Category Archives: Longevity Medicine

Spurring regeneration by use of signalling molecules is a promising field of medical development. Here is an example from the Technology Review: "scientists have identified a pair of peptides that can stimulate new cell growth and improve heart function in rodents induced to have heart attacks. [Researchers are] now testing one of the peptides, periostin, in pigs induced to have heart attacks. Because these animals have hearts similar in size to humans, they provide a good model for testing new therapies prior to human clinical trials. Preliminary results show that injecting the peptide into the pericardium, the lining around the heart, seems to help. ... [This] approach is, to some degree, in competition with stem-cell therapy, which is already being tested in humans. Scientists are working on different ways of harvesting and delivering stem cells to patients with heart disease, and clinical trials have so far yielded mixed results. Transplanted cells appear to have difficulty surviving and integrating into their new environment. In fact, some scientists suggests that benefit of cell transplants comes from the cells ability to stimulate innate growth. Triggering this process with peptides [may] be a simpler method of treatment of certain conditions such as cardiomyopathy [an enlarged heart] where the problem is lack of viable, contractile heart muscle cells."

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.technologyreview.com/printer_friendly_article.aspx?id=25139

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Researchers Say Diet Influences Alzheimer’s Risk

Columbia researchers say you can cut your risk for Alzheimer's disease through proper nutrition.

One fact that I’ve hammered over my readers’ heads over the years is the prevalence of heart disease.  It remains the number one cause of death for Americans, but believe it or not, between the years 2000 and 2006, there’s been an 11 percent drop in heart disease related deaths.  Other conditions where there’s been a decline in deaths include stroke (18 percent fewer), prostate cancer (8 percent fewer) and HIV (16 percent fewer).

That’s good news, but as is typical when good news is reported, here comes the bad news: There’s been a dramatic rise in Alzheimer’s related deaths.  In fact, comparing 2006 to 2000, there’s been a near 50 percent rise in Alzheimer’s related deaths, making it the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S.  Approximately 26 million people have Alzheimer’s in the world, 5.3 million of whom live stateside.

While advances are being made every day in doctors’ knowledge about this mysterious brain disease, there’s no cure for it.  Medicines are available to slow its progression, but nothing can stop its advancement.  In short, once you have it, you can’t get rid of it.

Thus, prevention remains your best defense.  And it’s becoming clearer and clearer that it all starts with your diet.  Researchers from Columbia University confirm this.

Researchers discovered this recently after analyzing the dieting habits of approximately 2,150 adults over the age of 65 for four years.  Through food frequency questionnaires and annual checkups (i.e., every 18 months), they wanted to see if there was any correlation between what people were eating and whether or not they were eventually diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

According to their results, people who tended to eat a diet similar to the Mediterranean diet – one that’s rich in vegetable oils like olive oil, fresh fruits and vegetables like berries and broccoli, as well as nuts like almonds and walnuts—were 40 percent less likely to have developed Alzheimer’s disease.  Other brain boosting foods include seafood sources high in omega-3s like snapper and salmon.

The people more likely to have developed Alzheimer’s were those who ate diets high in saturated fat from food sources like butter, organ meat and red meat.

The full findings appear in the pages of the Archives of Neurology.

Yet more evidence that our diet plays a HUGE role in how healthy our mind will be.  No, a healthy diet doesn’t guarantee you’ll be from Alzheimer’s disease, but if you’ve had relatives with Alzheimer’s, you’d be foolish not to take every precaution available.  Not much is known about Alzheimer’s but what is known is that’s its hereditary.

Sources:
alz.org
newsmaxhealth.com

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Another Reason to Opt for Wheat Over White

Italian researchers find that women who eat white bread have two times the risk of heart disease than women who eat wheat.

When we were young and our folks asked us what bread we wanted our peanut butter and jelly on—white or wheat—our answer depended upon our mood at the time.  Did we want the white, which had a more bland taste but soaked up the jelly and peanut buttery goodness, or did we want the wheat, which had a more distinctive taste but didn’t marry with the PB and J quite as well as the white did?

