Category Archives: Anti-Aging Medicine

Think your family history of coronary disease predisposes you to a heart attack? Think again. Comprehensive lifestyle changes can dramatically alter how your genes affect you.

"People tend to be fatalistic, but that's just an excuse to continue a bad habit," said Dr. Philip Cusumano, a board-certified internist with Beaufort Memorial Lady's Island Internal Medicine. "Seventy percent of the patients who come into our office have health issues that are preventable."

As part of a new "Life, Lived Better" community series being hosted by Beaufort Memorial Hospital, Cusumano will present "New Findings in the Anti-Aging Debate" at 4:30 p.m. March 7 at Magnolia Hall in Sun City Hilton Head.

The seminar will explore major causes of aging and practical changes you can make to improve your health, wellness and longevity.

"We're sedentary, we overeat, we don't sleep enough and we're stressed," said Cusumano, formerly with the Cleveland Clinic. "It's a recipe for disaster."

Based on the best-selling book, "YOU -- Staying Young" by Drs. Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz, Cusumano will cover six of the 14 biological processes that control your rate of aging.

"I'm going to talk about the most salient findings in the book and relay them to people in a way they can understand," Cusumano said. "I hope it will encourage them to read the book and change their lifestyles."

In most cases, the ill effects of bad habits can be reversed. Smokers, for instance, can decrease their risk of heart attack and stroke 24 hours after they quit. The risk for lung cancer returns to that of a nonsmoker 10 years after smoking cessation.

Men with early-stage prostate cancer can decrease the expression of prostate cancer-promoting genes with improved nutrition, stress management, walking and social support, according to a study by the National Academy of Science.

By controlling their blood pressure, lowering their cholesterol and giving up cigarettes, men and women who carry the gene for premature coronary artery disease can greatly reduce their risk of developing cardio-vascular problems.

"Heart attacks and strokes cause 700,000 deaths a year in the United States," Cusumano said. "That's more than 200 times the number of people that died in 9/11. The terrorist threat is nothing compared to what Americans inflict upon themselves."

One of the most effective ways to delay the aging process is to reduce your caloric intake by 15 percent. Scientists say it both cuts the risks for some diseases and slows metabolism and tissue aging.

"You can add 15 to 20 years to your life by making two behavioral changes -- reducing your stress and dramatically changing your diet," Cusumano said. "If people took care of themselves like they were supposed to, I'd be looking for another job."

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Beaufort Memorial Hospital community seminar to focus on anti-aging debate

by: Dr. Daniel Zagst

By 2012, most people understand the importance of including omega-3 fatty acids to their diets. Commonly found in fish oil, omega-3 fatty acids have countless benefits to a person's health and complexion. From teens to the elderly, everyone can benefit from the wonders of omega-3 fatty acids, but what about pregnant moms and newborns? Recent research indicates that moms and fetuses need fish oils just as much as the rest of the population.

Good news for the mother, better news for the baby

Pregnant women have been advised to consume omega-3 fatty acids in order to ensure proper development of the fetal neurological system. Even after birth, fish oil supplementation can improve the early development of a newborn's brain, visual system, and motor function in women who breastfeed. These fish oils, most notably the fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is part of a group of omega-3s known as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). The human brain is full of PUFAs that modulate inflammation and provide integrity to the neuronal network. By supplying a developing brain with plenty of PUFAs, a mother can support their child's proper development. Along with benefits to the child, a pregnant mother that consumes fish oils can prevent pre-term labor, reduce the risk of pre-ecclampsia, and may even help in the prevention of post-pardum depression (PPD). Read more...

AyurGold for Healthy Blood

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by: David Gutierrez

Black raspberries contain natural compounds that may significantly reduce the risk of colorectal cancer, according to a study conducted by researchers from Ohio State University and published in the journal Cancer Prevention.

Researchers genetically engineered mice to develop either intestinal tumors or a type of colon inflammation, colitis, known to increase the risk of colorectal cancer. They then fed all the mice a high-risk diet low in calcium and vitamin D and high in saturated fat for 12 weeks. Some of the mice were fed 10 percent of their daily calories from freeze-dried black raspberry powder.

Among the mice engineered to get colitis, black raspberry powder significantly reduced inflammation and cut both the number of new and total tumors by 50 percent. Among mice engineered to get intestinal tumors, black raspberry powder reduced the number of new tumors by 45 percent and the number of total tumors by 60 percent. The effect appeared to be produced, in part, by the suppression of a protein that binds to the artificially modified gene. Read more...

