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Recent Longevity News for the week ending 12/7/22

Few Americans aware of cancer risks posed by alcohol: study - Hill, 12/2/22 - "All types of alcoholic beverages, including wine, increase cancer risk ... Studies have shown a link between alcohol intake and cancers of the mouth, throat, voicebox, esophagus, liver, colon and rectum, and breast ... The risks are especially elevated for breast cancer."

Why falling asleep with the lights on is bad for your health - Washington Post, 12/1/22 - "Light is a key regulator of our brain’s biological clock, known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus. “Light is powerful in that it can synchronize rhythms and, at the wrong time, it can desynchronize rhythms,” said Phyllis Zee, neurologist and director of the Center for Circadian and Sleep Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine ... Participants who slept with the lights on reported that they slept fine, but brain recordings showed that they spent less time in slow wave and rapid eye movement sleep, which are more restful stages critical for cognitive functioning ... The effects on their metabolism and heart were even more striking. Blood samples indicated that a single night sleeping under room light increased participants’ insulin resistance, which is important for blood sugar control, the following morning. But most surprising to the researchers was how the light exposure affected heart rate. “It was high the entire night,” Zee said. “That’s what was bizarre.”

Shorter Intervals Between Meals Linked to Higher Mortality - Medscape, 12/1/22 - "eating one meal per day — compared with three — is associated with higher mortality, both cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related as well as all-cause mortality ... And when researchers looked at the intervals between meals, they found mixed results. Eating at intervals of 4.5 hours or less or more than 5.5 hours – compared with 4.6-5.5 hours -- was significantly associated with all-cause mortality but nonsignificantly associated with CVD mortality (Table 2)"

Review Gives Weight to Supplements for Hair Loss - Medscape, 12/1/22 - "The review begins with a look at studies of saw palmetto (Serenoa repens), a botanical compound thought to inhibit the enzyme 5-alpha reductase (5AR), which converts testosterone to dihydroxytestosterone (DHT). DHT is a mediator of androgenic alopecia (AGA). The studies suggest that the compound might stabilize hair loss, "although its effect is likely less than that of finasteride," write the authors. They also note that side effects associated with finasteride, such as sexual dysfunction, were also observed with saw palmetto "but to a lesser extent" ... For AGA, pumpkin seed oil may also be effective and a "potential alternative" to finasteride for AGA, and Forti5, a nutritional supplement that includes botanical 5AR inhibitors and other ingredients, had favorable effects in one study, the authors write. But neither has been compared to finasteride, and the Forti5 study lacked a control group ... The review also examines the micronutrients vitamin D, zinc, B vitamins, and antioxidants. Low levels of vitamin D have been associated with alopecia areata (AA), AGA, and telogen effluvium (TE) in some studies, and zinc deficiencies have been associated with TE, hair breakage, and thinning, according to the review. A single-arm vitamin D study showed improved results at 6 months for women with TE, but there was no control group and TE is self-resolving, the authors add. Studies in patients with normal zinc levels at baseline who had AA or hair loss showed significant hair regrowth and increased hair thickness and density, but the trials were a mishmash of controls and no controls and relied on self-perceived hair loss data." - See hair loss supplements at Amazon.com.

Abstracts from this week:

Cordycepin Inhibits the Growth of Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Regulating the Pathway of Aerobic Glycolysis - Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2022 Nov 23 - "Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in China, with a high incidence and mortality rate. Glucose metabolism reprogramming is a major characteristic of tumor cells. Increasing evidence indicates that aerobic glycolysis is associated with tumor growth and insensitivity to chemotherapy. Cordycepin inhibits the growth of HCC cells, but the mechanism is yet to be elucidated ... Taken together, these findings revealed that cordycepin reduces the tumor energy supply and decreases lactic acid production, thereby inhibiting the growth of HCC cells by regulating the metabolic pathway of aerobic glycolysis. These findings might provide novel insights into the mechanisms underlying cordycepin-mediated inhibition of tumor growth as well as a new treatment for HCC" - See cordyceps at Amazon.com.

