Recent Longevity News for the week ending 6/8/22

Tirzepatide Powers 'Unprecedented' Weight Loss in SURMOUNT-1 - Medscape, 6/4/22 - "And in an exploratory analysis, 40% of people who received the highest-tested tirzepatide dose of 15 mg/week had at least a 25% loss in baseline weight in the on-treatment analysis ... Looking at the data another way, the average baseline weight of those in the trial was 104 kg (230 lb) at the start, and the average weight loss was between 35-52 lbs by 72 weeks on treatment ... With tirzepatide, every prespecified cardiometabolic parameter assessed in the trial showed clinically meaningful improvements, reported Jastreboff, including an average 17% reduction in waist circumference in patients on either of the highest two dosages, a 34% average drop in total fat mass, an average 0.5 percentage point cut in baseline A1c at the highest two dosages, substantial cuts in fasting plasma glucose and fasting insulin levels, an average 28% drop in triglyceride levels, and an average systolic blood pressure reduction of about 8 mm Hg that occurred within 24 weeks on treatment"

Low Vitamin D Links With Increased Diabetic Foot Ulcers - Medscape, 6/3/22 - "Overall, 80.5% had vitamin D deficiency (defined as < 50 nmol/L or < 20 ng/mL) ... Among the people without a diabetic foot ulcer, 3% had vitamin D levels that were sufficient (> 75 nmol/L or > 30 ng/mL), 24% had levels defined as insufficient (50-75 nmol/L or 20-30 ng/mL), and 73% were deficient ... Among those with a diabetic foot ulcer, 2% had sufficient vitamin D levels, 13% had insufficient levels, and 85% had deficient levels. The differences between these rates and those among the people without a diabetic foot ulcer were significant ... Level of 25-OH-D significantly decreased with increasing severity of diabetic foot ulcer based on Wagner grade. People with the lowest grade diabetic foot ulcer, Wagner 1, had on average more than twice the serum level of 25-OH-D compared to those with the most severe diabetic foot ulcer, rated as Wagner 5." - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Psilocybin Effective Up to 12 Weeks in Severe Depression - Medscape, 6/2/22 - "synthetic formulation of psilocybin, COMP360 (COMPASS Pathways) ... After a 2-week washout period following the discontinuation of antidepressants, the patients were randomized to one of three groups: A single dose of 25 mg (n = 79), 10 mg (n = 75), or a subtherapeutic comparison of 1 mg (n = 79) ... The psilocybin was administered in the presence of specially trained therapists who provided psychological support before, during, and after the 6- to 8-hour session ... Sustained responses, defined as at least a 50% change from baseline in MADRS total score, were further observed up to week 12 among 20.3% in the 25-mg group and among 5.3% in the 10-mg groups versus 10.1% in the 1-mg group ... On the day of psilocybin treatment, the treatment-emergent side effects that were reported were headache, nausea, and dizziness, with event rates of 83.5% in the 25-mg group, 74.7% in the 10-mg group, and 72.2% in the 1-mg group"

Benefit of supplements for slowing age-related macular degeneration - Science Daily, 6/2/22 - "the AREDS2 formula, which substituted antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin for beta-carotene, not only reduces risk of lung cancer due to beta-carotene, but is also more effective at reducing risk of AMD progression, compared to the original formula ... At the end of the five-year AREDS2 study period, the researchers concluded that lutein and zeaxanthin did not increase risk for lung cancer, and that the new formation could reduce the risk of AMD progression by about 26%" - See AREDS2 at Amazon.com.

About 3 grams a day of omega-3 fatty acids may lower blood pressure, more research needed - Science Daily, 6/1/22 - "Compared to adults who did not consume EPA and DHA, those who consumed between 2 and 3 grams daily of combined DHA and EPA omega-3 fatty acids (in supplements, food or both) had reduced systolic (top number) and diastolic (bottom number) blood pressure by an average 2 mm Hg ... Consuming more than 3 grams of omega-3 fatty acids daily may have added blood pressure-lowering benefit for adults with high blood pressure or high blood lipids: ... At 3g a day of omega-3s, systolic blood pressure (SBP) decreased an average of 4.5 mm Hg for those with hypertension, and about 2 mm Hg on average for those without ... At 5g a day of omega-3s, SBP declined an average of nearly 4 mm Hg for those with hypertension and less than 1 mm Hg on average for those without ... Similar differences were seen in people with high blood lipids and among those older than age 45" - See omega-3 supplements at Amazon.com.