AyurGold for Healthy Blood

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Feb. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Life Extension®, a pioneer in supporting and reporting the latest anti-aging research and integrative health therapies has announced it will sponsor The Suzanne Show, on Lifetime Television featuring Suzanne Somers.  The show is scheduled to premiere in May, on Wednesday mornings at 7 a.m. in eastern- and pacific-time zones for 13 weeks.  All programs will be re-aired during weekend editions of Lifetime Real Women.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120223/FL58611-a )
(Logo:   http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120223/FL58611LOGO-b )

According to Rey Searles, Life Extension's marketing director, the show will include Suzanne Selects Health Tips and educational segments, as well as discuss top critical health issues, wellness and life-span extension, and educate viewers about science-based clinical research.

"Life Extension is excited to sponsor the premiering season of The Suzanne Show," said William Faloon, co-founder of the Life Extension Foundation. "We seek to educate consumers on how they can achieve healthier, happier and longer lives. So it is inevitable that we have partnered with Suzanne on this incredible adventure that is sure to positively impact people's lives."

The Life Extension Foundation provides its members vital health information that is overlooked by practicing physicians. Life Extension's 32-year track record shows they have been decades ahead of conventional medicine in identifying validated methods to prevent and treat age-related disorders.

The core mission of Life Extension is to extend the healthy human lifespan using an integrative approach and funding cutting edge scientific research. For more Life Extension information visit http://www.LEF.org, http://www.Twitter.com/LifeExtension, http://www.Facebook.com/LifeExtension and http://www.YouTube.com/LifeExtensionVideos.

Contact:
Sheldon Baker, Director of Public Relations
Life Extension
954.202.7739
Cell 559.287.7191
SBaker@LifeExtension.com

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Life Extension Foundation Sponsors New Show Featuring Suzanne Somers on Lifetime Television

SECAUCUS, N.J. and MIAMI, Feb. 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Panasonic Healthcare Group and CardioNexus Corporation announced today that they will outfit AAG Health & Wellness practices with the Panasonic CardioHealth Station. A leading Age Management and Hormone Replacement Therapy Center in the United States, AAG Health & Wellness will utilize the Panasonic CardioHealth Station, one of the latest ultrasound medical technologies, in their locations across the nation to support early heart disease detection and enhance their age management medicine programs.

The Panasonic CardioHealth Station is designed to assist medical professionals in making a quick and valuable assessment of cardiovascular health and has been cleared by the FDA for use in the automated acquisition of carotid artery intima-media thickness to help ascertain cardiovascular risk. The Panasonic CardioHealth Station continues to gain the attention of preventive medical professionals, like AAG Health, who recognize that the best ways to reduce long-term healthcare costs is to apply cutting-edge technology to detect signs of disease at an early stage. 

"AAG Health is proud to announce the acquisition of Panasonic's newest offering which provides our patients with the latest in diagnostic testing. AAG Health's Age Management, Healthy Aging and Hormone Treatment programs will incorporate the Panasonic CardioHealth Station as part of our comprehensive and executive level medical health assessments," said Mark White, CEO of AAG Health & Wellness.  "CardioNexus Corporation, the sales arm for Panasonic's CardioHealth Station, has installed this revolutionary device here at AAG Health and has provided comprehensive staff training to ensure the success of our new cardiovascular risk assessment and treatment program which includes complete diagnostic health testing, hormone optimization, anti-aging vitamin supplementation, nutritional counseling and exercise protocols. The Panasonic CardioHealth Station cardiovascular risk assessments will greatly assist our age management medicine physicians with diagnoses and formulating preventative measures to ensure healthy aging for our patients."

"The recent Million Hearts national initiative from the Center for Disease Control has helped shed light on two of the leading causes of death in the United States, heart disease and stroke.  February is American Heart Month, so even greater awareness will surround this initiative and the treatment and prevention of heart disease," said Steven Lynum, Director-Clinical Products, Panasonic Healthcare Group. "The efforts of medical professionals, like those at AAG Health & Wellness, will help to contribute in the campaign's initiative to prevent one million heart attacks and strokes over the next five years and Panasonic is proud to play a part in this national effort with our CardioHealth Station."

