Soy isoflavones may cut risk of prostate cancer by 58 per cent

Soy isoflavones may halve prostate cancer risk NutraIngredients.com 7/25/07 "...increased intake of the soy isoflavones genistein and daidzein and their aglycones was significantly associated with a decreased risk of prostate cancer. The highest average isoflavone intake (89.9 mg/d) was associated with a 58 per cent reduction in risk compared with the lowest average isoflavone intake (less than 30.5 mg/d)...earlier study linking isoflavones to potential protection from prostate cancer stated that the benefits could be due to the weak oestrogenic activity of soy isoflavones, which may act to reduce testosterone levels and inhibit 5 alpha-reductase - an enzyme involved in the metabolism of testosterone..."

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Aubrey de Grey talk at Ted - 2005

5/2005

A classic lecture by Aubrey... in case you missed it.

Childhood sun exposure may lower risk of multiple sclerosis

Childhood Sun Exposure May Lower Risk Of Multiple Sclerosis ScienceDaily 7/23/07 "...The study found the twin with MS spent less time in the sun as a child than the twin who did not have MS. Depending on the activity, the twin who spent more hours outdoors had a 25 to 57 percent reduced risk of developing MS. For example, the risk of developing MS was 49 percent lower for twins who spent more time sun tanning than their siblings..."Sun exposure appears to have a protective effect against MS," said study authors Talat Islam, MBBS, PhD, and Thomas Mack, MD, MPH..."Exposure to ultra violet rays may induce protection against MS by alternative mechanisms, either directly by altering the cellular immune response or indirectly by producing immunoactive vitamin D."..."

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New research on insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome

Metabolic Syndrome: Don't Blame The Belly Fat ScienceDaily 7/19/07 "... insulin resistance in skeletal muscle leads to alterations in energy storage that set the stage for the metabolic syndrome...insulin resistance in skeletal muscle -- caused by decreased ability of muscle to make glycogen, the stored form of carbohydrate from food energy -- can promote an elevated pattern of lipids or fats in the bloodstream that underpins the metabolic syndrome..."Our hypothesis was that the metabolic syndrome is really a problem with how we store energy from food," Shulman explained. "The idea is that insulin resistance in muscle changes the pattern of energy storage."...Another key observation was that skeletal muscle insulin resistance precedes the development of insulin resistance in liver cells, and that fat production in the liver is increased. "These findings also have important implications for understanding the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, one of the most prevalent liver diseases in both adults and children" Shulman said... The good news, according to Shulman, is that insulin resistance in skeletal muscle can be countered through a simple intervention: exercise. "

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Taking a break during a workout helps rev up fat metabolism

Taking a Break During a Workout May Help Fizzle Fat WebMD 7/20/07 "...Here's the fat-burning fitness plan they tested: Exercise for 30 minutes, take a 20 minute break, and finish with another 30 minutes of exercise...That revs up fat metabolism even more than a solid hour of exercise, note the researchers, who included Kazushige Goto, PhD, of the life sciences department at Japan's University of Tokyo..."

Just a small study and preliminary at best, but a surprise result... at least to me. I wonder what made them study taking a break? What was the theory going into this? Not in the article alas. Anyway, something to watch in the future. If it proves true, can you imagine all the jogger's you'll see sitting on park benches? Might make exercising a more thoughtful event as well... sorta like what the constitutional was.

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Hydrogels for repaing and regenerating tissue

Novel Hydrogels Invented For Repairing, Regenerating Human Tissue ScienceDaily 7/20/07 "...scientists have invented a novel biomaterial with surprising antibacterial properties that can be injected as a low-viscosity gel into a wound where it rigidifies nearly on contact--opening the door to the possibility of delivering a targeted payload of cells and antibiotics to repair the damaged tissue...Regenerating healthy tissue in a cancer-ridden liver, healing a biopsy site and providing wounded soldiers in battle with pain-killing, infection-fighting medical treatment are among the myriad uses the scientists foresee for the new technology...Hydrogels are formed from networks of super-absorbent, chain-like polymers. Although they are not soluble in water, they soak up large amounts of it, and their porous structure allows nutrients and cell wastes to pass right through them...Schneider and Pochan and their research teams have been focusing on developing peptide-based hydrogels that, once implanted in the human body, will become scaffolds for cells to hold onto and grow--cells such as fibroblasts, which form connective tissue, and osteoblasts, which form bone."