Early Metformin Minimizes Antipsychotic-Induced Weight Gain - Medscape, 6/1/22 - "The authors made a "strong" recommendation, for which there was moderate-quality evidence, that for patients for whom a lifestyle intervention is unacceptable or inappropriate, the use of metformin is an "alternative first-line intervention" for antipsychotic drug-induced weight gain ... Likewise, as a strong recommendation with moderate-quality evidence, the guidance encourages the use of metformin when nonpharmacologic intervention does not seem to be effective ... The guideline also says it is preferable to start metformin early for patients who gain more than 7% of their baseline weight within the first month of antipsychotic treatment. It also endorses metformin when weight gain is established ... The proposed starting dosage is 500 mg twice per day with meals, with increments of 500 mg every 1 to 2 weeks until reaching a target dose of 2000 mg/day ... The authors also recommend monitoring kidney function annually, as well as vitamin B12 levels and individual tolerability and compliance" - See metformin at ReliableRX.

Antibiotics wreak havoc on athletic performance - Science Daily, 6/1/22 - "by killing essential gut bacteria, antibiotics ravage athletes' motivation and endurance ... when wheel running in the athletic mice was reduced by 21 percent, researchers were certain the microbiome damage was responsible. In addition, the high runner mice did not recover their running behavior even 12 days after the antibiotic treatment stopped" - See probiotic supplements at Amazon.com.

Coffee consumption link to reduced risk of acute kidney injury, study finds - Science Daily, 6/2/22 - "those who drank any quantity of coffee every day had a 15% lower risk of AKI, with the largest reductions observed in the group that drank two to three cups a day (a 22%-23% lower risk) ... AKI symptoms differ depending on the cause and may include: too little urine leaving the body; swelling in the legs and ankles, and around the eyes; fatigue; shortness of breath; confusion; nausea; chest pain; and in severe cases, seizures or coma. The disorder is most commonly seen in hospitalized patients whose kidneys are affected by medical and surgical stress and complications ... We suspect that the reason for coffee's impact on AKI risk may be that either biologically active compounds combined with caffeine or just the caffeine itself improves perfusion and oxygen utilization within the kidneys ... Good kidney function and tolerance to AKI -- is dependent on a steady blood supply and oxygen"

Coffee Drinkers, Even Those With a Sweet Tooth, Live Longer - WebMD, 5/31/22 - "coffee drinkers were significantly less likely to die from any cause, heart disease, or cancer than those who didn't drink coffee at all ... This benefit was seen across types of coffee, including ground, instant, and decaffeinated. The protective effects of coffee were greatest in people who drank about two to four cups a day, among whom death was about 30% less likely, regardless of whether they added sugar to their coffee ... People who drank coffee with artificial sweeteners did not live significantly longer than those who drank no coffee at all"

Your liver is just under three years old - Science Daily, 5/31/22 - "No matter if you are 20 or 84, your liver stays on average just under three years old ... the adjustment of liver mass to the needs of the body is tightly regulated through the constant replacement of liver cells and that this process is maintained even in older people. This ongoing liver cell replacement is important for various aspects of liver regeneration and cancer formation" - See my liver page for ways to keep it young.

Protein supplement helps control Type 2 diabetes - Science Daily, 5/27/22 - "glucose levels were much better controlled when taking the whey supplement before meals. On average, they had two hours extra per day of normal blood sugar levels compared to the no protein week. In addition, their daily blood glucose levels were 0.6 mmol/L lower compared to when they consumed the supplement without any protein. ... We believe the whey protein works in two ways, firstly, by slowing down how quickly food passes through the digestive system and secondly, by stimulating a number of important hormones that prevent the blood sugars climbing so high" - See whey protein at Amazon.com.

