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I'm constantly updating my karaoke page.  There is so much you need to know that I'm surprised most people don't give up plus tech supports don't even know the answers.  See my new section on burning your own super CD+G.  You can get 1400 karaoke songs on one DVD DL.  If anyone wanted to make a buck, you could probably write a book with the information on that page.  Someone told me they wrote a book using a lot of the information on my vitamin D page.

Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 2/6/08.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Folate Deficiency Associated With Tripling Of Dementia Risk, Study Shows - Science Daily, 2/5/08 - "Folate deficiency is associated with a tripling in the risk of developing dementia among elderly people" - See iHerb folic acid products.

Astaxanthin may boost muscle endurance and fat loss - Nutra USA, 2/5/08 - "astaxanthin supplementation "accelerated the decrease of body fat accumulation with exercise training" - [Abstract] - Note:  Astaxanthin is just one of over 600 carotenoids.  The problem with taking large doses of just one carotenoid is that it may cause a deficiency of the others.  I had a study on that but the link went dead.  I tried to find it via http://www.archive.org/web/web.php but it was a .asp web page and it appears that it doesn't work with those extensions. (Click here and see the OnHealth.com, 5/2/00 article).  I take Nature's Way, Multi-Carotene Anti-oxidant at iHerb.

Baby Shampoo Awash in Chemicals? - WebMD, 2/4/08 - "the strong association between use of the baby products and higher phthalate levels suggests that the products may be an important source of exposure ... We don't know the long-term health effects of (phthalate) exposure, but if parents are concerned they need to decrease their exposure to these products" - I worry about stuff like that so much that I use vodka instead of deodorant on my arm pits after showering to kill the bacteria.  It might sound weird but it seems to work.  I can get a full day out of a shirt instead of half a day. There was a segment on CNN where they tested one of the anchormen and found a huge about of chemicals in his blood.  They claimed it was probably from the studio makeup.  He even joked that it might be grounds for a lawsuit against CNN. - Ben

HPV-Related Oral Cancers on the Rise in Men - oncologystat.com, 2/2/08 - "The virus usually associated with cervical cancer has been linked to oral cancer in men, and is responsible for as many cases of the disease as tobacco and alcohol" - See my scare with neck cancer.  I've never smoked and believe this might be the reason for my cancer.  I'm going to ask about the vaccine on the next doctor visit.

Testosterone Reduces Visceral Fat Gain in Nonobese Older Men - Medscape, 2/1/08 - "Testosterone therapy lessens the gain in visceral adipose tissue and the loss of skeletal muscle in aging men who are not obese ... Given the strong association of visceral fat with metabolic syndrome -- leading to diabetes -- and cardiovascular disease ... these findings suggest testosterone may be used to modify the age-related increase in visceral adipose tissue, and possibly the associated adverse metabolic changes"

Smoking Can Double Risk Of Colorectal Polyps - Science Daily, 2/1/08 - "Smokers have a two-fold increased risk of developing colorectal polyps"

Blame Sweet Soda for Gout? - WebMD, 1/31/08 - "Compared with men who almost never drank sugar-sweetened soft drinks -- fewer than one per month -- frequent soft-drink drinkers were significantly more likely to suffer gout: ... Two or more soft drinks each day upped gout risk by 85% ... One soft drink each day upped gout risk by 45% ... Five or six soft drinks each week upped gout risk by 29%"

Periodontal Disease Is Associated With Chronic Kidney Disease - Medscape, 1/30/08 - "subjects with periodontal disease and those who were edentulous were nearly twice as likely to have CKD (adjusted odds ratios, 1.60 and 1.85, respectively)"

Sex Hormones Unrelated To Prostate Cancer Risk, Report Shows - Science Daily, 1/30/08 - "collected the original data from 18 studies and analyzed it to determine the relationship between blood levels of sex hormones and prostate cancer. The pooled data included 3,886 men with prostate cancer and 6,438 controls ... The researchers found no association between prostate cancer risk and blood levels of different forms of testosterone or estrogen"

Lung Cancer Risk Increases With Cannabis Use - oncologystat.com, 1/29/08 - "smoking a single joint is the same as smoking 20 cigarettes in terms of lung cancer risk ... cannabis smoke contains higher levels of carcinogens than cigarette smoke ... cannabis smokers are more likely to inhale more smoke deeply and hold it in their lungs longer, allowing for more carcinogens to be deposited in the lungs. Marijuana cigarettes do not usually have proper filters and are smoked to the tip, which also increases the amount of smoke inhaled ... smoking 1 joint daily for 10 years or 2 joints daily for 5 years increased the risk of lung cancer 5.7 times"

