There's been so many studies these days that I've decided to go back to weekly on this newsletter. Please help my newsletter get noticed by clicking on the Facebook "Like" in the upper right-hand corner or here:

Recent Longevity News for the week ending 6/29/22

Low-Carb, High-Fat Diet Improves A1c, Reduces Liver Fat: Study - Medscape, 6/27/22 - "A low-carbohydrate, high-fat (LCHF) diet reduced the progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and despite no calorie restriction, participants with both NAFLD and type 2 diabetes lost 5.8% of their body weight ... Basically, if you have fat in your liver, you will benefit from eating fat ... Those on the LCHF diet consumed an average of 61% energy from fat, 13% from carbohydrates, and 23% from protein, compared with the low-fat diet, which comprised an average of 29% energy from fat, 46% from carbohydrates, and 21% from protein ... It's a lot of fat and corresponds to a quarter of a liter of olive oil per day ... The LCHF diet was primarily comprised of unsaturated fats — for example, avocado, oil, nuts, and seeds — but also included saturated fats, such as cheese, cream, and high-fat dairy products ... We found that the LCHF diet improved diabetes control, it reduced the fat in the liver, and, even though they're eating as many calories as they were used to until they were full, they lost 5.8% of body weight"

COVID-19 Tied to Increased Risk of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's Disease - Medscape, 6/27/22 - "The study included 43,262 individuals with a positive COVID test without a history of influenza A/B in the past year and 876,356 without a positive COVID test. It also included 1474 individuals with community acquired pneumonia without a history of COVID and 8102 with influenza A or B ... After 12 months, the relative risk (RR) for AD was 3.4 (95% CI, 2.3 - 5.1) in the COVID positive group vs the COVID negative group ... These results were rather unexpected, said Zarifkar. "I would have expected a small increase, but the extent of the increase was quite surprising." ... The findings were similar for PD, where there was a 2.2-fold increased risk of a PD diagnosis within the first 12 months in COVID positive individuals compared with COVID negative people ... Part of it could be a result of neuroinflammation, which can lead to a toxic accumulation of beta amyloid in AD and alpha-synuclein in PD ... It can accelerate a neurodegenerative disease already in the making ... As for cerebrovascular disorders, the study showed an increased risk of ischemic stroke in COVID-positive vs COVID-negative subjects at 12 months (RR, 2.87; ... The relatively strong inflammatory response associated with COVID-19, which may create a hypercoagulable state, may help explain the increased ischemic stroke risk in COVID patients"

Flu vaccination linked to 40% reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease - Science Daily, 6/24/22 - "These results underscore the strong protective effect of the flu vaccine against Alzheimer's disease ... Since there is evidence that several vaccines may protect from Alzheimer's disease, we are thinking that it isn't a specific effect of the flu vaccine ... Instead, we believe that the immune system is complex, and some alterations, such as pneumonia, may activate it in a way that makes Alzheimer's disease worse. But other things that activate the immune system may do so in a different way -- one that protects from Alzheimer's disease. Clearly, we have more to learn about how the immune system worsens or improves outcomes in this disease"

Global AFib study finds simple ablation has best outcomes - Science Daily, 6/21/22 - "using advanced image-guided technology to more aggressively target diseased areas of the heart that cause arrythmias didn't lead to better outcomes for patients -- and put some at higher risk of strokes ... Simplicity is key. Don't ablate too much, especially at advanced stages ... Too much ablation is not helping our patients today. It is putting them at higher risk. This is a practice-changing finding from our study"

Empagliflozin Eyed for Outpatient Chronic Hyponatremia - Medscape, 6/21/22 - "Empagliflozin is a potential treatment for outpatients with chronic hyponatremia due to the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuresis (SIAD) ... Hyponatremia, defined as a serum sodium level below 135 mmol/L, is the most common electrolyte disorder in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. SIAD is one of its main causes, whereby impaired antidiuretic hormone regulation leads to a reduction in free water excretion and water retention in the kidney, with subsequent hypotonic hyponatremia ... Serum sodium levels remained stable with placebo while increasing from 130 mmol/L to 134 mmol/L with empagliflozin, giving a corresponding treatment effect of 4.1 mmol/L (P = .004). The increase took place during the first week of treatment and plasma sodium levels remained stable through subsequent weeks ... there's accumulating evidence that these patients have cognitive impairments such as attention deficit, that they are unstable when walking with a propensity to fall, and that they have increased risk for osteoporosis and fractures, and even death" - Note: Sounds like that could be a bad think if you blood sodium is high. - See empagliflozin inhousepharmacy.vu.