More young people begin recreational cannabis use illegally in states that legalize it - Science Daily, 5/26/22 - "Once a state legalizes recreational cannabis, residents are more likely to start using it, including those too young to do so legally, report researchers at University of California San Diego. The findings, published online in the May 26, 2022 issue of Addiction, counter claims that legalization does not increase cannabis use, particularly among youth"

COVID-19 Vaccines Work Better and for Longer Than Expected Across Populations, Including Immunocompromised Individuals - Medscape, 5/27/22 - "Booster shots will just raise antibodies temporarily, but their effectiveness wanes several months later. However, each booster (or exposure) diversifies and broadens T-cell responses to the virus and a booster shot will also expand the potency of B cells, making them better able to respond to Omicron"

Very High HDL-C: Too Much of a Good Thing? - Medscape, 5/26/22 - "individuals with HDL-C levels greater than 80 mg/dL had a 96% higher risk for all-cause mortality and a 71% higher risk for cardiovascular mortality than those with HDL-C levels between 40 and 60 mg/dL ... A U-shaped association was found, with higher risk for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in patients with both very low and very high, compared with midrange, HDL-C values"

Lithium May Lower Osteoporosis Risk in Bipolar Disorder - Medscape, 5/25/22 - "those with bipolar disorder treated with lithium showed a significantly reduced risk of osteoporosis compared with patients not receiving lithium (HRR, 0.62)" - See lithium supplements at Amazon.com.

Type 2 diabetes accelerates brain aging and cognitive decline - Science Daily, 5/25/22 - "UK Biobank data from 20,000 people aged 50 to 80 years old. This dataset includes brain scans and brain function measurements and holds data for both healthy individuals and those with a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. They used this to determine which brain and cognitive changes are specific to diabetes, rather than just aging, and then confirmed these results by comparing them with a meta-analysis of nearly 100 other studies ... Their analysis showed that both aging and type 2 diabetes cause changes in executive functions such as working memory, learning and flexible thinking, and changes in brain processing speed. However, people with diabetes had a further 13.1% decrease in executive function beyond age-related effects, and their processing speed decreased by a further 6.7% compared to people of the same age without diabetes"

Abstracts from this week:

SGLT-2 Inhibitors for Patients with Heart Failure: What Have We Learned Recently? - Curr Atheroscler Rep 2022 Jun 2 - "Heart failure (HF); Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF); Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF); Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT-2i)" - See empagliflozin inhousepharmacy.vu.

Dapagliflozin Attenuates Sympathetic and Pressor Responses to Stress in Young Prehypertensive Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats - Hypertension 2022 Jun 2 - "These data demonstrate a novel role for SGLT2i in reducing resting BP as well as the activity of skeletal muscle reflexes, independent of glycemic control. Our study may have important clinical implications for preventing hypertension and hypertensive heart disease in young prehypertensive individuals" - See dapagliflozin at reliablerxpharmacy.com and empagliflozin inhousepharmacy.vu. From what I've read, empagliflozin sounds like a better product.

I Goolged rapamycin and heart failure. There were a lot of studies. Here's some that were near the top of the search:

• Rapamycin regulates the balance between cardiomyocyte apoptosis and autophagy in chronic heart failure by inhibiting mTOR signaling - Int J Mol Med. 2020 Jan - "Rapamycin treatment for 4 weeks inhibited the mTOR and ER stress pathways. Furthermore, rapamycin prevented angiotensin II-induced H9c2 cell apoptosis and promoted autophagy by inhibiting the mTORC1 and ER stress pathways. These results demonstrated that rapamycin reduced cardiomyocyte apoptosis and promoted cardiomyocyte autophagy, by regulating the crosstalk between the mTOR and ER stress pathways in chronic HF" -
• Anti-Remodeling Effects of Rapamycin in Experimental Heart Failure: Dose Response and Interaction with Angiotensin Receptor Blockade - PLoS One 2013 Dec 3 - "Rapamycin treatment decreased mTOR mediated regulators of protein synthesis and increased mTOR mediated regulators of autophagy. Losartan monotherapy did not attenuate remodeling, whereas Losartan added to rapamycin provided no incremental benefit over rapamycin alone. These data lend support to investigation of low dose rapamycin as a novel therapy in human HF" -

Lactobacillus reuteri J1 prevents obesity by altering the gut microbiota and regulating bile acid metabolism in obese mice - Food Funct 2022 Jun 1 - "Probiotics are now used as a treatment for obesity, but the mechanism by which probiotics treat obesity remains unclear. Herein, we investigated the effects of Lactobacillus reuteri J1 ( L. reuteri J1) on obese mice with the strain being administered at 1010, 109 and 108 CFU mL-1 and explored the possible underlying molecular mechanism. The results revealed that L. reuteri J1 prevented weight gain, lowered fat mass and relieved dyslipidemia, and improved glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity. Moreover, the effect of obesity reversal exhibited dose-dependence to some extent. More importantly, mice treated with L. reuteri J1 altered the gut microbiota and bile acid (BA) composition. Analysis of the gut microbiome showed that L. reuteri J1 increased the relative abundances of Lactobacillus, Akkermansia and Clostridium, which strongly correlated with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) and lithocholic acid (LCA)" - See probiotic supplements at Amazon.com.

