The Longevity Project » Abstracts

Pomegranate juice: a heart-healthy fruit juice ?

TLP — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:55:17 +0000

Pomegranate juice is a polyphenol-rich fruit juice with high antioxidant capacity. In limited studies in human and murine models, pomegranate juice has been shown to exert significant antiatherogenic, antioxidant, antihypertensive, and anti-inflammatory effects. Pomegranate juice significantly reduced atherosclerotic lesion areas in immune-deficient mice and intima media thickness in cardiac patients on medications. It also decreased lipid peroxidation in patients with type 2 diabetes, and systolic blood pressure and serum angiotensin converting enzyme activity in hypertensive patients. Thus, the potential cardioprotective benefits of pomegranate juice deserve further clinical investigation, and evidence to date suggests it may be prudent to include this fruit juice in a heart-healthy diet.

Basu A, Penugonda K.
Department of Nutritional Sciences, 301 Human Environmental Sciences, Oklahoma State University

Consumption of fried foods and risk of coronary heart disease

TLP — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:18:20 +0000

Spanish cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study

Objective
To assess the association between consumption of fried foods and risk of coronary heart disease.

Design
Prospective cohort study.

Setting
Spanish cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition.

Participants
40?757 adults aged 29-69 and free of coronary heart disease at baseline (1992-6), followed up until 2004.

Main outcome measures
Coronary heart disease events and vital status identified by record linkage with hospital discharge registers, population based registers of myocardial infarction, and mortality registers.

Results
During a median follow-up of 11 years, 606 coronary heart disease events and 1135 deaths from all causes occurred. Compared with being in the first (lowest) quarter of fried food consumption, the multivariate hazard ratio of coronary heart disease in the second quarter was 1.15 (95% confidence interval 0.91 to 1.45), in the third quarter was 1.07 (0.83 to 1.38), and in the fourth quarter was 1.08 (0.82 to 1.43; P for trend 0.74). The results did not vary between those who used olive oil for frying and those who used sunflower oil. Likewise, no association was observed between fried food consumption and all cause mortality: multivariate hazard ratio for the highest versus the lowest quarter of fried food consumption was 0.93 (95% confidence interval 0.77 to 1.14; P for trend 0.98).

Conclusion
In Spain, a Mediterranean country where olive or sunflower oil is used for frying, the consumption of fried foods was not associated with coronary heart disease or with all cause mortality.

Full article here (British Medical Journal)

Predictors of the Longevity Difference: A 25-Year Follow-Up

TLP — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:01:48 +0000

Twenty-two variables were found to be significant predictors of longevity among 252 panelists in a 25-year longitudinal study of aging. The strongest independent predictors for men were health self-rating, work satisfaction, and performance intelligence; for women they were health satisfaction, past enjoyment of intercourse, and physical function rating. These predictors could constitute a combined difference in longevity of 16 years for men and 23 years for women.

Erdman B. Palmore, PhD, Professor of Medical Sociology and Senior Fellow

Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, Box 3003, Duke Medical Center Durham, NC 27710

Alcohol Has a Dose-Related Effect on Parasympathetic Nerve Activity During Sleep

TLP — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 08:24:17 +0000

Background:? The aim of this study was to identify the acute effects of ethanol on the relationship between sleep and heart rate variability (HRV) during sleep. Methods:? Ten healthy male university students were enrolled in this study. An alcoholic beverage was given to each subject at a dosage of 0 (control), 0.5 (low dose: LD), or 1.0?g (high dose: HD) of pure ethanol/kg of body weight. All experiments were performed at 3-week intervals. On the day of the experiment, a Holter electrocardiogram was attached to the subject for a 24-hour period, and the subject was instructed to drink the above-described dosage of alcoholic beverage 100?minutes before going to bed; polysomnography was then performed for 8?hours. Power spectral analysis of the HRV was performed using the maximum entropy method, and the low- (LF: 0.04 to 0.15?Hz) and high-frequency (HF: 0.15 to 0.4 Hz) components along with LF/HF ratio were calculated. Results:? As alcohol consumption increased, the heart rate increased and the spectral power of HRV measured at each frequency range decreased. Higher doses of ethanol also increased the LF/HF ratio compared with the measured ratio of the control group. Conclusions:? Acute ethanol intake inhibits parasympathetic nerve activity and results in predominance of sympathetic nerve activity during sleep, in a dosage-dependent manner. The results of this study suggest that ethanol interferes with the restorative functions of sleep.

