Recent Longevity News for the week ending 12/8/21

Glucose control is a key factor for reduced cancer risk in obesity and type 2 diabetes - Science Daily, 12/6/21 - "the results show a 60% reduction in cancer risk in the group where normal glucose control was maintained over 10 years"

Cleveland Clinic Research Identifies Sildenafil as Candidate Drug for Alzheimer’s Disease - Cleveland Clinic, 12/6/21 - "Through a large-scale analysis of a database of more than 7 million patients, they determined that sildenafil is associated with 69% reduced incidence of Alzheimer’s disease" - See sildenafil at ReliableRXPharmacy.

For cardiovascular disease patients, more physical activity may be better, research suggests - Science Daily, 12/2/21 - "the researchers found no evidence of an upper physical activity limit above which there is no further health benefit"

Cataract surgery linked with lessened dementia risk - Science Daily, 12/6/21 - "During follow-up of 3,038 participants (an average of 7.8 years per person), 853 subjects developed dementia, with 709 cases of Alzheimer disease. Approximately half of the participants (1,382 individuals or 45%) had cataract surgery. Analysis for risk of developing dementia showed that subjects who had undergone cataract surgery in either eye were about 30% less likely to develop any form of dementia for at least 10 years after their surgery ... Analysis was adjusted for an extensive list of factors including health-related confounders. Cataract surgery could appear to have a protective effect due to a healthy patient bias, where participants who underwent cataract surgery might have been healthier and at lower dementia risk. Researchers performed analyses to account for several types of potential bias, but still found strong associations when these factors were accounted for"

Probiotics improve nausea and vomiting in pregnancy - Science Daily, 12/4/21 - "Nausea, vomiting and constipation during pregnancy can significantly diminish the quality of patients' lives. Once nausea and vomiting during pregnancy progress, they can become difficult to control, and sometimes the patient even needs to be hospitalized ... During pregnancy, hormones like estrogen and progesterone increase, bringing about many physical changes. These increases can also change the gut microbiome, which likely affects the digestive system functions and causes unwanted symptoms like nausea, vomiting and constipation ... A total of 32 participants took a probiotic capsule twice a day for six days and then took two days off. They then repeated the cycle ... The probiotics were available over-the-counter and mainly contained Lactobacillus., a type of good bacteria. Each capsule contained approximately 10 billion live cultures at the time of manufacture ... taking the probiotic significantly reduced nausea and vomiting. Nausea hours (the number of hours participants felt nauseous) were reduced by 16%, and the number of times they vomited was reduced by 33%. Probiotic intake also significantly improved symptoms related to quality of life, such as fatigue, poor appetite and difficulty maintaining normal social activities, as scored by questionnaires ... Probiotics were also found to reduce constipation significantly ... Another finding was that vitamin E levels increased after taking probiotics. Higher levels of vitamin E were associated with low vomiting scores" - See probiotic supplements at Amazon.com.

Elevated heart rate linked to increased risk of dementia - Science Daily, 12/3/21 - "individuals with a resting heart rate of 80 beats per minute or higher on average had 55 percent higher risk of dementia than those with a heart rate of 60-69 beats per minute"

Older Anticoagulants Increase Risk of Delayed Brain Hemorrhage After Trauma - Medscape, 12/2/21 - "clinicians should consider repeat head CT when trauma patients are taking older anticoagulant/antiplatelet medications, articularly warfarin (Coumadin, Bristol-Meyers Squibb) and clopidogrel (Plavix, Bristol-Meyers Squibb/Sanofi)"

SGLT2 Inhibitor Use Tied to Fewer Atrial Arrhythmias - Medscape, 12/2/21 - "treatment with an SGLT2 inhibitor was tied to a significant 23% relative reduction in atrial arrhythmia events and a 44% relative drop in all-cause death ... "We think that a reduction in left atrial pressure" produced by treatment with an SGLT2 inhibitor "may be linked to the reduction in atrial arrhythmias." - See dapagliflozin at reliablerxpharmacy.com.

