried—something that happens more quickly in warm, dry conditions—the risk of inhaling harmful emissions is greatly reduced. “Airing a room out for a couple days is usually sufficient,” Weisel says ... The EPA also warns against storing paint in your home. Paint cans may release chemicals gases or fumes even if they’re closed, and so a basement or closet full of old paint cans is bad news. “If you’re following all these precautions, exposure should not be reaching a level that would cause a lot of concern,” Weisel says."

CPAP machines: How to pick one you won't hate - CNET, 7/3/19 - "A CPAP sends a constant flow of air through your airways during sleep to ensure that your throat doesn't narrow and cause the "apnea" in sleep apnea, or the brief pause in your breathing ... Nasal pillow masks involve small cushions that partially insert into your nostrils; the cushions have small air holes in them to allow pressure from your CPAP machine to flow into your nose ... They cover a very small portion of your face, so they're great for people who feel claustrophobic in a mask. Unlike other masks, nasal pillows offer an unobstructed view, which may appeal to people who like to read or watch TV before they fall asleep. Because they're so minimal, they're also ideal for people who sleep on their sides" - Note:  For 30 years I've had trouble sleeping and recently found out I've got sleep apnea.  I stop breathing 23 times per hour.  The nasal pillow one is the best.

From fish to bacon, a ranking of meats in order of healthiness - Washington Post, 7/3/19 - "According to the World Cancer Research Fund, you should not eat more than 12 to 18 ounces of red meat each week, or roughly three servings — but some experts suggest less is more. “Many trials have shown decreased progression or reversal of chronic diseases, cancer, obesity and metabolic syndrome, including diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol, when you avoid processed red meats and greatly limit red meat consumption,” Laster said. A recent study published in the BMJ showed that increased red meat consumption leads to a higher risk of mortality."

Timing of exercise may be key to successful weight loss - Science Daily, 7/3/19 - "In a study of 375 adults who have successfully maintained weight loss and who engage in moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity, most reported consistency in the time of day that they exercised, with early morning being the most common time"

Blood pressure drug linked with increased risk of bowel condition - Science Daily, 7/3/19 - "This condition causes small bulges or pouches to appear in the lining of the intestine. Particularly affecting the elderly (as many as 65 per cent of over 85s may be affected), diverticulosis can in some cases can lead to a medical emergency if the pouches become infected or burst ... the versions of genes related to the effects of a particular type of calcium channel blocker -- the non-dihydropyridine class, were linked to an increased the risk of a bowel condition called diverticulosis ... This is the first time that this class of blood pressure drug has been associated with diverticulosis. We're not sure of the underlying mechanism -- although it may relate to effects on the function of intestine muscles, which perform contractions to transport food through the gut"

Combat veterans more likely to experience mental health issues in later life - Science Daily, 6/2/19 - "They found that increased rates of mental health symptoms in late life were found only among combat veterans. The increases were not seen in veterans who had not been exposed to combat"

Low Vitamin D at Birth Tied to High Blood Pressure - WebMD, 7/1/19 - "Compared to children born with normal vitamin D levels, those born with low levels -- less than 11 nanograms per millimeter (ng/ml) in cord blood -- had a 60% higher risk of elevated systolic blood pressure (upper number in a reading) between ages 6 and 18" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Gut Bacteria Help May Boost Obese People's Health - WebMD. 7/1/19 - ""But that was just a simple correlation," Cani said. So several years ago, his team started to look deeper. First, they found that in lab mice, Akkermansia -- given as live bacteria -- helped prevent weight gain from a high-fat diet ... The important conclusion is, this type of supplement is safe and feasible ... After three months, people on the pasteurized supplement had lost 5 pounds, on average. Their insulin sensitivity improved by 30% in relation to the placebo group, whose sensitivity worsened. And their total cholesterol dipped by about 9% versus the placebo group, the findings showed" - Note:  I Goggled it.  I don't think it's available yet.  Here's what Amazon comes up with for probiotics for weight loss.