Myricitrin - a flavonoid isolated from the Indian olive tree ( Elaeocarpus floribundus) - inhibits Monoamine oxidase in the brain and elevates striatal dopamine levels: therapeutic implications against Parkinson's disease - Food Funct 2022 Jun 1 - "Flavonoids exhibit several biological activities including inhibition of Monoamine oxidase (MAO), an enzyme that metabolizes several neurotransmitters. Thus, MAO inhibitors are well included in traditional therapeutic practices to fine-tune neuromotor behavior ... Four flavonoids from Ef leaf extract, namely, myricitrin, mearnsitrin, myricetin, and mearnsetin, are taken into consideration ... In an in vitro setup, all four compounds inhibited total MAO, whereas myricitrin exhibited some selectivity against MAO-B at 100 μM. Myricitrin and mearnsitrin exhibited no toxicity, in vitro or in vivo. However, only myricitrin inhibited MAO in the mouse brain and elevated dopamine levels. Myricitrin was able to attenuate motor incoordination in the mouse model of PD and improved dopamine levels in the striatum" - See olive leaf extract at Amazon.com.

Immunotherapeutic potential of ethanolic olive leaves extract (EOLE) and IL-28B combination therapy in ENU induced animal model of leukemia - Cytokine 2022 May 28 - "the combination of EOLE and IL-28B has given substantial therapeutic activity against leukemia" - See olive leaf extract at Amazon.com.

Relationship Amongst Vitamin K Status, Vitamin K Antagonist Use and Osteoarthritis: A Review - Drugs Aging 2022 May 30 - "vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) ... in limited retrospective and prospective studies, the use of VKAs is associated positively with OA occurrence and knee/hip replacement" - See vitamin k2 at Amazon.com.

Effects of Ubiquinol and/or D-ribose in Patients With Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction - Am J Cardiol 2022 May 26 - "Patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) have few pharmacologic therapies, and it is not known if supplementing with ubiquinol and/or d-ribose could improve outcomes ... Group 1 received placebo ubiquinol capsules and d-ribose powder, Group 2 received ubiquinol capsules (600 mg/d) and placebo d-ribose powder, Group 3 received placebo ubiquinol capsules with d-ribose powder (15 g/d), and Group 4 received ubiquinol capsules and d-ribose powder ... Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) clinical summary score ... Treatment with ubiquinol and/or d-ribose significantly improved the KCCQ clinical summary score (17.30 to 25.82 points), vigor score (7.65 to 8.15 points), and EF (7.08% to 8.03%) and reduced B-type natriuretic peptides (-72.02 to -47.51) and lactate/adenosine triphosphate ratio (-4.32 to -3.35 × 10-4). There were no significant increases in the septal E/e' or the 6-minute walk test. In conclusion, ubiquinol and d-ribose reduced the symptoms of HFpEF and increased the EF. These findings support the use of these supplements in addition to standard therapeutic treatments for patients with HFpEF" - See ubiquinol products at Amazon.com and D-ribose at Amazon.com.