Abstracts from this week:

A high carbohydrate diet with a low glycaemic index improves training effects in male endurance athletes - Int J Food Sci Nutr 2022 Jun 26 - "The present study investigated the effect of a 4-week high fat low carbohydrate (HFLC-G) versus high carbohydrate low glycaemic (LGI-G) or high glycaemic (HGI-G) diet on power output at lactate thresholds, peak oxygen uptake and peak performance during an incremental cycle test in 28 male endurance athletes. All participants showed improved levels of power output at the lactate thresholds with a more pronounced effect in the HFLC-G and LGI-G. In the HFLC-G peak performance (-11.6 ± 16.3 W) decreased, while in the LGI-G (9.20 ± 13.8 W) and HGI-G (9.89 ± 12.8 W) peak performance increased (p = 0.009). In summary, the LGI-G showed comparable training adaptations as the HFLC-G at submaximal intensities without limiting the ability to perform at high intensities. Compared to a HFLC and HGI diet, the LGI diet in this study seemed to be advantageous during submaximal and high intensities resulting from an improved metabolic flexibility"

Association of Total Calcium With Serum Uric Acid Levels Among United States Adolescents Aged 12-19 Years: A Cross-Sectional Study - Front Med (Lausanne) 2022 Jun 10 - "In United States adolescents, total CA levels were linearly and positively correlated with SUA levels"

Silymarin abrogates acrylamide-induced oxidative stress-mediated testicular toxicity via modulation of antioxidant mechanism, DNA damage, endocrine deficit and sperm quality in rats - Andrologia 2022 Jun 26 - "Acrylamide (ACR) is a toxic chemical formed in foods processed at high temperature; it is a food-borne toxicant with increasing public health attention due to its carcinogenic, neurotoxic and reproductive toxicities. However, till date, it is unknown whether silymarin (SIL) could attenuate ACR testicular toxicity ... Overall, SIL prevents ACR-induced testicular reproductive deficits via modulation of antioxidant mechanism in rats" - See silymarin at Amazon.com.

The Anti-Obesity and Anti-Inflammatory Capabilities of Pterostilbene and its Colonic Metabolite Pinostilbene Protect against Tight Junction Disruption from Western Diet Feeding - Mol Nutr Food Res 2022 Jun 25 - "Tight junctions (TJs) are a member of the intestinal epithelium barrier that provides the first line of protection against external factors. Anti-obesity and protective effects of pterostilbene (PSB) on TJs have previously been reported, but the effect of its colonic metabolite, pinostilbene (PIN), is less understood ... This is the first study suggesting that PIN, the metabolite of PSB, demonstrates a similar protective effect on colonic TJ proteins via its anti-obesity, hepatic protection and anti-inflammatory capabilities" - See pterostilbene at Amazon.com.

A comprehensive overview on the effects of green tea on anthropometric measures, blood pressure, glycemic and lipidemic status: An umbrella review and meta meta-analysis study - Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 2022 May 31 - "The aim of this meta-review was to establish the effects of green tea (GT) intake on some cardiometabolic risk factors including anthropometric measures, blood pressure as well as blood glucose and lipids using evidence from previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses ... Meta-meta-analysis revealed significant effects of GT on weight and waist circumference with weighted mean difference (WMD) of -0.89 (95% CI -1.43 to -0.34, p < 0.001) and -1.01 (95% CI -1.63 to -0.39, p < 0.001), systolic and diastolic blood pressure, with WMDs of -1.17 (95% CI -2.18 to -0.16) and -1.24 (95% CI -2.07 to -0.4), respectively. There was similar effect on fasting blood glucose (WMD, -1.3, 95% CI -2.09 to -0.51, p < 0.001) but not on other glycemic indicators. The findings also revealed a significant effect size of total cholesterol and LDL-C (WMD -4.93; 95% CI -6.41 to -3.46, p < 0.001, WMD -4.31; 95% CI -6.55 to -2.07, p < 0.001, respectively)" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.