New Harvard study declares winner between Pfizer and Moderna vaccines - Hill, 12/2/21 - "Those who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine had a roughly 27 percent higher chance of becoming sick from COVID-19 during a 24-week follow up period to their first dose and a 70 percent greater chance of being hospitalized during that time frame when the alpha variant was dominant. This is compared to those who received the Moderna vaccine ... Once delta became the dominant variant, researchers found an extra 6.54 COVID-19 infections for every 1,000 people in the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine group"

Pfizer or Moderna: Which COVID Vaccine Is Better? - WebMD, 12/2/21 - "While both vaccines were highly effective in preventing infection, hospitalization and death, the Moderna vaccine conferred a 21% lower risk of infection and a 41% lower risk of hospitalization"

Cannabis impacts sperm counts, motility in two generations of mice - Science Daily, 12/2/21 - "This is a warning flag. You may take cannabis for some kind of momentary stress, but it could affect your offspring ... The researchers bred several of the male mice to unexposed female mice. The male progeny of the exposed group also showed lowered sperm count and motility. Cannabis-exposed sons also showed evidence of DNA damage and disruption related to sperm cell development"

Coffee time: Caffeine improves reaction to moving targets - Science Daily, 12/1/21 - "caffeine increases alertness and detection accuracy for moving targets. Caffeine also improved participants' reaction times"

Study links high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease to plastics - Science Daily, 12/1/21 - "We found dicyclohexyl phthalate, or DCHP, strongly binds to a receptor called pregnane X receptor, or PXR, ... DCHP 'turns on' PXR in the gut, inducing the expression of key proteins required for cholesterol absorption and transport. Our experiments show that DCHP elicits high cholesterol by targeting intestinal PXR signaling ... DCHP, a widely used phthalate plasticizer, has recently been proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency as a high-priority substance for risk evaluation. Not much is known yet about DCHP's adverse effects in humans ... mice exposed to DCHP had in their intestines higher circulating "ceramides" -- a class of waxy lipid molecules associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk in humans -- in a way that was PXR-dependent"

Potential new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease would be relatively cheap - 11/30/21 - "the researchers fed the model mice with diazoxide -- a drug that activates the KATP channel -- and tested their memory. They found that while the untreated Alzheimer's disease model mice exhibited their characteristically poor memory, the treated model mice performed just as well as normal mice. A look at the brains of the treated mice showed that they lacked the hallmark Aβ plaques ... Our findings point directly to a potential way of preventing and treating Alzheimer's disease ... On top of that, compared with Aβ-targeting immunotherapy, such as the drug aducanumab, which was recently approved by the FDA, synthetic agonists for the KATP channel are less expensive and would be more acceptable to aging societies around the world" - Note: Aduhelm (aducanumab) is the one that costs $56,000 per year and is the reason Medicare premiums went up.  It reduces the amyloid β peptide but doesn't seem to reduce Alzheimer's.  Diazoxide sounds like it's got side-effects that seniors don't want to mess with.

• A new Alzheimer's drug brings hope, controversy - CBS Sunday Morning, 11/28/21
• Aduhelm, priced at $56,000 a year, is a key factor driving up Medicare premiums - CNN, 11/16/21
• Diazoxide - Wiki - "Common side effects include high blood sugar, fluid retention, low blood platelets, a fast heart rate, increased hair growth, and nausea.[2] Other severe side effects include pulmonary hypertension and heart failure.[2] It is chemically similar to thiazide diuretics.[2] It works by decreasing insulin release from the pancreas and increasing glucose release by the liver."

The diabetes medication that could revolutionize heart failure treatment - Science Daily, 12/1/21 - "For many years there was not a single medicine that could improve the outcome in patients with the second type of heart failure -- those patients with preserved ejection fraction ... SGLT2 inhibitors are more commonly known under their trade-names Forxiga (Dapagliflozin), Invokana (Canagliflozin), and Jardiance (Empagliflozin) ... We found that patients taking SGLT2 inhibitors were 22 per cent less likely to die from heart-related causes or be hospitalised for heart failure exacerbation than those taking placebo" - See dapagliflozin at reliablerxpharmacy.com.