Soy's Heart Benefits Hold Steady Over Time - WebMD, 7/1/19 - "Canadian researchers pored over the results of 46 separate trials. Their conclusion: "These data strongly support the rationale behind the original FDA heart health claim for soy," said study lead author David Jenkins, a professor of nutritional sciences and of medicine at the University of Toronto ... Co-author John Sievenpiper, also a professor of nutritional sciences at the university, stressed that the overall benefit of soy for heart health wasn't major -- just an average 5% reduction in cholesterol levels ... However, "if you put that together with other plant-based foods in a portfolio you get a much stronger effect," he said in a university news release ... The team's findings come as the FDA mulls possibly removing the right to a labeling claim that soy "may reduce the risk of heart disease," first approved by the agency in 1999"

CPAP provides relief from depression - Science Daily, 7/1/19 - "After following them for an average of 3.7 years, we found that CPAP provided significant reductions in depression symptoms compared with those who were not treated for OSA. The improvement for depression was apparent within six months and was sustained"

A Probiotic for Obesity - NYT, 7/1/19 - "Compared with the placebo group, those who took pasteurized A. muciniphila had significantly improved insulin sensitivity and total cholesterol, and decreases in several blood markers of inflammation and liver dysfunction. They also had decreased body weight, fat mass and waist circumference, though those differences were not statistically significant"

Scientists find thirdhand smoke affects cells in humans - Science Daily, 6/28/19 - "Thirdhand smoke, or THS, results when exhaled smoke and smoke emanating from the tip of burning cigarettes settles on surfaces such as clothing, hair, furniture, and cars. Not strictly smoke, THS refers to the residues left behind by smoking ... THS can resurface into the atmosphere and can be inhaled unwillingly by nonsmokers ... THS inhalation for only three hours significantly altered gene expression in the nasal epithelium of healthy nonsmokers ... In the samples they studied, the researchers also found that brief THS exposure affected mitochondrial activity. Mitochondria are organelles that serve as the cell's powerhouses. If left unchecked, the observed effects would lead to cell death ... Many smoking adults think, 'I smoke outside, so my family inside the house will not get exposed.' But smokers carry chemicals like nicotine indoors with their clothes. It's important that people understand that THS is real and potentially harmful.""

Students chowing down tuna in dining halls are unaware of mercury exposure risks - Science Daily, 6/28/19 - "Researchers at UC Santa Cruz surveyed students outside of campus dining halls on their tuna consumption habits and knowledge of mercury exposure risks, and also measured the mercury levels in hair samples from the students. They found that hair mercury levels were closely correlated with how much tuna the students said they ate. And for some students, their hair mercury measurements were above what is considered a "level of concern." ... Nearly all fish contain some mercury, but tuna, especially the larger species, are known to accumulate relatively high levels of the toxic metal. Consumers are advised to eat no more than two to three servings per week of low-mercury fish (including skipjack and tongol tuna, often labeled "chunk light") or one serving per week of fish with higher levels of mercury (including albacore and yellow fin tuna) ... The researchers calculated that, to stay below the EPA reference dose, a 140-pound person could consume up to two meals per week of the lower-mercury tuna but less than one meal per week of the higher-mercury tuna"

Extreme exercise can strain the heart without causing permanent damage - Science Daily, 6/27/19 - "Researchers have found no evidence of elevated cardiac risk in runners who completed a 24-hour ultramarathon (24UM), despite the transient elevation of blood biomarkers that measure cardiac health"

Long-term statin use associated with lower glaucoma risk - Science Daily, 6/26/19 - "While previous observational studies have been inconsistent about the association of primary open-angle glaucoma risk with long-term cholesterol and statin use, the results showed that use of statins for five years or longer, versus never using statins, is associated with a 21 percent lower chance of primary open-angle glaucoma. In addition, every 20 mg/dL increase in total serum cholesterol level is associated with a 7 percent increase in risk of primary open-angle glaucoma. These results suggest that elevated cholesterol levels may heighten glaucoma risk"

Boosting amino acid derivative may be a treatment for schizophrenia - Science Daily, 6/26/19 - "Betaine comes from a normal diet but is also synthesized in the body where it contributes to metabolism in various ways, including as an anti-inflammatory agent. Levels of betaine (glycine betaine or trimethylglycine) in the blood plasma of patients with schizophrenia has previously been found to be low, which suggested it is a possible therapeutic target ... In the new study, mice missing the Chdh gene, which is involved in making betaine, showed depressive behaviors and greatly reduced betaine levels in both the brain and blood. Betaine levels in the brain recovered when the it was given to the mice as a supplement in drinking water, demonstrating that betaine can pass through the blood-brain barrier" - See trimethylglycine at Amazon.com.