Now that we’re older—and with any luck more health conscious than taste conscious—we hopefully choose wheat over white because it has the complex carbohydrates and fiber that white bread is void of, both of which are great for maintaining healthy weight levels and regularity.

But there’s another why white should always play second fiddle to wheat:  It may double your risk for heart disease.

In a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, Italian scientists found that women who tended to eat high glycemic foods like white bread, pastries and ice cream had more than two times the risk of having heart disease later in life compared to women who ate foods low on the glycemic index.

Writing in the journal, Italian scientist Sabina Sieri and her colleagues said, “A high consumption of carbohydrates from high glycemic index foods, rather than the overall quantity of carbohydrates consumed, appears to influence the risk of developing coronary heart disease.”

The study of 32,500+ women also looked into the diets of over 15,100 men to see if their consumption of high glycemic foods affected their heart health.  But interestingly, no such linkage could be made between the kinds of carbohydrates men ate.  Researchers attribute the differentiation to the fact that men and women metabolize foods differently.

So, does this give men the green light to eat white bread and corn flakes whenever they want?  Alternatively, does this mean women should avoid white bread like the plague?

To both, the answer is no.  There’s nothing wrong with an occasional sandwich with white bread, so long as your bread options are more often than not 100 percent whole wheat.

And men, while your choice of bread may not influence your heart disease risk, a 10-year study conducted by Harvard researchers in 1994 found that men who ate high fiber breads like wheat had fewer heart attacks and fewer strokes than men who opted for white.

So when you’re out perusing the bread aisle and deciding what bread’s best, keep the white out of sight and make wheat your new favorite treat.

But buyer beware:  Don’t assume that brown in color means it’s wheat.  Many breads are made with refined flour; they’re just dyed brown with caramel color to make it look like they’re wheat. Read the ingredients label.  If the first listing doesn’t say “100 percent whole wheat,” put the brown down.

Sources:
vegetariantimes.com
msnbc.msn.com

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This release via ScienceDaily summarizes the goals of present day calorie restriction research: “Organisms from yeast to rodents to humans all benefit from cutting calories. In less complex organisms, restricting calories can double or even triple lifespan. It’s not yet clear just how much longer calorie restriction might help humans live, but those who practice the strict diet hope to survive past 100 years old. … calorie restriction influences the same handful of molecular pathways related to aging in all the animals that have been studied. Aware of the profound influence of calorie restriction on animals, some people have cut their calorie intake by 25 percent or more in hopes of lengthening lifespan. [Researcher Luigi Fontana] is less interested in calorie restriction for longer life than in its ability to promote good health throughout life. … Right now, the average lifespan in Western countries is about 80, but there are too many people who are only healthy until about age 50. We want to use the discoveries about calorie restriction and other related genetic or pharmacological interventions to close that 30-year gap between lifespan and ‘healthspan.’ However, by extending healthy lifespan, average lifespan also could increase up to 100 years of age.”

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100415141123.htm

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) seem to be important in aging, their buildup effectively a form of damage that harms cellular processes in a number of ways. Here, researchers suggest that an AGE precursor chemical is also problematic: “Oxidative stress is believed to be a very important factor in causing aging and age-related diseases. Oxidative stress is caused by an imbalance between oxidants such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidants. ROS are produced from the mitochondrial electron transport chain and many oxidative reactions. Methylglyoxal (MG) is a highly reactive dicarbonyl metabolite formed during glucose, protein and fatty acid metabolism. MG levels are elevated in hyperglycemia and other conditions. An excess of MG formation can increase ROS production and cause oxidative stress. MG reacts with proteins, DNA and other biomolecules, and is a major precursor of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). AGEs are also associated with the aging process and age-related diseases such as cardiovascular complications of diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases and connective tissue disorders. AGEs also increase oxidative stress. In this review we discuss the potential role of MG in the aging process through increasing oxidative stress besides causing AGEs formation. Specific and effective scavengers and crosslink breakers of MG and AGEs are being developed and can become potential treatments to slow the aging process and prevent many diseases.”

View the Article Under Discussion: http://pmid.us/20393592

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