Only alcohol -- not caffeine, diet or lack of sleep -- might trigger heart rhythm condition - Science Daily, 11/24/21 - "Participants in the randomized clinical trial utilized a mobile electrocardiogram recording device along with a phone app to log potential triggers like drinking alcohol and caffeine, sleeping on the left side or not getting enough sleep, eating a large meal, a cold drink, or sticking to a particular diet, engaging in exercise, or anything else they thought was relevant to their AF. Although participants were most likely to select caffeine as a trigger, there was no association with AF. Recent research from UCSF has similarly failed to demonstrate a relationship between caffeine and arrhythmias -- on the contrary, investigators found it may have a protective effect ... The new study demonstrated that consumption of alcohol was the only trigger that consistently resulted in significantly more self-reported AF episodes."

Latte lovers rejoice! Study reveals drinking coffee could lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease - Science Daily, 11/23/21 - "Drinking more coffee gave positive results in relation to certain domains of cognitive function, specifically executive function which includes planning, self-control, and attention ... Higher coffee intake also seemed to be linked to slowing the accumulation of the amyloid protein in the brain, a key factor in the development of Alzheimer's disease ... If the average cup of coffee made at home is 240g, increasing to two cups a day could potentially lower cognitive decline by eight per cent after 18 months ... It could also see a five per cent decrease in amyloid accumulation in the brain over the same time period ... In Alzheimer's disease, the amyloid clumps together forming plaques which are toxic to the brain ... The study was unable to differentiate between caffeinated and de-caffeinated coffee, nor the benefits or consequences of how it was prepared (brewing method, the presence of milk and/or sugar etc)." -

Daily Aspirin Linked to Increased Risk of Heart Failure - Medscape, 11/24/21 - "In data from 30,827 patients at risk for HF enrolled in six observational studies, the hazard ratio (HR) for developing HF among those taking daily aspirin at baseline relative to those who were not was 1.26 (P ≤ .001) over 5.3 years of follow-up. In the 22,690 patients without a prior history of cardiovascular disease (CVD), the HF risk increase for exposure to daily aspirin was about the same (HR, 1.27 ... Interestingly, this study reported that aspirin use was associated with an increased risk of readmissions for HF ... Overall, the incidence rate of HF per 1000 person-years for the entire population before adjustment was 14.5 in the group on daily aspirin versus 5.9 in the nonaspirin group"

Gum Disease Bacteria a New Treatment Target for Alzheimer's? - Medscape, 11/23/21 - "Results from the phase 2/3 GAIN trial of atuzaginstat (Cortexyme Inc), which targets the gum bacteria Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg), suggest the pathogen is a "potential driver of AD.""

Sacubitril/Valsartan May Alter Trajectory of Preclinical HFpEF - Medscape, 11/23/21 - "Sacubitril/valsartan (Entresto) appears to improve measures of cardiac structure and function compared with valsartan alone in asymptomatic preclinical heart failure with preserved ejection fraction ... Sacubitril/valsartan (Entresto) appears to improve measures of cardiac structure and function compared with valsartan alone in asymptomatic preclinical heart failure with preserved ejection fraction ... Preclinical heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), the dominant form of preclinical HF, is largely driven by CV compliance abnormalities. Sacubitril/valsartan, through preservation of natriuretic peptide (NP), may improve CV compliance, especially if introduced early in the disease process ... At baseline, the left atrial volume index (LAVI) was 33.2 mL/m2 using Doppler echocardiography and 50 mL/m2 using cardiac MRI. "The discrepancy you see with cardiac MRI is a notable feature in the literature, but maybe something that's not as widely appreciated as it should be," ... The primary outcome of change in maximal LAVI over 18 months by cardiac MRI was 6.9 mL/m2 with sacubitril/valsartan vs 0.7 mL/m2 with valsartan alone ... Sacubitril/valsartan was also associated with a significant change in left ventricular end-diastolic volume index (7.1 mL/m2 vs 1.4% mL/m2 ... Over a median 16.9 months of follow-up, sacubitril/valsartan reduced 24-hour pulse pressures by -4.2 mm Hg vs -1.2 mm Hg with valsartan alone ... Following the presentation, an audience member asked whether the results may endorse the use of sacubitril/valsartan as an antihypertensive — an indication already approved in some countries ... "That's a fascinating question," McDonald replied. "When you look at the mechanisms of action of this agent compared to other antihypertensive agents and, particularly its beneficial effect of vasoprotective peptides, there's good reason to suspect it may be of more benefit than standard therapies, especially in those people who've shown at risk for the development of cardiovascular events.""