Carbs May Be Intrinsically Bad, Regardless of Weight - Medscape, 6/26/19 - "Looking at those metabolic syndrome parameters, there was no significant change in waist circumference or blood pressure, but fasting glucose levels and triglycerides were significantly lower in the low-carb diet group, while HDL was higher ... In fact, of the 16 individuals in the trial, nine no longer met criteria for metabolic syndrome after 4 weeks of the low-carb diet. By comparison, only one individual no longer met the definition of metabolic syndrome after 4 weeks of the high-carb diet ... Other surprising findings: Blood levels of saturated fats were actually lower in the low-carb group, which had a substantially higher saturated fat intake (mostly in the form of cheese). This argues that the old canard "You are what you eat" doesn't quite jibe with modern metabolic science" - Note:  I'm not sure they're looking at the big picture.  High protein is associated with heart problems such as a heart block.

• Think Your High-Protein Diet Is Healthy? It May Be Hurting Your Heart - healthline - "They found that the men who ate the most protein from animal sources had a 43 percent greater risk of heart failure compared with those who ate the least amount of protein ... Those that consumed a high amount of protein from dairy sources had a 49 percent increased risk. Those who consumed most of their protein from plants had a 17 percent increased risk ... Despite those higher protein intakes all being associated with increased risk for heart failure, protein from eggs and fish wasn’t associated with an increased risk"

'Compelling Evidence' Shows HPV Vaccine Is Working - Medscape, 6/26/19 - "It found that, at 5-8 years of vaccination, the prevalence of HPV 16 and 18 had significantly decreased by 83% (relative risk [RR], 0.17) among girls aged 13-19 years, and by 66% (RR, 0.34) in the older cohort, aged 20-24 years ... The prevalence of HPV 31, 33, and 45 also decreased significantly, by 54% (RR, 0.46) among girls aged 13-19 years, showing evidence of vaccine cross-protection ... Additionally, diagnoses of anogenital wart also decreased significantly in both females and males, demonstrating evidence of herd effects from girls-only vaccination programs. Among girls aged 15-19 years, it declined by 67% (RR, 0.33), by 54% (RR, 0.46) in women aged 20-24 years, and by 31% (RR, 0.69) among women aged 25-29 years ... Among boys aged 15-19 years, the prevalence of anogenital wart diagnoses decreased significantly, by 48% (RR, 0.52), and among men aged 20-24 years by 32% (RR, 0.68)"

Vitamin D Recommendations Miss the Mark - Medscape, 6/26/19 - "High doses of vitamin D₃ are safe and more effective in preventing bone fracture in kidney transplant recipients than standard recommended doses, according to the results of the VITALE (NCT01431430) study ... Currently recommended doses of vitamin D are not sufficient to protect patients ... the risk for symptomatic fracture was significantly lower in the high-dose group than in the low-dose group (1% vs 4%" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

They turn to Facebook and YouTube to find a cure for cancer — and get sucked into a world of bogus medicine - Washington Post, 6/26/19 - "What they find can be quite disturbing to medical professionals: home remedies that purport to cure diseases with baking soda, frankincense, silver particles"

Could a Gut Bacteria Supplement Make Us Run Faster? - NYT, 6/26/19 - "Given these findings, the researchers “are optimistic” that athletes and inactive people might likewise benefit from popping a little supplemental Veillonella, says Aleksandar Kostic, an assistant professor of microbiology at Harvard Medical School and the Joslin Diabetes Center and the study’s senior author. He, like several of his co-authors, has equity in a new company that plans to offer such supplements. (The current study was funded by the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard and the National Institutes of Health, with no contributions from the new company.) ... “What excites me is the idea that this might help people who find exercise difficult to increase their exercise capacity,” Dr. Kostic says, while also potentially improving the performance of already-fit athletes"

Abstracts from this week:

Pulse oximetry in the diagnosis of acute heart failure - Rev Esp Cardiol (Engl Ed). 2012 Oct;65(10):879-84 - "Baseline oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry decreased progressively in relation to the presence and the severity of acute heart failure assessed by Killip classes 1 to 3 (mean: 95, 92 and 85, respectively; P<.001) or by Radiology Score 0 to 4 (95, 94, 92, 89 and 83, respectively; P<.001), with a correlation coefficient of 0.66 and 0.63, respectively. Receiver operating characteristic curves disclosed the cut-off of oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry<93 to have the greatest area, with a sensitivity of 65%, specificity 90%, and overall test accuracy 83%. Patients grouped according to lowest oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry showed significantly different rates of one-year mortality or rehospitalization for heart failure" - Note:  I threw this in because I theorized that oxygen saturation would be an indication of heart disease.  It sounds like it is.  Mine is 98%.  See oxygen saturation monitors at Amazon.com.

The synergistic effects of nano-curcumin and coenzyme Q10 supplementation in migraine prophylaxis: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial - Nutr Neurosci. 2019 Jun 26:1-10 - "The subjects were randomly divided into four groups as (1) combination of nano-curcumin (80 mg) plus CoQ10 (300 mg), (2) nano-curcumin (80 mg), (3) CoQ10 (300 mg) and (4) the control (nano-curcumin and CoQ10 placebo included oral paraffin oil) beside usual prophylactic drugs for 8 weeks ... The results showed a significant effect of nano-curcumin and CoQ10 supplementation on frequency, severity, duration of migraine attacks and HDR compared to other groups (All P < 0.001). Nano-curcumin and CoQ10 group also had better scores in migraine-specific questionnaires at the end of the study compared to other groups (All P < 0.001). There were no side effects reported by the participants" - See curcumin products at Amazon.com and ubiquinol products at Amazon.com.

The Benefit of Prophylactic Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Implantation in Asymptomatic Heart Failure Patients With a Reduced Ejection Fraction - Am J Cardiol. 2019 May 29 - "Recommendations for prophylactic implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantation in asymptomatic heart failure patients with a reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) differ between guidelines. Evidence on the risk of appropriate device therapy (ADT) and death in New York Heart Association (NYHA) class I patients is scarce ... To evaluate the incidence of ADT and mortality, NYHA-I was compared with NYHA-II-III using Cox regression analysis. During a follow-up of 4.1 ± 2.4 years, 33% of the NYHA-I patients received ADT compared with 20% of the NYHA-II-III patients (hazard ratio 1.5, 95% confidence interval 1.04 to 2.31, p = 0.03). No differences in mortality were observed (hazard ratio 0.70, 95% confidence interval 0.49 to 1.07, p = 0.10). Additional analyses showed no difference in time to ADT excluding CRT patients (ICD-NYHA-I patients vs ICD-NYHA-II-III patients, p = 0.17) and comparing ischemic and nonischemic cardiomyopathy NYHA-I patients (p = 0.13). Multivariable Cox regression analyses showed that NYHA class was the strongest independent predictor of ADT. In conclusion, primary prevention NYHA-I ICD patients showed a higher incidence of ADT compared with NYHA-II-III ICD patients. These results strongly suggest that primary prevention NYHA-I patients with a LVEF ≤35% are likely to benefit from ICD therapy and should not be excluded from a potentially life-saving therapy"

Inulin and metformin ameliorate polycystic ovary syndrome via anti-inflammation and modulating gut microbiota in mice - Endocr J. 2019 Jul 3 - "Mice were divided into 4 groups: control group (CON), model group (MOD), inulin group (INU), metformin group (MET). The last three groups were fed 6 mg of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) per 100 g body weight and 60% high-fat diet to generate mice model. After 21 days of intervention, mice were euthanized and associated indications were investigated. Body weight (BW) and testosterone (T) levels were significantly decreased, but estradiol (E2) levels were increased in INU or MET group, respectively. Ovary HE staining demonstrated that inulin or metformin ameliorated PCOS morphology. Inflammatory indicators from plasma and ovary including TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-17A were decreased in INU or MET group. Moreover, IL-10 in ovary of INU or MET group was increased. Sequencing and analysis of gut microbiota showed that compared to MOD group, Bifidobacterium was increased, but Proteobacteria, Helicobacter and Parasutterella were decreased in INU group. Helicobacter was decreased in MET group. Correlation analysis showed that gut microbiota was correlated with inflammatory factors. Our results revealed that inulin and metformin alleviated PCOS via anti-inflammation and modulating gut microbiota, which may contribute to potential clinical therapy for the disease" - See inulin at Amazon.com.