Sarcopenia: an unsolved problem after hip fracture - J Bone Miner Metab 2022 May 31 - "After hip fracture, osteoporosis seemed to be well managed and the prevalence of osteoporosis did not increase. However, SMI decreased and the prevalence of sarcopenia increased. More active measures are warranted to prevent sarcopenia in elderly hip fracture patients"

Relationship between serum vitamin D and hip fracture in the elderly: a systematic review and meta-analysis - J Bone Miner Metab 2022 May 31 - "Low serum vitamin D levels in the elderly are associated with an increase in the odds of hip fracture" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Effects of Vitamin D Supplementation on COVID-19 Related Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis - Nutrients 2022 May 20 - "Vitamin D supplementation was significantly associated with a reduced risk of ICU admission (RR = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.20, 0.62) and mortality (RR = 0.46, 95% CI: 0.30, 0.70). Vitamin D supplementation had no significant impact on the risk of COVID-19 infection, whereas it showed protective effects against mortality and ICU admission in COVID-19 patients" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Silymarin modulates cadmium-induced oxidative stress in human spermatozoa - Andrologia 2022 May 31 - "Environmental pollutants such as cadmium can negatively affect sperm parameters and decrease male fertility by inducing oxidative stress. Antioxidants are considered a useful strategy for oxidative stress conditions to neutralize free radicals and strengthen the antioxidant defence system ... silymarin attenuated oxidative stress biomarkers in human sperm treated with cadmium, and consequently improved the sperm quality. In summary, cadmium-induced oxidative stress impaired human sperm structures and silymarin with its antioxidant properties compensated for the adverse effects of oxidative stress on human spermatozoa" - See silymarin at Amazon.com.

Sesamol Augments Paclitaxel-Induced Apoptosis in Human Cervical Cancer Cell Lines - Nutr Cancer 2022 May 31 - "Sesamol treatment before paclitaxel exposure enhanced the apoptotic cell death in the HeLa cell lines. The results of the present study were in support of the usage of natural medicinal compounds for clinical chemotherapy after systematic animal experimentations"

• Sesamol - Wikipedia - "Sesamol is a natural organic compound which is a component of sesame seeds and sesame oil. It is a white crystalline solid that is a derivative of phenol" - See sesame seed oil at Amazon.com.

Metformin: Is it a drug for all reasons and diseases? - Metabolism 2022 May 28 - "We conclude that the primary clinical benefits of metformin result from its insulin-sensitizing and antihyperglycaemic effects that secondarily contribute to a reduced risk of a number of diseases and thereby enhancing healthspan. However, benefits like improving vascular endothelial function that are independent of effects on glucose homeostasis add to metformin's therapeutic actions" - See metformin at ReliableRX.

Trehalose Suppresses Lysosomal Anomalies in Supporting Cells of Oocytes and Maintains Female Fertility - Nutrients 2022 May 22 - "Electron microscopy analysis revealed the proliferation of abnormal lysosomes in chloroquine-treated KGN cells. Conversely, the addition of an autophagy inducer, trehalose, suppressed chloroquine-driven problematic lysosomal anomalies and ameliorated ovulation problems. Our results suggest that autophagy maintains the healthy state of the supporting cells of human oocytes by suppressing the formation of lysosomes. Thus, our results provide insights into the therapeutic effects of trehalose on female fertility" - See trehalose at Amazon.com.

Nano-curcumin supplementation in critically ill patients with sepsis: a randomized clinical trial investigating the inflammatory biomarkers, oxidative stress indices, endothelial function, clinical outcomes and nutritional status - Food Funct 2022 May 27 - "Sepsis is a severe reaction and excessive immune response to infection, which can lead to organ dysfunction, and death. This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of nano-curcumin (NC) on inflammatory biomarkers, endothelial function, oxidative stress indices, biochemical factors, nutritional status, and clinical outcomes in patients with sepsis ... Supplementation with NC may be a promising treatment strategy for critically ill patients with sepsis" - See curcumin at Amazon.com.

Phloretin ameliorates diabetic nephropathy by inhibiting nephrin and podocin reduction through a non-hypoglycemic effect - Food Funct 2022 May 27 - "Phloretin is a dihydrochalcone flavonoid from natural plants, which has protective activities against oxidative stress and inflammation. To date, its effect on diabetic nephropathy (DN) has not been investigated ... daily treatment with a low dose (20 mg kg-1) of phloretin, as a dietary supplement, significantly alleviated polyuria, proteinuria, and glomerular histopathological changes in the T2DM mice, indicating a protective effect of phloretin on diabetic renal dysfunction. In the phloretin-treated T2DM mice, major metabolic parameters, including blood glucose levels, were not altered significantly, suggesting that the observed beneficial effects of phloretin may be due to a mechanism independent of blood glucose control ... low-dose phloretin treatment has a protective effect on podocytes in DN via a non-hypoglycemic mechanism in preserving nephrin and podocin expression levels" - See flavonoids at Amazon.com.