Much more on this facinating material at ScienceDaily.

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Lower levels of insulin in the brain linked to longevity

Healthy weight link to longevity BBC News 6/20/07 "Keeping a healthy weight may help people live longer by limiting brain exposure to insulin...A study in mice found that reducing insulin signals inside brain cells increased lifespan...Previous research in fruit flies and roundworms has suggested that reducing the activity of the hormone insulin, which regulates blood sugar levels, can increase lifespan...The latest study looked at the effects of a protein, IRS2, which carries the insulin signal in the brain...Mice who had half the amount of the protein lived 18% longer than normal mice...Despite being overweight and having high levels of insulin, the mice were more active as they aged, and their glucose metabolism resembled that of younger mice...the engineered mice were living longer because the diseases that kill them, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, were being postponed due to reduced insulin signalling in the brain, even though circulating levels of insulin were high...it may be possible to design drugs to reduce IRS2 activity to reproduce the same effect, although they would have to be specific to the brain...Study leader Dr Morris White, an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, said the simplest way to encourage longevity was to limit insulin levels by exercising and eating a healthy diet...Diet, exercise and lower weight keep your peripheral tissues sensitive to insulin. .."That reduces the amount and duration of insulin secretion needed to keep your glucose under control when you eat..."Therefore, the brain is exposed to less insulin."...His team is now planning to look at possible links between IRS2 signalling and dementia, which research has shown is associated with obesity and high insulin levels..."

In case you think IRS2 has something to do with revenue... it actually stands for Insulin Receptor Substrate 2. What I find interesting about this research is the divide made between insulin exposure in the brain and the rest of the body. Now, why is this happening in mice? And to what extent is it happening to us, if at all?

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Flavanoids in orange Juice prove surprisingly powerful

Orange juice flavanoids fight disease? NutraIngredients.com 7/19/07 "Orange juice is a healthy drink due to the presence of flavonoids, which help fight diseases such as diabetes and heart disease...Paresh Dandona, the study's senior author, concluded that the study's findings are more important than fears over the sugar content of juice, especially in the US...We were intrigued by the fact that there was no increase in ROS or inflammation following orange juice consumption, even though its glucose concentration was the same as in participants in the glucose group," said Dandona.Further tests suggested that one of the flavonoids in orange juice, naringenin, inhibited ROS by massive 77 per cent..."

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Calcium, Vitamin D lower diabetes risk

Calcium, vitamin D may lower diabetes risk Reuters/Yahoo!News 7/16/07 "Calcium and vitamin D, whether from food or supplements, may help lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes...people with the highest intakes of vitamin D and calcium had an 18 percent lower risk of diabetes than those with the lowest intakes...Similarly, people who ate the most dairy food had a 14 percent lower diabetes risk than those who ate the least dairy...authors, led by Dr. Anastassios G. Pittas...Both nutrients may be important in the functioning of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, and in the body's proper use of insulin..."

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Curcumin fights Alzheimer's

Curry ingredient may fight Alzheimer's Reuters/Yahoo!News 7/16/07 "...An ingredient in curry may help stimulate immune system cells that gobble up the brain-clogging proteins that mark Alzheimer's disease...isolated bisdemethoxycurcumin and determined it was the most active ingredient in curcumin...Using blood samples from Alzheimer's patients, they found that bisdemethoxycurcumin boosted immune cells called macrophages to clear a protein called amyloid beta, which clogs the brains of Alzheimer's patients and kills brain cells...it is not clear if people can eat enough curcumin to get this level of activity, but said bisdemethoxycurcumin was active at a level that could easily be achieved by infusion...studies have suggested that people who eat a lot of curry may be less prone to cancer and Alzheimer's, but whether curry is responsible is unclear...Our results may provide an entirely different direction to therapeutic opportunities in Alzheimer's disease through the repair of the functional and transcriptional deficits of Alzheimer's disease macrophages by curcuminoids,"..."