The Effect of Curcumin on Lipid Profile and Glycemic Status of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis - Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2022 Jun 17 - "The estimated pooled mean changes with curcumin were -18.97 mg/dL (95% CI: -36.47 to -1.47; P=0.03) for triglyceride (TG), -8.91 mg/dL (95% CI: -14.18 to -3.63, P=0.001) for total cholesterol (TC), -4.01 mg/dL (95% CI: -10.96 to 2.95, P=0.259) for low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), 0.32 mg/dL (95% CI: -0.74 to 1.37, P=0.557) for high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), -8.85 mg/dL (95% CI: -14.4 to -3.29, P=0.002) for fasting blood glucose (FBG), -0.54 (95% CI: -0.81 to -0.27, P ≤ 0.001) for glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) (%) compared with controls ... curcumin supplementation had beneficial effects on glycemic status and some lipid parameters in patients with T2DM" - See curcumin at Amazon.com.

Curcumin Increased the Sensitivity of Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer to Cisplatin through the Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Pathway - Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2022 Jun 17 - "Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the most lethal cancers. Although cisplatin-based chemotherapies have been regarded as a promising treatment approach, cisplatin resistance still remains one of the major clinical challenges. Curcumin, a naturally occurring polyphenol, has been proved to increase chemotherapeutic efficiency of NSCLC cells ... Curcumin can increase the sensitivity of NSCLC to cisplatin through an ER stress pathway and thus can be served as one of the molecular targets for overcoming the cisplatin resistance" - See curcumin at Amazon.com.

Nanocurcumin substantially alleviates noise stress-induced anxiety-like behavior: the roles of tight junctions and NMDA receptors in the hippocampus - Behav Brain Res 2022 Jun 21 - "Environmental noise stress affects non-auditory brain regions such as the hippocampus; an area of the brain implicated in cognition and emotion. Recent experimental data indicate that dysfunction of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and overexpression of NMDA receptors may cause anxiety. In this experiment, we evaluated the effect of nanocurcumin on anxiety-like behavior and the expression of tight junctions and NMDA receptor subunits in the hippocampus of rats exposed to traffic noise. Forty rats were assigned to control (CON), stress (ST), nanocurcumin (NC), and nanocurcumin+stress (NC+ST) groups ... Our findings showed that noise exposure promotes stress and anxiety and impairs the NMDA receptor structure and BBB integrity. The nanocurcumin treatment displayed partly restored the destructive effects of noise exposure" - See curcumin at Amazon.com.

Inverse Association between Dietary Iron Intake and Gastric Cancer: A Pooled Analysis of Case-Control Studies of the Stop Consortium - Nutrients 2022 Jun 20 - "Dietary iron is inversely related to GC, with no difference by subsite or histological type. While the results should be interpreted with caution, they provide evidence against a direct effect of iron in gastric carcinogenesis" - See iron supplements at Amazon.com.

Alteration of Gut Microbiota in Alzheimer's Disease and Their Relation to the Cognitive Impairment - J Alzheimers Dis 2022 Jun 20 - "The current work highlighted a significant relationship between AD and gut microbiota dysbiosis. A higher abundance of Prevotella species and lactic acid bacteria was correlated with cognition" - See probiotic supplements at Amazon.com.

Probiotic Bifidobacterium breve MCC1274 Mitigates Alzheimer's Disease-Related Pathologies in Wild-Type Mice - Nutrients 2022 Jun 19 - "Probiotics improve brain function, including memory and cognition, via the microbiome-gut-brain axis. Oral administration of Bifidobacterium breve MCC1274 (B. breve MCC1274) improves cognitive function in AppNL-G-F mice and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subjects, and mitigates Alzheimer's disease (AD)-like pathologies ... These findings suggest that B. breve MCC1274 may mitigate AD-like pathologies in WT mice by decreasing Aβ42 levels, inhibiting tau phosphorylation, attenuating neuroinflammation, and improving synaptic protein levels" - See probiotic supplements at Amazon.com.