Abstracts from this week:

Involvement of Sphingolipid Metabolism Enzymes in Resveratrol-Mediated Cytotoxicity in Philadelphia-Positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia - Nutr Cancer 2021 Nov 22 - "Targeting the key enzymes of sphingolipid metabolism including serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT), sphingosine kinase (SK) and glucosylceramide synthase (GCS) has a therapeutic importance. However, sphingolipid metabolism-mediated anti-leukemic actions of resveratrol in Philadelphia-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph + ALL) remain unknown ... Resveratrol inhibited proliferation and triggered apoptosis via PARP activation and externalization of phosphatidylserine (PS). Resveratrol increased the expression of SPT whereas it downregulated SK and GCS. Resveratrol's combinations with SKI II and PDMP intensified its anti-leukemic activity by increasing the relocalization of PS while its combination with myriocin suppressed apoptosis. Therefore, resveratrol inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis through modulating SK, GCS and SPT expression, which may be considered as novel biomarkers of resveratrol-induced cytotoxicity in Ph + ALL" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.

Clinical benefits of empagliflozin in very old patients with type 2 diabetes hospitalized for acute heart failure - J Am Geriatr Soc 2021 Nov 29 - "There is little evidence on the use of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors in older patients with heart failure. This work analyzed the clinical efficacy and safety of empagliflozin continuation in very old patients with type 2 diabetes hospitalized for acute decompensated heart failure ... In very old patients with type 2 diabetes hospitalized for acute heart failure, continuing preadmission empagliflozin reduced NT-proBNP levels and increased diuretic response and urine output compared to a basal-bolus insulin regimen. The empagliflozin regimen also showed a good safety profile" - See dapagliflozin at reliablerxpharmacy.com.  They don't carry empagliflozin.

Beneficial Effect of Sodium-Glucose Co-transporter 2 Inhibitors on Left Ventricular Function - J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2021 Nov 15 - "Treatment with SGLT2 inhibitors can significantly improve LV function in patients with or without diabetes (especially those with HF or undergoing empagliflozin treatment)" - See dapagliflozin at reliablerxpharmacy.com.  They don't carry empagliflozin.

Multi-targeted therapy of cancer by omega-3 fatty acids-an update - Cancer Lett 2021 Nov 26 - "Low in dietary ω3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) consumption has been associated with increased incidence of cancers. Many basic and clinical studies have been conducted over the last several decades. We previously reviewed multi-targeted therapy of cancer by omega-3 fatty acids in 2008, and since hundreds of new clinical trials are being conducted to validate the effectiveness of ω3 PUFA in cancer therapy. Because of the availability of such large amount of clinical trial data, in this update we summarize clinical data, sort out trials that show promising results, and discuss potential mechanism(s) responsible for the clinical outcomes. It appears that ω3 PUFA mainly affects cancer-associated symptoms, namely cachexia, inflammation, neuropathy, post operative complications and quality of life. Mechanisms responsible for these effects are possible regulation of skeletal muscle protein turnover, inflammatory response and neuron cell survive by ω3 PUFA" - See omega-3 supplements at Amazon.com.

Cordycepin, a major bioactive component of Cordyceps militaris, ameliorates diabetes-induced testicular damage through the Sirt1/Foxo3a pathway - Andrologia 2021 Nov 22 - "Diabetes-induced male dysfunction is considered as a worldwide challenge, and testicular damage mainly caused by oxidative stress is its most common manifestation. Cordycepin, a natural antioxidant, has been used in the treatment of diabetic complications ... These findings indicated that cordycepin could improve hyperglycaemia-induced testicular damage by regulating downstream antioxidant enzymes activity through the SIRT1/Foxo3a signalling pathway" - See cordyceps at Amazon.com.