India has one of the lowest rates of Alzheimer's of any country (4.4 times less than U.S.). It has been known for years that curcumin played a large role in this. They aren't getting infusions... they're just eating turmeric often. So you guess where the research is heading.

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Personality type and health

Shy guys 'could face heart risk' 7/11/07 BBC News "Being the life and soul of the party may cut your chances of a fatal heart or stroke, research suggests. ...A 30-year study by Chicago Northwestern University suggested shy or antisocial men were 50% more likely to die this way, compared with outgoing men...The Annals of Epidemiology study supports other work suggesting a link between personality and health...The shyest group of men were 50% more likely to have died from heart attack or stroke than the group of most sociable men...Decades of research suggest there is only one personality type which is not linked to an increase risk of serious disease...Easy going people - so-called type "B" personalities - appear to be the healthiest...Type "A" personalities - driven workaholics prone to stress and anger, are more likely to suffer high blood pressure and heart disease, while Type "C" people, who suppress their feelings, have been connected to an increased risk of cancer...Other research projects have connected Type "D" people, pessimists with low self-confidence, with heart attack or stroke... "

That's it, I'm going to be an extrovert that doesn't give a damn about anything. Flip aside, moderating unhealthy personality traits is possible. The question is how much can you moderate and what kind of health benefits might you gain? And would you gain similar health benefits if you had a super healthy lifestyle - ate healthy, exercised almost every day etc. - but didn't change your personality?

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More moles might mean slower ageing

Moles 'good indicator to ageing' BBC News 7/11/07 "The number of moles may offer an indication of how quickly the body ages...the more moles a person had, the more likely their DNA was to have the properties to fight off ageing...Moles appear in childhood and disappear from middle age onwards...Since moles disappear with age, scientists looked at the relationship between the number of moles and telomere length in cells, which is a good indicator of the rate of ageing in organs such as the heart, muscle, bones and arteries...In the study, researchers found those with more than 100 moles had longer telomeres than those with fewer than 25...The difference between the two mole groups was equivalent to six to seven years of ageing...Lead researcher Dr Veronique Bataille said: "The results of this study are very exciting as they show, for the first time, that moley people who have a slightly increased risk of melanoma may, on the other hand, have the benefit of a reduced rate of ageing..."This could imply susceptibility to fewer age-related diseases such as heart disease or osteoporosis, for example. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings."... "

More at The Independent.

If this research holds up I might actually come to appreciate my moles. What a fascinating study.

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Glycemic index linked with risk of AMD

Link Between Carbohydrate Quality And Vision Loss ScienceDaily 7/13/07 "Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and its associated vision loss may be connected to the quality of carbohydrates an individual consumes...confirmed earlier findings linking dietary glycemic index with the risk of developing AMD..."Our findings suggest that 20 percent of the cases of advanced AMD might have been prevented if those individuals had consumed a diet with a glycemic index below the average for their age and gender,"..."Our results support our hypothesis," says Taylor, "that dietary glycemic index, which has been related to the risk of diabetes, is also associated with the risk and severity of AMD." Taylor speculates that carbohydrates that comprise a high-glycemic-index diet may provide eye tissue"It is possible that the type of damage produced by poor quality carbohydrates on eye tissue is similar in both diabetic eye disease and AMD." ..."

No doubt as the eyes go, so do a variety of organs. Glycemic index and glycemic load appears to get more and more important. More info on both here.

Little doubt that this also holds true for our pets.