Curcumin Regulates Gut Microbiota and Exerts a Neuroprotective Effect in the MPTP Model of Parkinson's Disease - Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2022 Nov 24 - "Curcumin regulates gut microbiota and exerts a neuroprotective effect in the MPTP mice model. This preliminary study demonstrates the therapeutic potential of curcumin for Parkinson's disease, providing clues for microbially targeted therapies for Parkinson's disease" - See curcumin at Amazon.com.

Resveratrol Mediated Regulation of Hippocampal Neuroregenerative Plasticity via SIRT1 Pathway in Synergy with Wnt Signaling: Neurotherapeutic Implications to Mitigate Memory Loss in Alzheimer's Disease - J Alzheimers Dis 2022 Nov 28 - "Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a major form of dementia. Abnormal amyloidogenic event-mediated degeneration of cholinergic neurons in the cognitive centers of the brain has been attributed to neuropathological sequelae and behavioral deficits in AD. Besides, impaired adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus has experimentally been realized as an underlying cause of dementia regardless of neurodegeneration. Therefore, nourishing the neurogenic process in the hippocampus has been considered an effective therapeutic strategy to mitigate memory loss ... Resveratrol (RSV) is a potent Sirtuin1 (SIRT1) enhancer that facilitates neuroprotection and promotes neurogenesis in the hippocampus of the adult brain. While SIRT1 is an important positive regulator of Wnt signaling, ample reports indicate that RSV treatment strongly mediates the fate determination of stem cells through Wnt signaling. However, the possible therapeutic roles of RSV-mediated SIRT1 enhancement on the regulation of hippocampal neurogenesis and reversal of memory loss through the Wnt signaling pathway have not been addressed yet. Taken together, this review describes RSV-mediated effects on the regulation of hippocampal neurogenesis via the activation of SIRT1 in synergy with the Wnt signaling. Further, the article emphasizes a hypothesis that RSV treatment can provoke the activation of quiescent neural stem cells and prime their neurogenic capacity in the hippocampus via Wnt signaling in AD" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.

Low-Dose Lithium Supplementation Influences GSK3β Activity in a Brain Region Specific Manner in C57BL6 Male Mice - J Alzheimers Dis 2022 Dec 1 - "Lithium, a commonly used treatment for bipolar disorder, has been shown to have neuroprotective effects for other conditions including Alzheimer's disease via the inhibition of the enzyme glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3). However, dose-dependent adverse effects of lithium are well-documented, highlighting the need to determine if low doses of lithium can reliably reduce GSK3 activity ... Results demonstrated reduced GSK3 activity in the prefrontal cortex as early as 6 weeks of lithium supplementation, in the absence of inhibitory phosphorylation changes. Further, lithium supplementation in an obese model reduced prefrontal cortex GSK3 activity as well as improved insulin sensitivity ... Collectively, these data provide evidence for low-dose lithium supplementation to inhibit GSK3 activity in the brain. Moreover, these results indicate that GSK3 activity can be inhibited despite any changes in phosphorylation. These findings contribute to an overall greater understanding of low-dose lithium's ability to influence GSK3 activity in the brain and its potential as an Alzheimer's disease prophylactic" - See lithium supplements at Amazon.com.

Pomegranate natural extract Pomanox® positively modulates skin health-related parameters in normal and UV-induced photoaging conditions in Hs68 human fibroblast cells - Int J Food Sci Nutr 2022 Dec 1 - "Skin photoaging is primarily caused by ultraviolet radiation and can lead to the degradation of skin extracellular matrix components, resulting in hyperpigmentation and skin elasticity loss. In this area, polyphenols have become of great interest because of their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiaging properties. Here, we evaluated the effects of the pomegranate natural extract Pomanox® on skin health-related parameters in normal and UV-induced photoaging conditions in human fibroblast Hs68 cells. Moreover, the inhibitory effects of Pomanox® on tyrosinase activity were assessed. In normal conditions, Pomanox® significantly modulated collagen and hyaluronic acid metabolisms. In UV-exposed cells, both preventive and regenerative treatments with Pomanox® positively modulated hyaluronic acid metabolism and decreased ROS levels. However, only the preventive treatment modulated collagen metabolism. Finally, Pomanox® showed a marked inhibitory capacity of tyrosinase activity (IC50 = 394.7 μg/mL). The modulation of skin health-related parameters exhibited by Pomanox® open a wide range of potential applications of this product" - See pomegranate extract at Amazon.com.