Dietary carbohydrate quality and risk of breast cancer among women - Nutr J 2021 Nov 26 - "A few studies have examined the relationship between carbohydrate quality index (CQI) and risk of breast cancer (BC) among women in Middle Eastern countries. We studied the associations between carbohydrate quality index and the risk of BC in overall and by menopausal status ... Mean GI and GL of participants were totally 57.5 ± 7.2 and 245.7 ± 64.7, respectively. A trend toward significant association was seen between GI and odds of BC in the whole population; such that after stratifying analysis by menopausal status, premenopausal women in the highest quartile of GI were 1.85 times higher likely to have BC than those in the lowest quartile (95% CI: 1.12, 3.07, P = 0.01). We found that women with the greatest CQI had lower odds for BC, compared with those with the lowest CQI (0.63; 95% CI: 0.43-0.94, P = 0.03). This association was remained after stratifying analysis by menopausal status in premenopausal (0.55 ... We found that GI was directly and CQI inversely associated with odds of BC"

Effect of the consumption of hesperidin in orange juice on the transcriptomic profile of subjects with elevated blood pressure and stage 1 hypertension: A randomized controlled trial (CITRUS study) - Clin Nutr 2021 Dec;40(12) - "Hesperidin exerts cardiovascular beneficial effects, but its mechanisms of action remain undefined. In a previous study we demonstrated that a single dose and a 12-week treatment of hesperidin decreased systolic blood pressure ... OJ (containing 345 mg of hesperidin; n = 15) or EOJ (containing 600 mg of hesperidin; n = 11) ... A single dose consumption of EOJ could protect from insulin resistance. Moreover, EOJ decrease the expression of proinflammatory genes after 12-week treatment providing a possible mechanism of action on inflammation pathway" - See hesperidin at Amazon.com.

NAD + Metabolism in Cardiac Health, Aging, and Disease - Circulation 2021 Nov 30 - "Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is a central metabolite involved in energy and redox homeostasis as well as in DNA repair and protein deacetylation reactions. Pharmacological or genetic inhibition of NAD+-degrading enzymes, external supplementation of NAD+ precursors, and transgenic overexpression of NAD+-generating enzymes have wide positive effects on metabolic health and age-associated diseases. NAD+ pools tend to decline with normal aging, obesity, and hypertension, which are all major risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and NAD+ replenishment extends healthspan, avoids metabolic syndrome, and reduces blood pressure in preclinical models. In addition, experimental elevation of NAD+ improves atherosclerosis, ischemic, diabetic, arrhythmogenic, hypertrophic, or dilated cardiomyopathies, as well as different modalities of heart failure. Here, we critically discuss cardiomyocyte-specific circuitries of NAD+ metabolism, comparatively evaluate distinct NAD+ precursors for their preclinical efficacy, and raise outstanding questions on the optimal design of clinical trials in which NAD+ replenishment or supraphysiological NAD+ elevations are assessed for the prevention or treatment of major cardiac diseases. We surmise that patients with hitherto intractable cardiac diseases such as heart failure with preserved ejection fraction may profit from the administration of NAD+ precursors" - See nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide at Amazon.com.

What’s the Difference Between NAD+ and NADH? - Elysiumhealth.com - "When NAD+ is converted to NADH, it gains two things: First, a charged hydrogen molecule (H+) and next, two electrons. As electrons are negatively charged, the combination of the positively charged NAD+ and H+, coupled with two electrons, effectively cancel each other out and neutralize the resulting NADH molecule. This is why NADH does not have a "+" sign next to it. The charge of a molecule informs how it interacts with other molecules. For example, NADH can’t do what NAD+ does, and vice versa."

Effects of sodium bicarbonate supplementation on exercise performance: an umbrella review - J Int Soc Sports Nutr 2021 Nov 18 - "Based on meta-analyses of moderate to high quality, it can be concluded that sodium bicarbonate supplementation acutely enhances peak anaerobic power, anaerobic capacity, performance in endurance events lasting ~ 45 s to 8 min, muscle endurance, 2000-m rowing performance, and high-intensity intermittent running"