Calcium Supplementation, Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases, and Mortality: A Real-World Study of the Korean National Health Insurance Service Data - Nutrients 2022 Jun 18 - "The cumulative incidence of acute myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, and death was significantly higher in the calcium supplementation group than in the control group (p &lt; 0.05 by log-rank test). The calcium supplementation group had a significantly higher risk of myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, and death than the control group. Compared to the control group, the hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) of the incidence of myocardial infarction, stroke, and death in the supplementation group were 1.14 (1.03-1.27), 1.12 (1.05-1.20), and 1.40 (1.32-1.50), respectively, after adjusting for confounding variables. Considering the associated cardiovascular risk, calcium supplementation for osteoporosis treatment should be administered cautiously"

The Association of Dietary Fiber Intake in Three Meals with All-Cause and Disease-Specific Mortality among Adults: The U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2003-2014 - Nutrients 2022 Jun 17 - "Firstly, after adjusting for potential confounders, compared to the participants in the lowest quintile of total dietary fiber intake, the participants in the highest quintile of fiber intake had lower all-cause (HR = 0.686, 95% CI: 0.589-0.799, p for trend &lt;0.001) and cancer (HR = 0.606, 95% CI: 0.446-0.824, p for trend = 0.015) mortality risks. Secondly, compared to the participants in the lowest quintile of dietary fiber intake at dinner, the participants in the highest quintile of fiber intake had lower all-cause (HR = 0.796, 95% CI: 0.668-0.949, p for trend = 0.009) and cancer (HR = 0.564, 95% CI: 0.388-0.822, p for trend = 0.005) mortality risks. Furthermore, equivalently replacing each standard deviation of dietary fiber consumed at breakfast with that at dinner was associated with lower cancer mortality risks (HR = 0.846, 95% CI: 0.747-0.958). In conclusion, this study demonstrates that, in the NHANES (2003-2014) cohort, to reduce all-cause and cancer mortality risks, the optimal dietary fiber intake time is in the evening"

Carnosine Alleviates Knee Osteoarthritis and Promotes Synoviocyte Protection via Activating the Nrf2/HO-1 Signaling Pathway: An In-Vivo and In-Vitro Study - Antioxidants (Basel) 2022 Jun 20 - "The most common joint disease in the elderly is knee osteoarthritis (OA). It is distinguished by cartilage degradation, subchondral bone loss, and a decrease in joint space. We studied the effects of carnosine (CA) on knee OA in male Wistar rats ... This study's investigation suggests that CA significantly alleviates knee OA both in vitro and in vivo" - See carnosine at Amazon.com.

Association between serum manganese levels and diabetes in chinese adults with hypertension - J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich) 2022 Jun 24 - "a U-shaped association between serum manganese and diabetes was observed in a Chinese population with hypertension, and the association was modified by sex" - See manganese at Amazon.com.

Problem in the Recent American Heart Association Guideline on Secondary Stroke Prevention: B Vitamins to Lower Homocysteine Do Prevent Stroke - Stroke 2022 Jun 24 - "We recommend that the guideline be revised to say that B vitamins to lower homocysteine prevent stroke and that methylcobalamin or hydroxycobalamin should be used instead of cyanocobalamin" - See methylcobalamin at Amazon.com.

Exploration of Potential Targets and Mechanisms of Fisetin in the Treatment of Non-Small-Cell Lung Carcinoma via Network Pharmacology and In Vitro Validation - Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2022 Jun 13 - "The morbidity and fatality rates of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were high, although a combination of multiple treatments was used. Fisetin, a small flavonoid compound, had shown anticancer activities. Thus, we aimed at exploring the mechanisms of Fisetin in the treatment of NSCLC ... The present study found a series of novel targets and pathways for Fisetin treating NSCLC" - See fisetin at Amazon.com.