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New book, The Biology of Human Longevity: Inflammation, Nutrition, and Aging in the Evolution of Lifespans

A New Book Examines Why and How We Age USNews & World Report 7/6/07 "In the last 200 years, one year of extra lifespan has been added for about every four years of historical time. Life expectancy has doubled since the industrial revolution, from about 40 years to near 80 years. The same factors that increased lifespan in modern times were also responsible for increasing human lifespans in evolution. Life expectancy doubled from 20 years in our great ape ancestors, to 40 years, which was the general human life expectancy before the modern era...What is inflammation, and how does it impact health? ...Inflammation comes from two major sources. The first is chronic infections, which have been reduced for most of us by advances in medical treatment. And of course, some infections we can't avoid. The second source of inflammation is the environment—what we breathe and what we eat. Obesity, for example, is a pro-inflammatory state. Fat tissues secrete inflammatory molecules called cytokines, which contribute to chronic inflammation and conditions like heart disease and diabetes. Environmental pollutants such as cigarette smoking and air pollution are linked to vascular and lung diseases. The point is that the environment governs the progress of a number of the diseases of aging, such as atherosclerosis, cancer, and Alzheimer's. What can people do to stay healthy and live longer? ...Exercise and maintaining a healthy weight—both of which have anti-inflammatory effects—are remarkably preventive for all the diseases of aging. This cuts across all the systems. What's good for your heart is good for your brain and is good for preventing cancer. The separate diseases of adult life are much more related to each other and to overall health than we previously recognized."

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EPA offers slight advantage over DHA against colorectal cancer

Different omega-3 may offer different colorectal protection NutraIngredients.com 7/11/07 "Increased intake of omega-3 fatty acids from marine source, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), may offer differing levels of protection against colorectal cancer...Increased intake of EPA was associated with a 41 per cent reduction in risk, while DHA was associated with a 37 per cent reduction in risk, comparing highest against lowest average intakes...It has previously been proposed that omega-3 fatty acids may inhibit the omega-6 arachidonic acid (AA) cascade that has been linked to cancer formation and cell proliferation.Metabolism of fatty acids produces compounds called prostaglandins, which can be either pro- or anti-inflammatory. The prostaglandins derived from omega-3 fatty acids are said to be anti-inflammatory and may protect against the development of cancer, while prostaglandins derived from omega-6 fatty acids, like AA, are proposed to be pro-inflammatory..."

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Vitamin D Fights Colon Cancer

But Colon Cancer Protection Limited to the Lean and Active WebMD 7/10/07 "People with higher blood levels of vitamin D are less likely to get colon cancer...Harvard School of Public Health researcher Kana Wu, MD, PhD, and colleagues looked at data from a large, ongoing study of male health professionals who provided blood samples for analysis. The researchers compared vitamin D levels in the blood of 179 study participants who developed colon or rectal cancer with those of 356 matched participants who did not get cancer...Wu and colleagues find that the colon cancer-fighting benefit of vitamin D may be limited to people who are not overweight and who exercise regularly. That's because overweight, sedentary individuals tend to suffer insulin resistance, which may increase risk of colon cancer..."We found that the [colon cancer-protective effect of vitamin D] was much stronger for both lean and physically active men and women but much weaker in overweight and inactive individuals,"..."

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Organic fruit and vegetables may be better for you than conventionally grown crops

Organic food 'better' for heart BBC 7/5/07 "A ten-year study comparing organic tomatoes with standard produce found almost double the level of flavonoids - a type of antioxidant.
Flavonoids have been shown to reduce high blood pressure, lowering the risk of heart disease and stroke...Dr Alyson Mitchell, a food chemist at the University of California, and colleagues measured the amount of two flavonoids - quercetin and kaempferol - in dried tomato samples that had been collected as part of a long-term study on agricultural methods...on average they were 79% and 97% higher respectively in the organic tomatoes than in the conventionally grown fruit...New Scientist magazine reported that the different levels of flavonoids in tomatoes are probably due to the absence of fertilisers in organic farming. Flavonoids are produced as a defence mechanism that can be triggered by nutrient deficiency, such as a lack of nitrogen in the soil. The inorganic nitrogen in conventional fertiliser is easily available to plants and so, the researchers suggests, the lower levels of flavonoids are probably caused by over-fertilisation."

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Western diet ups breast cancer risk for Asians

Western diet risk to Asian women BBC News 7/10/07 "Asian women who eat a Western-style diet high in meat, white bread, milk and puddings may be at higher risk of breast cancer...A study of 1,500 Chinese women showed those who ate a "meat-sweet" diet were twice as likely to develop the disease as those on a vegetable-based diet...Those with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of over 25 were found to be most at risk..."