Great Drug, but Does It Prolong Life? - New York Times, 1/28/08 - "High-risk groups have a lot to gain ... But patients at low risk benefit very little if at all. We end up overtreating a lot of patients ... This month, The Journal of the American College of Cardiology published a report combining data from several studies of people 65 and older who had a prior heart attack or established heart disease. This “meta-analysis” showed that 18.7 percent of the placebo users died during the studies, compared with 15.6 percent of the statin users ... This translates into a 22 percent lower mortality risk for high-risk patients over 65"

Abstracts from this week's Doctor's Guide Nutrition/Dietetics plus abstracts from my RSS feeds (Click here for the journals, the PubMed ones at the top):

Astaxanthin improves muscle lipid metabolism in exercise via inhibitory effect of oxidative CPT I modification - Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2008 Feb 22;366(4):892-7 - "Astaxanthin increased fat utilization during exercise compared with mice on a normal diet with prolongation of the running time to exhaustion. Colocalization of fatty acid translocase with carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPT I) in skeletal muscle was increased by astaxanthin. We also found that hexanoyl-lysine modification of CPT I was increased by exercise, while astaxanthin prevented this increase. In additional experiment, we found that astaxanthin treatment accelerated the decrease of body fat accumulation with exercise training"

Hepatoprotective effect of vitamin b(12) on dimethylnitrosamine-induced liver injury - Biol Pharm Bull. 2008 Feb;31(2):309-11 - "Vitamin B(12) decreased the blood levels of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase, and clearly inhibited the overaccumulation of collagen fibrils ... vitamin B(12) could be an effective hepatoprotective agent" - Note:  Aspartate aminotransferase is the AST reading on blood tests and alanine aminotransferase is the ALT.  See iHerb vitamin B12 products.

Comparison of Antioxidant Potency of Commonly Consumed Polyphenol-Rich Beverages in the United States - J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Jan 26 - "pomegranate juice (PJ) ... PJ had the greatest antioxidant potency composite index among the beverages tested and was at least 20% greater than any of the other beverages tested. Antioxidant potency, ability to inhibit LDL oxidation, and total polyphenol content were consistent in classifying the antioxidant capacity of the polyphenol-rich beverages in the following order: PJ > red wine > Concord grape juice > blueberry juice > black cherry juice, açaí juice, cranberry juice > orange juice, iced tea beverages, apple juice. Although in vitro antioxidant potency does not prove in vivo biological activity, there is also consistent clinical evidence of antioxidant potency for the most potent beverages including both PJ and red wine" - See Pomegranate Juice Extracts at iHerb.

Ellagitannin-rich pomegranate extract inhibits angiogenesis in prostate cancer in vitro and in vivo - Int J Oncol. 2008 Feb;32(2):475-80 - "pomegranate extract standardized to ellagitannin content (POMx) ... POMx decreased prostate cancer xenograft size, tumor vessel density, VEGF peptide levels and HIF-1alpha expression after 4 weeks of treatment in SCID mice. These results demonstrate that an ellagitannin-rich pomegranate extract can inhibit tumor-associated angiogenesis as one of several potential mechanisms for slowing the growth of prostate cancer in chemopreventive applications" - See Pomegranate Juice Extracts at iHerb.

A prospective study of trans-Fatty Acid levels in blood and risk of prostate cancer - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2008 Jan;17(1):95-101 - "The relative risks (95% confidence intervals; P trend) comparing top with bottom quintile trans-fatty acid levels were 2.16 (1.12-4.17; 0.11) for 18:1n-9t, 1.97 (1.03-3.75; 0.01) for total 18:2t, and 2.21 (1.14-4.29; 0.06) for total trans-fatty acids"

Adiponectin, Change in Adiponectin, and Progression to Diabetes in the Diabetes Prevention Program - Diabetes. 2008 Jan 11 - "Adiponectin is a powerful marker of diabetes risk in subjects at high risk of diabetes, even after adjustment for weight. An increase in adiponectin in lifestyle and placebo was associated with a reduction in diabetes risk. However, these changes in adiponectin were comparatively small and less strongly related to diabetes outcome than baseline adiponectin levels" - See my adiponectin page for more advantages of adiponectin and ways to increase it.

Breast development in the first 2 years of life: an association with soy-based infant formulas - J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2008 Feb;46(2):191-5 - "We suggest that phytoestrogens impose a preserving effect on breast tissue that is evolved in early infancy, leading eventually to a slower waning of infantile breast tissue"

Screening for Prostate Cancer in U.S. Men ACPM Position Statement on Preventive Practice - Am J Prev Med. 2008 Feb;34(2):164-70 - "digital rectal examination (DRE) ... prostate-specific antigen ... rials. There is currently no convincing evidence that early screening, detection, and treatment improves mortal ... The American College of Preventive Medicine concludes that there is insufficient evidence to recommend routine population screening with DRE or PSA"

Health Focus (Adiponectin):

Medications that increase it:

• Thiazolidinediones
• Micardis (telmisartan)