Sagawa Y, Kondo H, Matsubuchi N, Takemura T, Kanayama H, Kaneko Y, Kanbayashi T, Hishikawa Y, Shimizu T.

From the Department of Neuropsychiatry (YS, NM, TT, HK, YK, TK, TS), Akita University, School of Medicine, Akita, Japan; Saiseikai Nagasaki Hospital (HK), Nagasaki, Japan; and Akita Kaiseikai Hospital (YH), Akita, Japan.

Neuronal Shc: A gene of longevity in the brain ?

TLP — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 08:33:45 +0000

Aging is inevitable to all multi-cellular organisms, and each organism has its own lifespan. The species-specific lifespan seems determined genetically; however little is known about how the lifespan determined. During the last decades accumulative evidence indicates that there is certainly a set of genes that are involved in the lifespan determination. Among those dozens of genes, the Shc gene encoding a phosphotyrosine signal adaptor is of potential interests in mammalian aging and/or longevity determination. Shc is merely one form of a gene family, and accumulative evidence demonstrates the presence of additional Shc homologues that are strongly expressed in the nervous system. We hypothesize that lifespan is regulated primarily by the nervous system and/or brain, and neurally expressed Shc homologues play pivotal roles in relation to the evolution of longevity with quality of life. We discuss herein the recent progress of our understanding of the neuronally expressed Shc genes in comparision with p66-Shc as a candidate for the evolution of long life with higher quality of life in mammals.

Mori N, Mori M.

Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Nagasaki University School of Medicine, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan.

Successful aging and longevity in older old women: the role of depression and cognition

TLP — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 10:27:11 +0000

Based in successful aging theory and terminal cognitive drop research, this paper investigates cerebrovascular burden (CVB), depressive symptoms, and cognitive decline as threats to longevity. A subsample of stroke-free women over the age of 80 was identified in the Health and Retirement Survey (years 2000-2008). Mortality at 2, 6, and 8 year intervals was predicted using CVB (diabetes, heart disease, hypertension), depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale), and cognitive decline (decline of 1 standard deviation or more on the 35-point Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status over 2 years). At most waves (2002, 2004, and 2006) mortality was predicted by CVB, depressive symptoms, and cognitive drop measured 2 years prior. CVB and depressive symptoms at the 2000 wave predicted mortality at 6 and 8 years. Older women with the greatest longevity had low CVB, robust cognitive functioning, and few depression symptoms, supporting successful aging theory and terminal cognitive drop.

J Aging Res. 2011;2011:912680. Epub 2011 Jul 9.

Paulson D, Bowen ME, Lichtenberg PA.

Department of Psychology and Institute of Gerontology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202-3801, USA.

Free PMC Article

Effect of 1 Week of Sleep Restriction on Testosterone Levels in Young Healthy Men

TLP — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 11:06:10 +0000

Chronic sleep curtailment is endemic in modern societies. The majority of the daily testosterone release in men occurs during sleep.
1 Sleep fragmentation and obstructive sleep apnea are associated with reduced testosterone levels.
2 In older men, morning testosterone levels are partly predicted by total sleep time.
3 Testosterone is critical in male sexual behavior and reproduction, but also has important beneficial effects on muscle mass and strength, adiposity, bone density, and vigor and well-being.
4 We investigated the effect of 1 week of sleep restriction on testosterone levels in young healthy men.

Leproult R, Van Cauter E.
JAMA. 2011 Jun 1;305(21):2173-4.

http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/305/21/2173

Curcumin decreases amyloid-beta peptide levels by attenuating the maturation of amyloid-beta precursor protein

TLP — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 15:34:16 +0000

Alzheimer disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease with no cure. The pathogenesis of AD is believed to be driven primarily by amyloid-beta (Abeta), the principal component of senile plaques. Abeta is an approximately 4-kDa peptide generated via cleavage of the amyloid-beta precursor protein (APP). Curcumin is a compound in the widely used culinary spice, turmeric, which possesses potent and broad biological activities, including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities, chemopreventative effects, and effects on protein trafficking. Recent in vivo studies indicate that curcumin is able to reduce Abeta-related pathology in transgenic AD mouse models via unknown molecular mechanisms. Here, we investigated the effects of curcumin on Abeta levels and APP processing in various cell lines and mouse primary cortical neurons. We show for the first time that curcumin potently lowers Abeta levels by attenuating the maturation of APP in the secretory pathway. These data provide a mechanism of action for the ability of curcumin to attenuate amyloid-beta pathology.