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Longevity and cytochrome b

Exceptional longevity in songbirds is associated with high rates of evolution of cytochrome b, suggesting selection for reduced generation of free radicals The Journal of Experimental Biology 6/11/07 "...contrary to expectation, in several mammalian taxa, exceptional longevity is associated with high basal metabolic rate, and also fast evolution of mtDNA-coded proteins. The association of these traits was suggested to result from adaptive selection of mutations in mtDNA-coded proteins, which accelerates basal respiration, thus inhibiting the generation of reactive oxygen species that constrain longevity. In birds, all the genera with high rate of cytochrome b evolution are songbirds (oscines)...In Serinus, a genus of finches (canaries) that exhibits the highest rate of cytochrome b evolution, and the highest values of exceptional longevity and lifetime expenditure of energy in all birds, many of the substitutions in cytochrome b are clustered around Qi, a ubiquinone binding site adjacent to the mitochondrial matrix, apparently selected to increase the rate of ubiquinone reduction. We therefore suggest that, in songbirds, the accelerated evolution of cytochrome b involved selection of mutations that reduce the generation of reactive oxygen species, thus contributing to the evolution of exceptional longevity, and possibly also exceptional long-term memory, which is necessary for learning songs..."

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Prunes and blueberries might have less antioxidant effect than thought

Not all fruit antioxidants behave alike, USDA NutraIngredients.com 6/13/07 "Not all fruit antioxidants behave the same according to a recent study conducted by USDA researchers, information that reinforces the need for further research into how antioxidants perform in supplements...study, led by Ronald Prior...As part of the US Department of Agriculture's study, nutritionists from the Agricultural Research Service assessed antioxidant capacity (AOC) measured as Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC)...They were given blueberries, grapes, kiwifruit, strawberry, cherry and dried plums...the high antioxidant content of plums, the fruit did not in fact raise the AOC plasma levels in participants. This was attributed to the fact plums contain chlorogenic acid, a phytochemicals not easily absorbed by humans...results for blueberries, which are lauded for their high antioxidant content, were somewhat more surprising. The nutritionists needed significantly large servings - a half-cup serving of the berries - in the study in order to elevate AOC levels...Consumption of grapes and kiwi in the study boosted plasma AOC levels, but the authors said they were not certain which compounds were responsible for this..."

This is a bit surprising. Prunes take a hit. I'll wait for further research before I lessen my intake. And one of the kings of antioxidants the blueberry also takes a knock. Obviously we need much more nuanced research into how antioxidants affect us. For instance there's little study of the many changes to cellular signalling of certain antioxidants - like curcumin.

For reference the same researcher did a similar study on cocoa. Cocoa in the right form is probably better for you than blueberries and can be cheaper. I noticed this week that Hershey's have finally put the number of mg's of flavanols in each serving of some of their higher end chocolates. I hope Dove follows suite. After what Norman Hollenberg of Harvard said of chocolates key antioxidant - that it should be considered as important as penicillin - I'm expecting an all out cocoa war on store shelves for the next few years.

For an alternative theory of how flavanols work look at this research out of OSU - very compelling in parts. Interesting article and well worth visiting.


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Herbs can reduce cancer causing compounds in cooked meat

Brush On The Marinade, Hold Off The Cancerous Compounds ScienceDaily 6/27/07 "“Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) in foods have been in the spotlight for many years,” Smith said. “They are carcinogenic and mutagenic compounds that are found at parts per billion levels in cooked fish and meats.”...Previous research has shown that grilled beef is a major source of dietary HCAs when cooked at temperatures from 375 degrees F (190.5 degrees C) and above...Cooking meats with natural antioxidants decreases or eliminates HCAs on meat,” ...such as basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory, marjoram, oregano, and thyme. Most of these herbs are rich in three compounds – carnosic acid, carnosol and rosmarinic acid – that are potent antioxidants...after marinating them with a commercial product containing rosemary and thyme, the cooked product’s level of reduced HCAs – an 87 percent decrease ..."