Cranberry Juice Polyphenols Inhibited the Formation of Advanced Glycation End Products in Collagens, Inhibited Advanced Glycation End Product-Induced Collagen Crosslinking, and Cleaved the Formed Crosslinks - J Agric Food Chem 2022 Dec 1 - "Collagens in the human skin are susceptible to glycation due to their long half-life of about 15 years, accumulating advanced glycation end products (AGEs). The formation of AGEs and the subsequent AGE-induced collagen crosslinking are major factors for skin aging. The objective of this study was to determine the capacity of cranberry juice polyphenols (CJPs) and their fractions to inhibit collagen glycation and to break AGE-induced crosslinks in collagens ... All the fractions significantly inhibited collagen glycation assessed with the collagen-methylglyoxal (MGO) or collagen-dehydroascorbic acid (DHAA) assays ... Results suggested that procyanidins were the most effective antiglycation agent in both collagen glycation assays, followed by flavonols and anthocyanins. High-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization─tandem mass spectrometry showed that the reactions of DHAA with quercetin or epicatechin formed several adducts with unreported proposed structures. This study suggested that CJPs may be used as active ingredients in cosmetics to prevent skin collagen glycation and crosslinking and to break the formed crosslinks" - See cranberry extract at Amazon.com.

Association of Dietary Antioxidant Vitamin Intake and Gastric Cancer Risk According to Smoking Status and Histological Subtypes of Gastric Cancer: A Case-Control Study in Korea - Nutr Cancer 2022 Dec 1 - "This study aimed to determine the association between dietary antioxidant vitamin intake and GC risk according to smoking status and the histological subtype ... Dietary information was collected using a quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). When stratified by smoking status, increased intake of vitamin C (OR = 0.38; 95% CI = 0.17-0.84 for highest vs. lowest; P for trend = 0.033) and folate (OR = 0.28; 95% CI = 0.12-0.64 for highest vs. lowest; P for trend = 0.003) decreased GC risk in nonsmokers. Vitamin C (P for interaction = 0.043) and folate (P for interaction =0.015) levels were significantly associated with smoking status. Similar results were observed in nonsmokers with diffuse and mixed types of GC, but not in those with intestinal type of GC. Therefore, we found an inverse association between higher intake of dietary vitamin C and folate with the risk of GC among nonsmokers. These protective associations were strong in nonsmokers with diffuse and mixed types of GC" - See vitamin C products at Amazon.com.

Evaluation of the Safety and Effectiveness of Nutritional Supplements for Treating Hair Loss - JAMA Dermatol 2022 Nov 30 - "Studies of nutritional interventions with the highest-quality evidence showed the potential benefit of Viviscal, Nourkrin, Nutrafol, Lamdapil, Pantogar, capsaicin and isoflavone, omegas 3 and 6 with antioxidants, apple nutraceutical, total glucosides of paeony and compound glycyrrhizin tablets, zinc, tocotrienol, and pumpkin seed oil. Kimchi and cheonggukjang, vitamin D3, and Forti5 had low-quality evidence for disease course improvement. Adverse effects were rare and mild for all the therapies evaluated" - See hair loss supplements at Amazon.com.

Quercetin as a cancer chemopreventive or chemotherapeutic agent: Where we stand - Phytother Res 2022 Nov 28 - "Quercetin has a wide range of potential health benefits, working as a direct or indirect agent or an adjuvant following different principles. It may be used as a generally useful or exclusive supplement, but also specifically used to treat an acute or chronic condition. Quercetin may work as a cancer chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agent, because this versatile substance, which owns antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, may also kill cancer cells and also holds senolytic properties. While both the specific chemo-preventive or chemotherapeutic uses as a drug need clinical trials, it may be used without any contraindication as a general chemo-preventive supplement" - See quercetin at Amazon.com.

Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors for Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Nationwide Propensity-Score Matched Cohort Study - Diabetes Res Clin Pract 2022 Nov 25 - "fatty liver index (FLI) ... SGLT2i showed a significant reduction in FLI and its components. We suggest that SGLT2i may have beneficial effects in reducing the prevalence of NAFLD in type 2 diabetes" - See empagliflozin inhousepharmacy.vu.