SGLT2-inhibitors reduce the cardiac autonomic neuropathy dysfunction and vaso-vagal syncope recurrence in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: the SCAN study - Metabolism 2022 Jun 19 - "Non-SGLT2-I users vs. SGLT2-I-users had alterations of the autonomic nervous system, with a higher rate of VVS recurrence at 1 year of follow-up. The indexes of cardiac denervation predicted the VVS recurrence, while the SGLT2-I reduced the risk of VVS recurrence"

• What to know about vasovagal syncope - medicalnewstoday.com - "The term vasovagal syncope (VVS) describes fainting that occurs in response to a sudden drop in heart rate or blood pressure. The resulting lack of blood and oxygen to the brain is what causes a person to pass out ... Doctors sometimes refer to VVS as neurocardiogenic syncope or reflex syncope"

Effect of Resveratrol Content in Red Wine on Circulating Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin: Lessons from a Pilot Clinical Trial - Mol Nutr Food Res 2022 Jun 25 - "Low sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels are associated with higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Epidemiological studies have shown that red wine has beneficial effects on cardiovascular disease. In this work we explored if resveratrol content in red wine increases SHBG levels. ... Red wine rich in resveratrol reduced total cholesterol in men and women and increased SHBG only in women. Further research aimed at investigating the potential SHBG role enhancement mediated by resveratrol regarding cardiovascular protection that presents women in comparison with men seems warranted" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.

Resveratrol alleviates enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli K88-induced damage by regulating SIRT-1 signaling in intestinal porcine epithelial cells - Food Funct 2022 Jun 22 - "these results indicated that resveratrol could protect intestinal epithelial cells against ETEC K88 infection by activating SIRT-1 signaling. These findings provide new insights into the role of resveratrol in maintaining intestinal physiological function" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.

Prevalence and Impact of Atrial Fibrillation on Intra-Hospital Mortality in Patients Aged ≥75 Years - Am J Cardiol 2022 Jun 18 - "Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to account for the individual probability of having AF given a set of covariates ... the prevalence of AF was high (34%) in inpatients aged ≥75 years and increased with age and co-morbidity burden. After PSM, patients with AF had a 17% higher risk of intra-hospital mortality than patients without AF"

n-3 PUFA dietary lipid replacement normalizes muscle mitochondrial function and oxidative stress through enhanced tissue mitophagy and protects from muscle wasting in experimental kidney disease - Metabolism 2022 Jun 21 - "Skeletal muscle mitochondrial dysfunction may cause tissue oxidative stress and consequent catabolism in chronic kidney disease (CKD), contributing to patient mortality. We investigated in 5/6-nephrectomized (Nx) rats the impact of n3-polyunsaturated fatty-acids (n3-PUFA) isocaloric partial dietary replacement on gastrocnemius muscle (Gm) mitochondrial master-regulators, ATP production, ROS generation and related muscle-catabolic derangements ... dietary n3-PUFA normalize mitochondrial master-regulators, ATP production and dynamics in experimental CKD. These effects occur directly in muscle cells and they normalize ROS production through enhanced mitophagy. Dietary n3-PUFA mitochondrial effects result in normalized catabolic derangements and protection from muscle wasting, with potential positive impact on patient survival" - See omega-3 supplements at Amazon.com.

Omega-3 Supplementation for the Prevention of Cognitive Decline in Older Adults: Does It Depend on Homocysteine Levels? - J Nutr Health Aging 2022 - "This study shows that Hcy levels could modify the association between red blood cell n-3 PUFA and executive function. People with high Hcy may benefit less from a n-3 PUFA supplementation to prevent cognitive decline" - See my homocysteine page for ways to lower it. See omega-3 supplements at Amazon.com.