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Echinacea may prevent colds

Echinacea Could Cut Chance Of Catching Cold By More Than Half, Study Suggests ScienceDaily 6/25/07 ""Echinacea may not only help reduce the symptoms of a cold but may help prevent infection with some cold viruses...People who took echinacea had a 58 percent lower risk of catching a cold, according to the researchers, who did not study the herb's effects directly but looked at the results of 14 studies in an approach called a meta-analysis...Dr. Craig Coleman of the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy, who led the research, cautioned that the studies only involved 1,600 people. They also involved various echinacea products, so it was still difficult to know for sure if and how echinacea might work to prevent colds..."Someone needs to do a really large, well-done, randomized trial. That is unlikely to occur because there is a lack of funding," Coleman said...drug companies cannot patent such a widely used herbal product, he noted...In 2005, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found echinacea was of no benefit in stopping colds. Coleman said it only looked at part of the picture...it also appeared as if echinacea reduced the duration of a cold by 1.4 days on average...Patients with autoimmune diseases such as lupus and multiple sclerosis should be particularly careful, he said. In addition, echinacea affects a liver enzyme that breaks down some drugs, so using it with prescription medications could cause drug interactions."

The echinacea debate continues.

Personally I think I've had better luck with things like Cold FX (polyfuranosyl-pyranosyl-saccharides of ginseng) and lately with ImmunExtra (Phenylpropanoid Polysaccharide Complex found in certain pine cones)- both of which I have no ties to. But of course how do you really know these work? That's the rub. Did I get less colds because of them... or for some other reason? Anyway the research behind immunomodulatory effects of polysaccharides seems to grow. It is likely that the polysaccharides in echinacea are some of the key compounds that are helping fight off colds. Likewise for astralagus, yogurt, mushrooms (shiitake, maitake, etc), oats, larch arabinogalactan ,etc -interesting pattern right? A better discussion and topic of research then might be what types of polysaccharides at what doses are optimal for long term human health.

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Vitamin D may increase physical performance for seniors

More vitamin D can put more pep in seniors' steps Reuters/Yahoo!News 6/26/07 "Declining physical performance among some Dutch seniors may not be a simple consequence of aging, it may actually be due to a vitamin D deficiency...study co-author Dr. Paul Lips, of VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam, and his colleagues write...vitamin D status is not uncommon among seniors, which may be explained by their decreased exposure to sunshine, reduced dietary consumption of vitamin D, and reduced capacity to naturally synthesize the vitamin. This deficiency is known to result in bone loss and fractures, among other bone and muscle-related problems...nearly half (47 percent) of the seniors had low vitamin D levels at the start of the study, and their deficiency was associated with poorer physical performance than their peers. Over the 3-year study, these vitamin D-deficient adults were also twice as likely as their peers to exhibit a decline in physical performance, such as taking longer to rise from a sitting position..."

More on the many benefits of vitamin D at the Mayo Clinic. I like their grading system - but they might want to upgrade the "C" rating for vitamin D on cancer. I'd bet the researchers studying how vitamin D can help prevent and fight a variety of cancers would expect at least a "B" grade for D. Their rating on muscle strength and physical performance will, if this study holds up, have to be qualified.

Few sites are as comprehensive as Mayo (thanks to their cooperation with Natural Standard) and one can't fault them too much if a few of their grades are a bit out of date in the ever changing world of health science. Although if by next year some grades haven't changed... I'll fault.

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Prenatal omega-3 boosts baby's brainpower

Prenatal omega-3 may boost baby's brainpower Reuters/Yahoo!News 6/22/07 "Children whose mothers get enough omega-3 fatty acid during pregnancy may have sharper problem-solving skills in infancy...Researchers found that 9-month-olds whose mothers had eaten DHA-fortified bars during pregnancy performed better on a test of problem-solving abilities than infants whose mothers had not added DHA to their diets...experts recommend that pregnant women get 300 milligrams (mg) of DHA each day...U.S. women meet this goal...It's not entirely clear what the better problem-solving performance at 9 months of age will mean later in life. However, other studies have found that DHA supplements during pregnancy seem to offer a "developmental advantage" later in childhood as well, Dr. Carol J. Lammi-Keefe, a co-author on the current study...One study found that giving women fish oil during pregnancy and during the first few months of breastfeeding seemed to boost their children's IQ scores at age 4..."DHA during pregnancy has benefits for infant neural development, and most pregnant women can benefit from increasing the intake of DHA in their diets,"..."