About Panasonic Healthcare Group
Based in Secaucus, NJ Panasonic Healthcare Group is a business group of Panasonic Corporation of North America.  Bringing together Panasonic's expertise in a wide range of health and medical device technologies the business unit develops products for the healthcare industry relating to hearing care and diagnostic machines.  For more information visit http://www.panasonic.com/cardiohealthstation or http://www.panasonic.com/business/medicalvideo/hearing-aids/index.asp

About Panasonic Corporation of North America
Based in Secaucus, NJ, Panasonic Corporation of North America provides a broad line of digital and other electronics products for consumer, business and industrial use. The company is the principal North American subsidiary of Osaka, Japan-based Panasonic Corporation (NYSE: PC - News), and the hub of Panasonic's U.S. branding, marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. Panasonic recently announced that it will relocate its North American headquarters to Newark, NJ in 2013 as part of is plans to reduce the size of its carbon emissions footprint. Information about Panasonic and its products is available at http://www.panasonic.com and its Full HD 3D site at http://www.panasonic.com/3D. Additional company information for journalists is also available at http://www.panasonic.com/pressroom.

About the CardioNexus Corporation
Founded on January 2009 in Houston Texas, CardioNexus Corporation is an authorized distributor of Panasonic Healthcare Group. CardioNexus focuses on early detection of cardiovascular disease using an innovative multi-modality approach. Panasonic Corporation of North America became a shareholder of CardioNexus Corporation in October 2010. For more information, visit the company's website at http://www.cardionexus.com.

About AAG Health & Wellness – The Leaders in Hormone Replacement
AAG Health & Wellness is the leading provider of age management medical services, stem cell and hormone replacement therapy for men and women in the United States. AAG Health has a network of over 25 medical health centers throughout the United States. For more information, visit http://www.aaghealth.com

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Panasonic Announces Relationship With AAG Health & Wellness Featuring the CardioHealth® Station

Things are looking up for aging mice and, if this research pays off, for aging humans, too.

Researchers have found that a long-suspected anti-aging protein called sirtuin can make male mice live about 16 percent longer than average, the first such advance for mammals in a field that has thus far only offered the blessings of extended life span to yeast, nematodes and fruit flies.

The findings, by scientists at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, appear today (Feb. 22) online in the journal Nature.

Although the Israeli scientists cannot explain why female mice didn't also live longer like the males, an accompanying commentary describes the findings as bringing the field of anti-aging research to a new level of maturity.

Long road to SIRT6

Sirtuin was hot news in 1999 when researchers found that a certain sirtuin called Sir2 could extend life span in yeast by 30 percent. That was about five lifetimes ago for your typical mouse, though. Studies that followed on worms and flies have had mixed results, and some researchers have started to question whether sirtuins could control life span in more complicated life forms.

Mammals, including humans, have seven types of sirtuins, called SIRT1 to SIRT7. Scientists aren't sure what these proteins do, although there is some evidence suggesting that they might help prevent chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. For example, resveratrol, the nutrient found in grape skins (and red wine), has been shown to have a positive effect on heart health, and it may work by activating the SIRT1 gene to make more SIRT1 protein.

The Israeli researchers, led by Yariv Kanfi, focused on SIRT6. The team's previous work revealed that mice genetically bred to have lots of SIRT6 could get fat on rich diets yet show no signs of heart disease, fatty liver disease and other diseases associated with obesity. Previous research by other groups showed that mice genetically bred to have little SIRT6 don't live very long. And, conversely, rats living longer on a calorie-restricted diet have increased levels of SIRT6 in their blood.

So, this time the Israeli team simply decided to let the SIRT6 mice live a natural life. These male mice lived longer, about 16 percent longer on average, than regular mice kept in the same conditions. The female mice with the SIRT6 gene enhancement didn't live longer than regular mice. The researchers speculate that, considering how male mice have a higher rate of cancers compared with the females, the SIRT6 could be acting as a tumor suppressor and thus have a larger effect on male life span than female life span.

Got some time?

It could be that SIRT6 is to mice (and humans) as Sir2 is to yeast, a regulator of life span. Given the title of the Nature study, "The sirtuin SIRT6 regulates lifespan in male mice," that's what the researchers are hoping. [Scientific Tips for a Longer Life]

David Lombard and Richard Miller of the University of Michigan School of Medicine, in an accompanying News and Views article, remain positive yet generally skeptical. They note that measuring life spans in longer-lived and more complex animals can be tricky, because, for example, life spans can vary by many months for genetically similar mice in similar environments with similar feed. The current study used 245 mice, but ultimately may need thousands of mice to produce more reliable statistics.

Meanwhile, questions abound for sirtuin researchers: How is SIRT6 affecting life span at the cellular level? Why are the effects more pronounced in males than females? And how can one activate the SIRT6 gene to make more SIRT6 without the unpleasantness of a caloric-restriction diet?

This could take years to unravel. But better to be a human than a mouse.

Christopher Wanjek is the author of the books "Bad Medicine" and "Food At Work." His column, Bad Medicine, appears regularly on LiveScience.

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Anti-Aging Protein Extends Life Span in Mice, and Maybe Humans