Efficacy of Cuminum Cyminum supplementation on lipid profile and anthropometric parameters: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials - Phytother Res 2021 Nov 25 - "We aimed to evaluate the effect of Cuminum Cyminum (CC) supplementation on lipid profile and selected anthropometric parameters ... The data from our eight included studies have indicated that CC supplementation can lower body mass index (BMI) (WMD = -0.88 kg/m2 ; 95%CI: -1.58, -0.18; p = .023) and total cholesterol (TC) (WMD = -3.96 mg/dl; 95%CI: -6.51, -1.04; p=.008). Also, after adjusting for publication bias, CC was shown to be effective in improving waist circumference (WC), high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C), and triglycerides (TG) levels. Although, the current evidence has not shown that CC supplementation can affect low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), our subgroup analysis has indicated that CC supplementation with supplementation length of more than 8 weeks is associated with beneficial effects on LDL-C" - See curcumin at Amazon.com.

Curcumin Protects against Renal Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury by Regulating Oxidative Stress and Inflammatory Response - Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2021 Nov 13 - "The aim of this study was to explore the pharmacological effects of curcumin on oxidative stress and inflammatory response of renal dysfunction induced by renal ischemia/reperfusion (RIRI) ... superoxide dismutase (SOD) ... Curcumin can relieve the degree of renal injury and improve renal function in ischemia-reperfusion, which may be related to the fact that curcumin can increase SOD content in serum and reduce MDA and FRAP levels in the rat model" - See curcumin at Amazon.com.

The Effect of Curcuma longa on Inflammatory Mediators and Immunological, Oxidant, and Antioxidant Biomarkers in Asthmatic Rats - Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2021 Nov 12 - "The effects of Curcuma longa (C. longa) on total and differential WBC, inflammatory and immunologic mediators, and oxidant and antioxidant biomarkers in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of rats model of asthma were assessed ... Compared to dexamethasone, C. longa exerted more pronounced effects on lung inflammation, oxidative stress, and immune system in asthmatic rats" - See curcumin at Amazon.com.

Bisdemethoxycurcumin Promotes Apoptosis and Inhibits the Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition through the Inhibition of the G-Protein-Coupled Receptor 161/Mammalian Target of Rapamycin Signaling Pathway in Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cells - J Agric Food Chem 2021 Nov 23 - "Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is one of the leading causes of cancer death in the world and lacks an effective targeted therapy. G-protein-coupled receptor 161 (GPR161) has been demonstrated to perform the functional regulations on TNBC progression and might be a potential new target for TNBC therapy ... bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDMC) ... BDMC significantly inhibited TNBC invasion. The combination treatment of BDMC and rapamycin enhanced the inhibition of TNBC proliferation and metastasis through increasing the blockage of mTOR activation. Furthermore, this study also observed that BDMC activated the caspase 3/9 signaling pathway to induce TNBC apoptosis. Therefore, BDMC could be applicable to anticancer therapy, especially targeting on the GPR161-driven cancer type" - See bisdemethoxycurcumin at Amazon.com.

• Turmeric, Curcuminoids, And Curcumin Defined - integrativepro - "Although turmeric is thought to possess therapeutic properties, the curcuminoids complex comprises only 2.5-6% of the rhizome of tumeric. Of that, curcumin is approximately 77% of the curcuminoid content.3 To state this differently, it is understood that curcumin is the most abundant curcuminoid. It is also the most studied curcuminoid. Curcuminoids are only a small fraction of the turmeric rhizome and the rhizome is only one part of the plant. Unless explicitly stated that there is a different ratio of curcuminoids, it is assumed that the natural ratio of 77% curcumin, 17% demethoxycurcumin and 3% bisdemethoxycurcumin with variances is maintained in a commercial product"

Effects of consumption of coconut oil or coconut on glycemic control and insulin sensitivity: A systematic review and meta-analysis of interventional trials - Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 2021 Sep 22 - "Coconut fat in meals seems to be associated with a diminished postprandial insulin response, resulting in a subtle increase in the postprandial glycemic response. Long-term intake of coconut fat seems to increase insulin resistance, yet does not seem to be beneficial for long-term glycemic control. Thus, our results disprove the popular claim that coconut fat improves glycemic control"