Best to get your DHA from either algae based capsules, or fish oil. Both will be safer - no heavy metals issue associated with actual fish.

But again, if it's brain boosting you want for your child, omega-3's offer only a small boost compared to what choline appears to offer.

Also 300mg of DHA is probably too low. Research from Norway has shown greater benefits with higher amounts of DHA. As with choline, I'm sure you'll see the recommended prenatal dose grow year after year. In the Norwegian study they used 1200mg a day. It's the over cautious school of medicine that is at work here. If you want to wait another decade or two before everything is conclusive, stay at the low doses of these. If you want greater health and intellectual benefit for your child - the research is fairly clear - go with a higher dose.

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Provigil Relieves "Chemobrain"

Provigil Boosts Memory, Concentration in Women Receiving Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer WebMD 6/5/07 "...“After just four weeks of treatment, we saw improvements in their ability to recall,” says researcher Sadhna Kohli, PhD...“Those who continued taking the drug for eight weeks saw improvements in attention,” ...Provigil seems to boost brainpower without causing the jittery, restless feelings induced by amphetamines, Kohli explains. It stimulates the brain only when it is required, with effects dissipating in about 12 hours. As a result, sleep-deprived college students, athletes, soldiers, or others who want to gain an edge in a competitive environment sometimes seek out the drug, calling it a “genius pill.”..."

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Omega 3 fatty acids and prostate cancer

Omega-3 Fatty Acids May Help Slow Prostate Cancer Growth ScienceDaily 6/21/07 ""This study clearly shows that diet can tip the balance toward a good or a bad outcome," said senior researcher Yong Q. Chen, Ph.D...Mice with the tumor suppressor gene remained free of tumors and had 100 percent survival, regardless of diet. In mice with the gene defect, survival was 60 percent in animals on the high omega-3 diet, 10 percent in those on the low omega-3 diet and 0 percent in those on the high omega-6 diet..."This suggests that if you have good genes, it may not matter too much what you eat," said Chen, a professor of cancer biology. "But if you have a gene that makes you susceptible to prostate cancer, your diet can tip the balance. Our data demonstrate the importance of gene-diet interactions, and that genetic cancer risk can be modified favorable by omega-3 PUFA."..."

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Gene-expression biomarkers as tool to measure anti aging drugs effectiveness

Gene-expression biomarkers: A tool for developing longevity-enhancing drugs? Ouroboros 6/19/07 "The discovery (and approval) of anti-aging pharmaceuticals is hindered by at least one major practical impediment: Measurement of the simplest biological endpoint of interest — length of lifespan — takes a long time. This is true even if one focuses first on shorter-lived model organisms: a normal healthy mouse can live for several years in a laboratory environment, and if this mouse is taking an effective longevity drug then (by assumption) one will take longer than that to observe the increase in lifespan...Consequently, much attention has been paid to the idea of aging biomarkers, i.e., phenotypes that can be measured throughout the lifespan and that reflect the percent of lifespan that has elapsed...Gene expression measurements are excellent biomarkers: they are both quantitative (”I am expressing three times as much of gene A at age 2 than I was at age 1″), and also robust — because one can measure all of the genes in the genome simultaneously, using microarrays or similar approaches, small perturbations in the levels of single transcripts don’t obscure the overall picture...One major advantage of using gene expression biomarkers to monitor the effect of candidate longevity drugs is that one doesn’t have to wait a human lifetime (or even a mouse lifetime) in order to observe clues that a drug have anti-aging activity"

The anti-diabetic drug metformin is mentioned as hitting some of the genetic biomarkers as CR. More at Ouroboros. Which brings up a question that Ouroboros raised a short while back - might CR and CR drug mimics cause depression? Does metformin cause depression? It doesn't appear to. In the list of adverse effects, depression is not one. Oddly, raised levels of homocysteine for long term users and also decreased B-12 absorption (the two are related) are listed as side effects. If metformin does increases lifespan for us, it does it in the face of some popular but crude aging biomarkers like homcysteine levels.