Relationship between Coffee Consumption and Osteoporosis Risk Determined by the ESR1 Polymorphism rs2982573 - J Nutr Health Aging 2022 - "we used genetic, demographic, and lifestyle data from participants recruited in Taiwan Biobank (TWB) between 2016 and 2019. We used multiple logistic regression analyses to determine the relationship between osteoporosis and variant rs2982573 genotypes (TT, TC, and CC) ... There was no significant association between rs2982573 and osteoporosis (OR, 0.904; 95% CI, 0.706-1.157; p=0.422 for TC+CC when compared with the TT genotype). Coffee consumption was associated with a lower risk of osteoporosis (OR, 0.737; 95% CI, 0.592-0.918; p=0.006). The p-value for interaction between rs2982573 and coffee consumption was 0.0393. In our subgroup analyses, the adjusted ORs (95% CI) were 0.635 (0.410-0.985) in coffee drinking TC+CC individuals and 1.095 (0.809-1.482) in non-coffee drinking TC+CC individuals, respectively when compared with their TT genotype counterparts"

Associations between plasma tryptophan and indole-3-propionic acid levels and mortality in patients with coronary artery disease - Am J Clin Nutr 2022 Jun 21 - "CAD patients with the highest quartile of tryptophan and IPA levels had multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios of 0.62 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.43, 0.89) and 0.71 (95% CI 0.50, 0.99), respectively, for cardiovascular mortality and 0.67 (95% CI, 0.50, 0.90) and 0.75 (95%CI 0.57, 0.99), respectively, for all-cause mortality compared with that in CAD patients in the lowest quartile. After multivariable adjustments, one standard deviation increase in the continuous plasma tryptophan and IPA levels were respectively associated with 16% and 14% decreases in the risk of cardiovascular mortality and with 13% and 14% decreases in the risk of all-cause mortality"

• 3-Indolepropionic acid - Wikipedia - "3-Indolepropionic acid (IPA), or indole-3-propionic acid, is a potent neuroprotective antioxidant, plant auxin, and natural product in humans that is being studied for therapeutic use in Alzheimer's disease.[2][3][4][5] It is endogenously produced by human microbiota and has only been detected in vivo when the species Clostridium sporogenes is present in the gastrointestinal tract.[4][5][6] As of April 2016, C. sporogenes, which uses tryptophan to synthesize IPA, is the only species of bacteria known to synthesize IPA in vivo at levels which are subsequently detectable in the blood plasma of the host" - See tryptophan at Amazon.com.

Allicin attenuated hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury in mice by regulating PPARγ-IRAK-M-TLR4 signal pathway - Food Funct 2022 Jun 22 - "Hepatic ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury to the liver is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality following liver surgery, trauma, and hemorrhagic shock. It was reported that allicin, a type of garlic compound, had a protective effect against other hepatic diseases ... Conclusion: Allicin protects against hepatic I/R injury via dose-dependent regulation of the PPARγ-IRAK-M-TLR4 signaling pathway, and it may be a potential drug in future clinical treatment" - See garlic supplements at Amazon.com.

Nicotinamide riboside and caffeine partially restore diminished NAD availability but not altered energy metabolism in Alzheimer's disease - Aging Cell 2022 Jun 21 - "The redox co-factor nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) declines with age, and NAD deficits are specifically associated with dysfunctional energy metabolism in late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD). Nicotinamide riboside (NR), a dietary NAD precursor, has been suggested to ameliorate the aging process or neurodegeneration. We assessed whether NR with or without caffeine, which increases nicotinamide mononucleotide transferase subtype 2 (NMNAT2), an essential enzyme in NAD production, modulates bioenergetic functions in LOAD ... although NR and caffeine can partially restore diminished NAD availability, increasing NAD alone may not be sufficient to boost or restore energy metabolism in brain aging or alter aberrant energy management in LOAD. Nicotinamide riboside might still be of value in combination with other agents in preventive or therapeutic intervention strategies to address the aging process or age-associated dementia" - See nicotinamide riboside at Amazon.com.

Cost-Effectiveness of Catheter Ablation Versus Antiarrhythmic Drug Therapy in Atrial Fibrillation: The CABANA Randomized Clinical Trial - Circulation 2022 Jun 21 - "In the CABANA trial (Catheter Ablation vs Antiarrhythmic Drug Therapy for Atrial Fibrillation), catheter ablation did not significantly reduce the primary end point of death, disabling stroke, serious bleeding, or cardiac arrest compared with drug therapy by intention-to-treat, but did improve the quality of life and freedom from atrial fibrillation recurrence. In the heart failure subgroup, ablation improved both survival and quality of life. Cost-effectiveness was a prespecified CABANA secondary end point ... Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation was economically attractive compared with drug therapy in the CABANA Trial overall at present benchmarks for health care value in the United States on the basis of projected incremental QALYs but not LYs alone"