How Much Intake of Sodium Is Good for Frailty?: The Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study (KFACS) - Nutr Health Aging. 2019;23(6):503-508 - "Of the 954 participants, 461 (48.3%) were male and the mean age was 76.3 years old. The average daily sodium intake was 3857 mg. The frailty prevalence in first to third quartiles was 21.8%, 7.5%, and 5.4%, respectively, and increased in the fourth quartile of sodium intake to 8.9%. Using the second quartile of sodium intake (2504-3575 mg) as reference, the odds ratios of frailty were 1.64 (95% confidence interval: 0.84-3.22), 1.33 (0.57-3.06), and 4.00 (1.72-9.27) for the first (<2504 mg), third (3575-4873 mg), and fourth (≥4873 mg) quartiles, respectively, in a multivariate-adjusted analysis ... Low sodium intake (<2504 mg) is related to frailty in older people, but it seems to be a less important factor than other nutritional factors. The prevalence of frailty did not increase up to a daily sodium intake of 3575 mg, but it increased upon a daily sodium intake higher than 3575 mg"

Diet Consisting of Balanced Yogurt, Fruit and Vegetables Modifies the Gut Microbiota and Protects Mice Against Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - Mol Nutr Food Res. 2019 Jul 4 - "Each week, mice were given a 5-day high-fat diet (HFD) ad libitum plus a two days of intermittent calorie restriction (ICR) diet (50% calorie restriction) consisting of yogurt, fruit and vegetables, for 16 weeks ... Compared with continuous HFD-fed mice, the mice feeding HFD+ICR had lower body weight and hepatic steatosis, reduced serum lipid and transaminase levels, increased fatty acid oxidation gene of Cpt1a and decreased hepatic lipid synthesis gene of Pparγ and Srebf-1c, as well as improved insulin resistance and lower level of inflammation. Moreover, ICR reversed the dysbacteriosis in HFD group, including the lower Shannon diversity indexes and lower abundance of Lactobacillus"

Effect of Intensive Blood Pressure Reduction on Left Ventricular Mass, Structure, Function, and Fibrosis in the SPRINT-HEART - Hypertension. 2019 Jul 1 - "In the intensive versus standard BP control group at 18 months, there was no difference in change in LVM (mean±SE =-2.7±0.5 g versus -2.3±0.7 g; P=0.368), ejection fraction, or native T1 ( P=0.79), but there was a larger decrease in LVM/end-diastolic volume ratio (-0.04±0.01 versus -0.01±0.01; P=0.002) a measure of concentric LV remodeling. There were fewer cardiovascular events in the intensive control group, but no significant association between the reduced events and change in LVM or any other cardiac magnetic resonance imaging measure. In SPRINT-HEART, contrary to our hypothesis, there were no significant between-group differences in LVM, function, or myocardial T1 at 18-month follow-up. These results suggests that mediators other than these LV measures contribute to the improved cardiovascular outcomes with intensive BP control"

The use of metformin, insulin, sulphonylureas, and thiazolidinediones and the risk of fracture: Systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies - Obes Rev. 2019 Jun 28 - "A random effects model was used to estimate the summary relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The use of insulin (RR 1.49, 95% CI 1.29, 1.73; n = 23 studies), sulphonylureas (RR 1.30, 95% CI 1.18, 1.43; n = 10), and thiazolidinediones (RR 1.24, 95% CI 1.13, 1.35; n = 14) was associated with an increased risk of fracture, whereas the use of metformin was associated with a reduced risk of fracture (RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.75, 0.99; n = 12). Regarding types of thiazolidinediones, both pioglitazone (RR 1.38, 95% CI 1.23, 1.54; n = 5) and rosiglitazone (RR 1.34, 95% CI 1.14, 1.58; n = 5) were positively associated with the risk of fracture"

Paradoxical Patterns of Sinusoidal Obstruction Syndrome-Like Liver Injury in Aged Female CD-1 Mice Triggered by Cannabidiol-Rich Cannabis Extract and Acetaminophen Co-Administration - Molecules. 2019 Jun 17;24(12) - "The goal of this study was to investigate the potential for a cannabidiol-rich cannabis extract (CRCE) to interact with the most common over-the-counter drug and the major known cause of drug-induced liver injury-acetaminophen (APAP)-in aged female CD-1 mice ... These findings highlight the potential for CBD/drug interactions, and reveal an interesting paradoxical effect of CBD/APAP-induced hepatotoxicity" - [Nutra USA] - Note:  So add liver toxicity to the long list of problems with pot.  People think it's the cure for everything when to a large extent it's is the cause of so many problems.