Prevention of Atopic Dermatitis in Mice by Lactobacillus Reuteri Fn041 Through Induction of Regulatory T Cells and Modulation of the Gut Microbiota - Mol Nutr Food Res 2021 Nov 26 - "The development of atopic dermatitis (AD) in infants is closely related to the lagging development of intestinal microbiota, including that inoculated by breast milk bacteria, and immune development. Lactobacillus reuteri Fn041 is a secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) -coated bacterium derived from human milk ... Our study strengthens the understanding that breast milk-derived sIgA coated potential probiotics are involved in the development of infant intestinal microbiota, thus promoting immune development and preventing allergic diseases, and expanding the knowledge of breast milk sIgA and bacterial interactions on infant immune development" - See probiotic supplements at Amazon.com.

Protective effect of quercetin against the metabolic dysfunction of glucose and lipids and its associated learning and memory impairments in NAFLD rats - Lipids Health Dis 2021 Nov 17 - "Quercetin (QUE) is a flavonol reported with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities, and previous results from the group of this study have demonstrated its neuroprotective effect against lipopolysaccharide-induced neuropsychiatric injuries. However, little is known about its potential effect on neuropsychiatric injuries induced or accompanied by metabolic dysfunction of glucose and lipids ... Compared with the control rats, HFD-induced NAFLD model rats presented significant metabolic dysfunction, hepatocyte steatosis, and impaired learning and memory ability, as indicated by the increased plasma concentrations of total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG), the impaired glucose tolerance, the accumulated fat droplets and balloon-like changes in the liver, and the increased escaping latency but decreased duration in the target quadrant in the Morris water maze. All these changes were reversed in QUE-treated rats. Moreover, apart from improving the morphological injuries in the hippocampus, treatment with QUE could increase the decreased plasma concentration and hippocampal protein expression of TREM1 in NAFLD rats and increase the decreased expression of Syn-1 and Syt-1 in the hippocampus" - See quercetin at Amazon.com.

The impact of vitamin K2 and native vitamin D supplementation on vascular calcification in pediatric patients on regular hemodialysis. A randomized controlled trial - Eur J Clin Nutr 2021 Nov 29 - "Vascular calcification is one of the most prevalent disorders in pediatric hemodialysis patients that eventually lead to cardiovascular morbidity. Vitamin K2 was investigated in adults in previous studies and showed favorable effects on calcification markers ... Vitamin K2 and native vitamin D showed a beneficial effect on calcification regulators in pediatric hemodialysis patients" - See vitamin k2 at Amazon.com and vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Vitamin K status, all-cause mortality, and cardiovascular disease in adults with chronic kidney disease: the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort - Am J Clin Nutr 2021 Nov 12 - "Vascular calcification contributes to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality in individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Vitamin K-dependent proteins function as calcification inhibitors in vascular tissue ... All-cause mortality risk was 21-29% lower among participants with plasma (dp)ucMGP <450 pmol/L (n = 2361) compared to those with plasma (dp)ucMGP ≥450 pmol/L [adjusted HRs (95%CIs): < 300 pmol/L = 0.71(0.61, 0.83), 300-449 pmol/L = 0.77(0.66, 0.90)] and 16-19% lower among participants with plasma phylloquinone ≥0.50 nmol/L (n = 2421) compared to those with plasma phylloquinone <0.50 nmol/L [adjusted HRs: 0.50, 0.99 nmol/L = 0.84(0.72, 0.99), ≥1.00 nmol/L = 0.81(0.70, 0.95)]. The risk for atherosclerotic CVD events did not significantly differ across plasma (dp)ucMGP or phylloquinone categories" - See vitamin k2 at Amazon.com.

Long-Term Alpha-Lipoic Acid (ALA) Antioxidant Therapy Reduces Damage in the Cardiovascular System of Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats - J Diet Suppl 2021 Nov 22 - "Cellular damage, lipid oxidation and the action of inflammatory cytokines are implicated in the evolution of vascular complications associated with diabetes mellitus (DM) hyperglycemia. In contrast, alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is a supplement with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects ... ALA addition to the diet attenuated the negative effects in lipid profile; moreover, renal, hepatic and inflammatory parameters reduced or displayed values close to the values of the normal control. The anti-inflammatory effect of ALA was observed in diabetic animals, with a reduction of inflammatory citokines, accompanied by the improvement of morphological parameters in the aorta. In conclusion, long-term supplementation with ALA promoted systemic improvement, thus reducing the risk of vascular diseases. The changes in the renal and hepatic parameters without any negative impact in the hematological profile also show that ALA can be indicated as a low-risk prophylaxis or complementary therapy" - See alpha lipoic acid at Amazon.com.