Effects of green tea catechins and exercise training on body composition parameters - Int J Food Sci Nutr 2022 Nov 29 - "The impact of phytochemicals, as green tea catechins, on body composition measures has become a relevant topic as ongoing epidemiological evidence suggests their potential role in weight loss. Although catechins have been shown to modulate fat and energy metabolism, clinical effects of green tea consumption still remain controversial. Given the role played by physical exercise in weight management, it is important to determine whether the association of catechins and exercise is able to improve outcomes over and above the beneficial effects of exercise alone. Considering that scientific findings on this topic are not entirely consistent, aim of the present review was to assess the current scientific literature regarding the interplay between green tea catechins and exercise in overweight and obese populations. In particular, it was evaluated whether the addition of green tea supplementation to exercise training was able to further improve the exercise-induced changes in body composition parameters." - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.

The Association between Dietary Magnesium Intake and Telomere Length in Adults with Hypertension - J Nutr Health Aging 2022 - "Dietary micronutrients are significantly associated with telomere length, as shown in multiple studies. However, no study has investigated the association between magnesium intake and telomere length in adults with hypertension ... This study suggests that increased magnesium intake is associated with a longer telomere length in hypertensive adults, especially in those ≥45 years of age. However, further research is needed to determine a causal relationship" - See magnesium supplements at Amazon.com.

De-Training Effects Following Leucine-Enriched Whey Protein Supplementation and Resistance Training in Older Adults with Sarcopenia: A Randomized Controlled Trial with 24 Weeks of Follow-Up - J Nutr Health Aging 2022;26(11):994-1002 - "The study included older adults aged ≥ 65 years who were screened for sarcopenia at the Care Center from, a community in Hyogo, Japan. The participants were randomly allocated to one of three groups: whey protein supplementation after resistance training (RT + PRO; n = 27), resistance training only (RT; n = 27), and whey protein supplementation only (PRO; n = 27) ... We demonstrated that combined intervention of RT and PRO showed long-term maintenance in treating sarcopenia than RT only at 24 weeks after de-training. Therefore, PRO intake after RT may be useful in the treatment of sarcopenia in older adults" - See leucine products at Amazon.com and whey protein at Amazon.com.

Neuroprotective effects of hawthorn leaf flavonoids in Aβ25-35 -induced Alzheimer's disease model - Phytother Res 2022 Nov 29 - "Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by β-amyloid (Aβ) plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, neuronal cell loss, and oxidative stress. Further deposition of Aβ in the brain induces oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and memory dysfunction. Hawthorn (Crataegus pinnatifida Bge.) leaf, a known traditional Chinese medicine, is commonly used for the treatment of hyperlipidemia, heart palpitations, forgetfulness, and tinnitus, and its main bioactive components are Hawthorn Leaf Flavonoids (HLF) ... the oral administration of HLF at a dose of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg for 30 days significantly ameliorated neuronal cell damage and memory deficits, and markedly increased the enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase, and the content of glutathione whereas it decreased the malondialdehyde content in the Aβ25-35 rat model of AD as well as suppressed the activation of astrocytes. In addition, HLF up-regulated Nrf-2, NQO-1, and HO-1 protein expressions. Also, it reduced neuroinflammation by inhibiting activation of astrocytes. In summary, these results indicated that HLF decreased the oxidative stress via activating Nrf-2/antioxidant response element signaling pathways, and may suggest as a potential candidate for AD therapeutic agent" - See hawthorn betty extract at Amazon.com.

Effect of add-on sacubitril/valsartan on the left ventricular hypertrophy of a patient with hypertension - J Int Med Res 2022 Nov - "We treated a man in his late 40s who had undergone a percutaneous coronary intervention and had hypertension that was refractory to multiple anti-hypertensive medications. We initiated sacubitril/valsartan 200 mg/day as an add-on therapy, and 3 months later, his blood pressure had decreased from 154/78 mmHg to 134/70 mmHg, in the absence of any drug-related adverse events. Furthermore, his left ventricular mass index had improved from 135 g/m2 to 112 g/m2. Thus, sacubitril/valsartan might ameliorate hypertrophy in patients with hypertension"

Health Focus (Inflammation):