J Biol Chem. 2010 Sep 10;285(37):28472-80. Epub 2010 Jul 9.

Zhang C, Browne A, Child D, Tanzi RE.

Genetics and Aging Research Unit, MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129-2060, USA.

Effects of height loss on morbidity and mortality in 3145 community-dwelling Chinese older women and men: a 5-year prospective study.

CL — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 21:05:38 +0000

Age Ageing. 2010 Nov;39(6):699-704. Epub 2010 Sep 4.

Auyeung TW, Lee JS, Leung J, Kwok T, Leung PC, Woo J.

Department of Medicine and Geriatrics, Tuen Mun Hospital, Tuen Mun, New Territories, Hong Kong. auyeungtw@cuhk.edu.hk

Abstract
BACKGROUND: height loss beginning in mid-life and post-menopausal period was associated with adverse health outcomes. However, height loss occurring after old age has been little studied. We examined how height loss was related to bone mineral density (BMD) change, fracture incidence and cause-specific mortality in older adults.

METHODS: the stature and BMD of 3145 community-dwelling men and women aged =65 were measured at baseline and after 4 years. All fracture and cause-specific mortality events were searched in a territory-wide clinical information database and death registry.

RESULTS: twenty-five (1.6%) men and 64 (4.0%) women lost >2 cm after 4 years. In women, the BMD decline was faster in the rapid height losers (adjusted difference = 4.18%, P < 0.001). There was no corresponding difference observed in men. Rapid height loss was associated with excess all fractures and hip fractures (adjusted HR for all fractures = 2.86, P < 0.001; adjusted HR for hip fractures = 4.74, P < 0.01) in women but only hip fractures (adjusted HR = 4.93, P < 0.05) in men. The all-cause (adjusted HR = 3.43, P < 0.01) and respiratory disease mortality (adjusted HR = 5.64, P < 0.05) were higher in men with rapid height loss, whereas those in women were insignificant.

CONCLUSIONS: modest height loss occurring after old age, >2 cm in 4 years, was associated with excess hip fracture, total and respiratory disease mortality in older men. In women, it was associated with excess BMD decline, all fractures and hip fractures but not mortality. Further research is needed to determine the usefulness of regular stature measurement as an indicator of bone health in the primary-care setting in older adults.

PMID: 20817934 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]PMCID: PMC2956531 [Available on 2011/11/1]

Cacao seeds are a “Super Fruit”: A comparative analysis of various fruit powders and products.

CL — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 11:07:12 +0000

Chem Cent J. 2011 Feb 7;5:5.

Crozier SJ, Preston AG, Hurst JW, Payne MJ, Mann J, Hainly L, Miller DL.

The Hershey Center for Health & Nutrition, 1025 Reese Avenue, Hershey, PA, 17033, USA. scrozier@hersheys.com.

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND: Numerous popular media sources have developed lists of “Super Foods” and, more recently, “Super Fruits”. Such distinctions often are based on the antioxidant capacity and content of naturally occurring compounds such as polyphenols within those whole fruits or juices of the fruit which may be linked to potential health benefits. Cocoa powder and chocolate are made from an extract of the seeds of the fruit of the Theobroma cacao tree. In this study, we compared cocoa powder and cocoa products to powders and juices derived from fruits commonly considered “Super Fruits”.

RESULTS: Various fruit powders and retail fruit products were obtained and analyzed for antioxidant capacity (ORAC (µM TE/g)), total polyphenol content (TP (mg/g)), and total flavanol content (TF (mg/g)). Among the various powders that were tested, cocoa powder was the most concentrated source of ORAC and TF. Similarly, dark chocolate was a significantly more concentrated source of ORAC and TF than the fruit juices.

CONCLUSIONS: Cocoa powder and dark chocolate had equivalent or significantly greater ORAC, TP, and TF values compared to the other fruit powders and juices tested, respectively. Cacao seeds thus provide nutritive value beyond that derived from their macronutrient composition and appear to meet the popular media’s definition of a “Super Fruit”.

PMID: 21299842 [PubMed - in process]PMCID: PMC3038885Free PMC Article