Lipoic acid prevents mirtazapine-induced weight gain in mice without impairs its antidepressant-like action in a neuroendocrine model of depression - Behav Brain Res 2021 Nov 16 - "Mirtazapine (MIRT) is a multi-target antidepressant used in treatment of severe depression with promising efficacy, but also with important side effects, mainly sedation and weight gain ... Our findings provide promising evidence about the ALA potential to prevent metabolic and weight changes associated to MIRT, without impair its antidepressant and pro-cognition actions. Therefore, ALA+MIRT combination could represent a new therapeutic strategy for treating depression with less side effects" - See alpha lipoic acid at Amazon.com.

Melatonin ameliorates cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in diabetic mice by enhancing autophagy via the SIRT1-BMAL1 pathway - FASEB J 2021 Dec - "Diabetic brains are more vulnerable to ischemia-reperfusion injury. Previous studies have proved that melatonin could protect against cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (CIR) injury in non-diabetic stroke models; however, its roles and the underlying mechanisms against CIR injury in diabetic mice remain unknown ... these results indicate that melatonin treatment can protect against CIR-induced brain damage in diabetic mice, which may be achieved by the autophagy enhancement mediated by the SIRT1-BMAL1 pathway" - See melatonin at Amazon.com.

Anti-osteoporotic potential of Lactobacillus plantarum AR237 and AR495 in ovariectomized mice J Func Foods, 12/21 - "Osteoporosis is a common skeletal disease in which bone resorption exceeds bone formation. Intestinal health has been linked to reduced osteoporosis. The aim of this study was to compare the anti-osteoporotic and intestinal health effects of two strains of Lactobacillus plantarum (AR237 and AR495) in ovariectomized (ovx) C57BL/6 mice. The results showed that AR495 significantly inhibited ovx-induced bone loss, reduced intestinal permeability, increased the expression of tight junction proteins, claudin-family proteins, zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1), and junctional adhesion molecule 3 (JAM-3) in ovx mice. Furthermore, AR495 inhibited bone resorption by modulating the receptor activator for nuclear factor kappa B (RANK)/RANK ligand (RANKL)/osteoprotegerin (OPG) system, and ameliorated ovx-induced intestinal inflammatory responses. AR495 improved intestinal microbial stability, and increased the abundance of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA)-producing bacteria and fecal SCFA content of ovx mice. Overall, the findings of this study showed that AR495 was more effective than AR237 at treating osteoporosis" - [Nutra USA] - See probiotic supplements at Amazon.com.

Daily Vinegar Ingestion Improves Depression Scores and Alters the Metabolome in Healthy Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial - Nutrients 2021 Nov 11 - "Daily vinegar ingestion has been linked to improved glycemic control, but recent data suggest a separate unexplored role for vinegar in mental health ... Participants were randomized to the vinegar group (VIN: n = 14; 1.5 g acetic acid/day as liquid vinegar) or the control group (CON: n = 11; 0.015 g acetic acid/day as a pill) with no change to customary diet or physical activity. At baseline and at study week four, participants completed the Profile of Mood States (POMS) and the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) questionnaires and provided a first-morning urine sample for targeted metabolomics analyses. The change in both POMS depression scores and CES-D scores differed significantly between groups favoring improved affect in the VIN versus CON participants after four weeks. Metabolomics analyses pre and post-intervention suggested metabolite alterations associated with vinegar ingestion that are consistent for improved mood, including enzymatic dysfunction in the hexosamine pathway as well as significant increases in glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism" - [Nutra USA] - See apple cider vinegar at Amazon.com - 1 Source Natural 500 mg tablet equals 2 teaspoons of vinegar.  4.5 tablets equals about 3 tablespoons by my calculations.

Health Focus (Head & Neck Cancer):