Oldies that I missed in the past:

Efficacy and tolerability of an undenatured type II collagen supplement in modulating knee osteoarthritis symptoms: a multicenter randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study - Nutr J. 2016 Jan 29;15 - "One hundred ninety one volunteers were randomized into three groups receiving a daily dose of UC-II (40 mg), GC (1500 mg G & 1200 mg C), or placebo for a 180-day period ... Western Ontario McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) ... Lequesne Functional Index (LFI), the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain ... At day 180, the UC-II group demonstrated a significant reduction in overall WOMAC score compared to placebo (p = 0.002) and GC (p = 0.04). Supplementation with UC-II also resulted in significant changes for all three WOMAC subscales: pain (p = 0.0003 vs. placebo; p = 0.016 vs. GC); stiffness (p = 0.004 vs. placebo; p = 0.044 vs. GC); physical function (p = 0.007 vs. placebo)" - See collagen UC-II at Amazon.

Undenatured type II collagen (UC-II®) for joint support: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in healthy volunteers - J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2013 Oct 24;10(1):48 - "After 120 days of supplementation, subjects in the UC-II group exhibited a statistically significant improvement in average knee extension compared to placebo (81.0 ± 1.3º vs 74.0 ± 2.2º; p = 0.011) and to baseline (81.0 ± 1.3º vs 73.2 ± 1.9º; p = 0.002). The UC-II cohort also demonstrated a statistically significant change in average knee extension at day 90 (78.8 ± 1.9º vs 73.2 ± 1.9º; p = 0.045) versus baseline. No significant change in knee extension was observed in the placebo group at any time. It was also noted that the UC-II group exercised longer before experiencing any initial joint discomfort at day 120 (2.8 ± 0.5 min, p = 0.019), compared to baseline (1.4 ± 0.2 min). By contrast, no significant changes were seen in the placebo group" - See collagen UC-II at Amazon.

Safety and efficacy of undenatured type II collagen in the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee: a clinical trial - Int J Med Sci. 2009 Oct 9;6(6):312-21 - "Previous studies have shown that undenatured type II collagen (UC-II) is effective in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, and preliminary human and animal trials have shown it to be effective in treating osteoarthritis (OA). The present clinical trial evaluated the safety and efficacy of UC-II as compared to a combination of glucosamine and chondroitin (G+C) in the treatment of OA of the knee. The results indicate that UC-II treatment was more efficacious resulting in a significant reduction in all assessments from the baseline at 90 days; whereas, this effect was not observed in G+C treatment group. Specifically, although both treatments reduced the Western Ontario McMaster Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) score, treatment with UC-II reduced the WOMAC score by 33% as compared to 14% in G+C treated group after 90 days. Similar results were obtained for visual analog scale (VAS) scores. Although both the treatments reduced the VAS score, UC-II treatment decreased VAS score by 40% after 90 days as compared to 15.4% in G+C treated group. The Lequesne's functional index was used to determine the effect of different treatments on pain during daily activities. Treatment with UC-II reduced Lequesne's functional index score by 20% as compared to 6% in G+C treated group at the end of 90-day treatment" - See collagen UC-II at Amazon.

Effects of orally administered undenatured type II collagen against arthritic inflammatory diseases: a mechanistic exploration - Int J Clin Pharmacol Res. 2002;22(3-4):101-10 - "A pilot study was conducted for 42 days to evaluate the efficacy of UC-II (10 mg/day) in five female subjects (58-78 years) suffering from significant joint pain. Significant pain reduction including morning stiffness, stiffness following periods of rest, pain that worsens with use of the affected joint and loss of joint range of motion and function was observed. Thus, UC-II may serve as a novel therapeutic tool in joint inflammatory conditions and symptoms of OA and RA" - See collagen UC-II at Amazon.

Health Focus (Cataracts):