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Low-carb diet bad for gut health?

Low-carb diet bad for gut health? NutraIngredients.com 6/19/07 "Eating a low-carbohydrate diet, like the once fashionable Atkins diet, may adversely affect the numbers of certain types of bacteria in the gut of obese men...may also adversely affect the gut bacterial populations that beneficially produce a substance called butyrate, which has been shown to be important for keeping the gut healthy including helping to prevent colorectal cancer..."The changes in faecal butyrate in the present study represent the largest reported in a human dietary trial and provide the strongest evidence to date that butyrate production is largely determined by the content of fermentable carbohydrate in the diet," wrote lead author Sylvia Duncan..."Furthermore, this study has provided clear evidence that the proportions of certain groups of colonic bacteria, as monitored in faecal samples, respond to dietary carbohydrate intake," ...Levels of so-called beneficial bacteria, particularly the bifidobacteria were also detrimentally affected by decreasing carb levels..."

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Isradipine slows and might stop Parkinson's disease

Drug Slows And May Halt Parkinson's Disease ScienceDaily 6/12/07 "...The drug rejuvenates aging dopamine cells...D. James Surmeier, the Nathan Smith Davis Professor and chair of physiology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, and his team of researchers have found that isradipine, a drug widely used for hypertension and stroke, restores stressed-out dopamine neurons to their vigorous younger selves. The study is described in a feature article in the international journal Nature, which will be published on-line June 10...Isradipine may also significantly benefit people who already have Parkinson's disease. In animal models of the disease, Surmeier's team found the drug protected dopamine neurons from toxins that would normally kill them by restoring the neurons to a younger state in which they are less vulnerable...When he gave the mice isradipine, it blocked the calcium from entering the dopamine neuron. At first, the dopamine neurons became silent. But within a few hours, they had reverted to their childhood ways, once again using sodium to get their work done. ..."This lowers the cells' stress level and makes them much more resistant to any other insult that's going to come along down the road. They start acting like they're youngsters again," Surmeier said... "

Steve - caught this tonight. You might know about it already - seems promising. Maybe Isradipine would help with your dad.

Infants and Antibiotics: Asthma Risk?

Link Between Antibiotic Use by Infants and Development of Asthma WebMD 6/11/07 "Infants who receive antibiotics in their first year of life are more likely to develop asthma by age 7, and multiple courses of the drugs boost the risk more..."In children receiving five or more courses of antibiotics in the first year, the risk of asthma was 1.5 times more likely than in children getting no antibiotics [during their first year]," study researcher Anita Kozyrskyj, PhD..."The link between antibiotics and asthma was seen in children born to mothers without asthma, who are considered at low risk," ...the study shows having a dog in the household while the child is a baby confers a protective effect...Dogs bring in different germs," she says. And that could strengthen a child's immunity...cats didn't offer the same effect, she says, and may actually boost risk, although the evidence for that in the study was weak...speculates that because antibiotics can kill off the microflora (natural bacteria) in your intestinal tract, "it may change your immune system, making you more vulnerable to developing asthma."...asthma is a complex disease. "It's also genetic. We've identified one factor." But many factors underlie the condition...if your child does need an antibiotic, you can ask your child's doctor if it is possible to use a narrow-spectrum antibiotic rather than a broad-spectrum (effective against a wider range of bacteria) cephalosporin (a class of antibiotics). In her study, she also found that broad-spectrum cephalosporin antibiotics (such as Ceftin and Cefzil) boosted the risk of getting asthma more than other antibiotics..."

The evidence for hygeine hypothesis of the immune system grows. One of the criticisms of this hypothesis has been that it cannot explain the raising rates of asthma in inner city kids. Maybe now it can, in part.

ScienceDaily on this same topic back in 2003. BBC on this in 2006.


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