Astragalus mongholicus polysaccharides ameliorate hepatic lipid accumulation and inflammation as well as modulate gut microbiota in NAFLD rats - Food Funct 2022 Jun 21 - "Hepatic lipid accumulation, inflammation and gut microbiota dysbiosis are hallmarks of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is the leading cause of chronic liver disease with no therapeutic consensus ... Astragalus mongholicus polysaccharides (mAPS) ... mAPS and Berberine treatment markedly reduced HFD-induced hepatic lipid accumulation ... mAPS supplementation ameliorates hepatic inflammation and lipid accumulation in NAFLD by modulating the gut microbiota and SCFA-GPR signaling pathways. The present study provides new evidence for mAPS as a natural active substance in the treatment of NAFLD" - See Astragalus at Amazon.com.

Doxorubicin-induced senescence in normal fibroblasts promotes in vitro tumour cell growth and invasiveness: the role of Quercetin in modulating these processes - Mech Ageing Dev 2022 Jun 18 - "Ageing is a complex biological phenomenon representing the major risk factor for developing age-related diseases, such as cardiovascular pathologies, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer. Geroscience, the new vision of gerontology, identifies cellular senescence as an interconnected biological process that characterises ageing and age-related diseases. Therefore, many strategies have been employed in the last years to reduce the harmful effects of senescence, and among these, the most intriguing ones use nutraceutical compounds. Here we show that a pre-treatment with Quercetin, a bioactive flavonoid present in many fruits and vegetables, increasing cellular antioxidant defence, can alleviate Doxorubicin (Doxo)-induced cellular senescence in human normal WI-38 fibroblasts. Furthermore, our work demonstrates that Quercetin pre-treatment, reducing the number of senescent cells and the production of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) factors, can decrease the pro-tumour effects of conditioned medium from Doxo-induced senescent fibroblasts on osteosarcoma cells. Overall, our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that targeting senescent cells can be an emerging strategy for cancer treatment, especially in elderly patients, in which senescent cells are already abundant in several tissues and organs" - See quercetin at Amazon.com.

Quercetin in Tonglong Qibi decoction ameliorates testosterone-induced benign prostatic hyperplasia in rats by regulating Nrf2 signalling pathways and oxidative stress - Andrologia 2022 Jun 20 - "Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common urological disease in older males. Existing pharmacotherapy shows several side effects, and the exploration of new therapeutic strategies is of high significance. Tonglong Qibi (TQ) decoction was proved to ameliorate BPH, while the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. In the current study, we explored the anti-BPH effects of TQ in vivo and identified its main therapeutic component and the underlying mechanisms in vitro. We demonstrated that TQ mitigated BPH in rats and showed no toxicity to the liver and reproductive system. Network pharmacology identified quercetin as the main component in TQ treating BPH. Quercetin reduced proliferation, oxidative stress, and increased Nrf2 expression in hyperplastic prostate epithelial cells. These findings indicate that quercetin in TQ alleviates BPH via inhibiting oxidative stress and activating the Nrf2 signalling pathway" - See quercetin at Amazon.com.

Self-reported marijuana use and cardiac arrhythmias (from the Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis) - Am J Cardiol 2022 Jun 17 - "Compared with never users, participants reporting current use of marijuana (n = 40, 3%) had more supraventricular tachycardia/day (adjusted geometric mean ratio [GMR] 1.42, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.87 to 2.32), more premature atrial contractions/hour (GMR 1.22, 95% CI 0.72, 2.13), and more NSVT/day (GMR 1.28, 95% CI 0.95 to 1.73); although, CIs overlapped 1. Additionally, more frequent marijuana use was associated with more runs of NSVT/day (GMR 1.56, 95% CI 1.13, 2.17). In conclusion, our results suggest that current marijuana use may be associated with a greater burden of arrhythmias"

Neat Tech Stuff / "How To's":

Love these LED flowers. My neighbors keep asking where I got them:

The pictured QR code if fake for security purposes:

Health Focus (Exercise):