Red yeast rice dietary intervention reduces oxidative stress-related inflammation and improves intestinal microbiota - Food Funct 2022 May 27 - "Inflammation and oxidative stress play key roles in the aging process, while red yeast rice (RYR), a traditional Chinese fermented food, has anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. To understand the anti-aging function of RYR in vivo, this study established a D-galactose-induced aging mouse model to verify the positive effects of RYR dietary intervention on aging and explore the related underlying mechanism. Eight weeks of RYR dietary intervention was shown to have a significant inhibitory effect on cognitive decline and hippocampal damage. The molecular mechanistic studies showed that the anti-aging effects of RYR were achieved by (i) improving the oxidative stress-related damage (increasing SOD, CAT, and GSH, and reducing MDA), (ii) regulating the NF-κB inflammation pathway induced by oxidative stress (decreasing the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ, iNOs, and IL-1β, increasing the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, and decreasing the expression of the NF-κB protein), (iii) slowing down apoptosis caused by oxidative stress (reducing the expression of P21 and P53), (iv) restoring the abundance of Lactobacillus, Lachnospiraceae and Rikenellaceae downregulated by D-galactose, and (v) reducing the abundance of Akkermansia and Helicobacter enriched by D-galactose" - See red yeast rice at Amazon.com.

Intestinal Flora Mediates Antiobesity Effect of Rutin in High-Fat-Diet Mice - Mol Nutr Food Res 2022 May 26 - "Intestinal flora plays a critical role in the development of diet-induced obesity and related metabolic complications. Rutin is a natural flavonoid with potential prebiotic effects on regulating the intestinal flora composition that is beneficial for host health ... Rutin can be considered as a prebiotic agent for improving intestinal flora disorders and obesity-associated metabolic perturbations in obese individuals" - See rutin at Amazon.com.

Lactotransferrin promotes intervertebral disc degeneration by regulating Fas and inhibiting human nucleus pulposus cell apoptosis - Aging (Albany NY) 2022 May 25 - "In recent years, intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration (IDD) has increased in age. There is still a lack of effective treatment in clinics, which cannot improve the condition of IDD at the level of etiology ... lactotransferrin (LTF) ... LTF promotes IDD progression by regulating Fas in NPCs, and it may be an effective gene therapy target" - Note: An article that easier to understand:

• Lactoferrin - Wikipedia - "Lactoferrin (LF), also known as lactotransferrin (LTF), is a multifunctional protein of the transferrin family. Lactoferrin is a globular glycoprotein with a molecular mass of about 80 kDa that is widely represented in various secretory fluids, such as milk, saliva, tears, and nasal secretions"
• Lactoferricin’s Role in Preventing Disc Degeneration - The Rheumatologist, 9/16/13 - “We anticipate a positive systemic impact that may prevent or decrease further joint deterioration,” explained Hee-Jeong Im, PhD, corresponding author of the study. “The good thing about lactoferrin/lactoferricin is that you can take it orally and you don’t have to inject.” - See lactoferrin at Amazon.com.

Dapagliflozin improves endothelial cell dysfunction by regulating mitochondrial production via the SIRT1/PGC-1α pathway in obese mice - Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2022 May 10 - "dapagliflozin (DAPA) ... DAPA improves endothelial cell mitochondrial function in obese mice by activating the SIRT1/PGC-1α pathway" - See dapagliflozin at reliablerxpharmacy.com.

Highly polymerized proanthocyanidins (PAC) components from blueberry leaf and stem significantly inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection via inhibition of ACE2 and viral 3CLpro enzymes - Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2022 Apr 20 - "With the current worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, there is an urgent need to develop effective treatment and prevention methods against SARS-CoV-2 infection. We have previously reported that the proanthocyanidin (PAC) fraction in blueberry (BB) leaves has strong antiviral activity against hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human T-lymphocytic leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1). In this study, we used Kunisato 35 Gou (K35) derived from the rabbit eye blueberry (Vaccinium virgatum Aiton), which has a high PAC content in the leaves and stems ... These results indicate that BB-PAC has at least two different inhibitory effects, and that it is effective in suppressing SARS-CoV-2 infection regardless of the time of infection" - See blueberry extract at Amazon.com.

Higher efficacy of resveratrol against advanced breast cancer organoids: A comparison with that of clinically relevant drugs - Phytother Res 2022 Jun 1 - "The lack of reliable drugs is a therapeutic challenge of advanced breast cancers (ABCs). Resveratrol (Res) exerts inhibitory effects on breast cancer cell lines and animal models, while its efficacy against individual breast cancer cases remains unknown. This study aims to use ABC-derived organoids (ABCOs) as the ex vivo therapeutic platform to clarify the effectiveness of resveratrol against different ABC subtypes ... We demonstrate for the first time the higher efficacy and broader spectrum of Res against different subtypes of ABCOs in comparison with that of conventional antibreast cancer drugs, providing an alternative approach for better management of ABCs" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.

Resveratrol Ameliorates Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss in In Vitro Model through Multitarget Antiapoptotic Mechanism Based on Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking - Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2022 May 19 - "To explore the effects of resveratrol (RSV) on hair cell apoptosis caused by sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) and its effect on lipopolysaccharide-induced apoptosis of HEI-OC1 cells ... RSV mainly affects the prognosis of SSNHL through anti-inflammatory effects and may improve hair cell apoptosis caused by inflammatory factors through multitargeted interventions involving TNF, CASP3, AKT1, and TP53" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.

Resveratrol ameliorates muscle atrophy in chronic kidney disease via the axis of SIRT1/FoxO1 - Phytother Res 2022 May 23 - "Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is often associated with muscle atrophy ... Here, we treated 5/6-nephrectomized (5/6Nx) rats with resveratrol and found that this treatment greatly improves renal function as evidenced by reduced proteinuria and cystatin C. Moreover, resveratrol ameliorates renal fibrosis by reducing transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF). Meanwhile, muscle atrophy in these 5/6Nx rats was largely attenuated by resveratrol. Immunoprecipitation revealed that SIRT1 physically interacts with FoxO1 in muscle, and this interaction was weakened in 5/6Nx rats. As a consequence, acetylated FoxO1 was increased in muscle of 5/6Nx rats. The application of resveratrol markedly reverses this trend. These data point out that SIRT1 is a key factor for linking renal disease and muscle atrophy. Indeed, both renal dysfunction and muscle atrophy were further aggravated by 5/6Nx in Sirt1+/- mice. Taken together, our data indicate that SIRT1 plays a pivotal role in muscle atrophy in CKD, and FoxO1 might be a substrate of SIRT1 in this process. Furthermore, resveratrol, together with other agonists of SIRT1, may hold great therapeutic potentials for treating CKD and its related muscle atrophy" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.

Quercetin attenuates adipogenesis and fibrosis in human skeletal muscle - Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2022 May 14 - "Quercetin suppressed the differentiation of muscle-derived PDGFRα+/CD201+ cells to adipocytes and fibroblasts at concentrations achievable by dietary and dietary supplement intake, which indicated its preventive or therapeutic effect against the loss of muscle quality" - See quercetin at Amazon.com.

Effects of short-term betaine supplementation on muscle endurance and indices of endocrine function following acute high-intensity resistance exercise in young athletes - J Int Soc Sports Nutr 2022 Mar 22 - "Two weeks of betaine supplementation improved upper- and lower-body muscle endurance and influenced indices of endocrine function following an acute session of high-intensity RE in adolescent handball players" - See betaine anhydrous (TMG) at Amazon.com.

Neat Tech Stuff / "How To's":

I had a hard time searching for these. They're larger than jumbo but if you search for extra jumbo, it just shows "jumbo". I have a queen size Tempur-Pedic 3" Pillowtop Memory Foam Mattress Topper for guests but it takes up too much space. This shrinks it down to almost nothing. Also great for large king-size comforters which will fit in the smaller "jumbo" bags but it's a hassle.

This is what I mean about people believing bullshit over the truth. Sure, you don't need all those medicines. Just go out in your backyard and eat dandelions. Who believes this yet he gets half a million views in the first half of the day after posting it. Just like the anti-vaxxers, claiming that alternative medicine can totally replace western medicine is going to get people killed.

Look at this shit. A quarter-million views in five hours putting out conspiracy theories. He's so full of it. Why do people prefer bullshit over the truth? It's like that with politics also.

Health Focus (Adiponectin):