News & Research:

• Adiponectin definition - Medterms.com - "Low levels of adiponectin are found in people who are obese (and who are at increased risk of a heart attack)"
• Fat Hormone May Contribute To Longevity - Science Daily, 11/21/07 - "long-lived Snell dwarf mice burn less glucose and more fatty acids during periods of fasting, and as a result produce fewer free radicals ... The key to this switch may be adiponectin, a hormone produced by fat cells that helps lower glucose production and stimulates cells to use fat for energy instead. The researchers found that Snell mice had three times as much adiponectin in their blood as control mice" - Something that was also in today's abstracts (see below) was pioglitazone, which increased adiponectin 156%.
• Key Hormone Protects Obese Mice From Diabetes - WebMD, 8/23/07 - "The high levels of adiponectin, however, made the mice physiologically skinny ... This discovery also suggests that in people who have low adiponectin levels fat cells don't send the signal that they're ready to accept fat, Dr. Scherer said. Instead, the fat is stored in dangerous places -- liver, heart and muscle tissues -- where it can cause inflammation and pave the way for disease"
• Pioglitazone Treatment Increases Concentrations of Adiponectin in Plasma - Doctor's Guide, 11/16/06 - "Results showed there was a 6.9 mcg/mL mean increase in adiponectin levels in the pioglitazone group while in non-pioglitazone patients it decreased by 0.42 mcg/mL"
• Adiponectin Level Found to be Independent Risk Factor for Endometrial Cancer - Doctor's Guide, 3/34/05 - "The investigators found that mean serum adiponectin levels were significantly lower among patients with endometrial cancer than among controls"

Abstracts:

• Adiponectin, Change in Adiponectin, and Progression to Diabetes in the Diabetes Prevention Program - Diabetes. 2008 Jan 11 - "Adiponectin is a powerful marker of diabetes risk in subjects at high risk of diabetes, even after adjustment for weight. An increase in adiponectin in lifestyle and placebo was associated with a reduction in diabetes risk. However, these changes in adiponectin were comparatively small and less strongly related to diabetes outcome than baseline adiponectin levels"
• Coffee consumption is associated with higher plasma adiponectin concentrations in women with and without type 2 diabetes: a prospective cohort study - Diabetes Care. 2007 Dec 10 - "High consumption of caffeine-containing coffee is associated with higher adiponectin and lower inflammatory marker concentrations"
• Dietary lipoic acid-dependent changes in the activity and mRNA levels of hepatic lipogenic enzymes in rats - Br J Nutr. 2007 Dec 7;:1-9 - "Lipoic acid profoundly decreased serum and liver concentrations of TAG, and also lowered serum concentrations of phospholipid and NEFA, and the concentration of cholesterol in the liver. A hypoglycaemic effect of this compound was also observed. Lipoic acid dose-dependently decreased the activity and mRNA levels of fatty acid synthase, ATP-citrate lyase, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, malic enzyme and pyruvate kinase in the liver despite that reductions were considerably attenuated in the NADPH-producing enzymes. This compound also dose-dependently lowered the mRNA levels of spot 14, adiponutrin, stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1, and Delta5- and Delta6-desaturases. In addition, lipoic acid dose-dependently lowered serum concentrations of insulin and leptin, but increased those of adiponectin. Lipoic acid appeared to reduce hepatic lipogenesis and hence decreases serum and liver lipid levels. Alterations in serum concentrations of insulin and (or) adiponectin may trigger this consequence" - See Doctor's Best, Best Stabilized R-Lipoic Acid Na-RALA at iHerb.
• Adiponectin, the controversial hormone - Public Health Nutr. 2007 Oct;10(10A):1145-50 - "Considering the anti-inflammatory properties of adiponectin and the fact that it is negatively associated with adiposity, this cytokine could be one of the links between obesity and inflammation. The main mechanisms of action of adiponectin are directed to a protective role against atherogenic and insulin resistance processes. Research has revealed interesting new functions far beyond metabolism, such as immunity, cancer and bone formation. Contrary to all adipose-related proteins, adiponectin decreases with obesity. Most of the contradictory data surrounding adiponectin are related to plasma values and their relationship with body fat, gender differences and insulin resistance"
• High-molecular weight adiponectin is independently associated with the extent of coronary artery disease in men - Atherosclerosis. 2007 Nov 14 - "HMW adiponectin and the HMW/total-adiponectin ratio inversely correlate with the extent of CAD. HMW adiponectin in particular seems to be a better marker for CAD extent than total adiponectin"
• Pioglitazone improves myocardial blood flow and glucose utilization in nondiabetic patients with combined hyperlipidemia a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study - J Am Coll Cardiol. 2007 Nov 20;50(21):2051-8 - "myocardial glucose utilization (MGU) and blood flow (MBF) in nondiabetic patients with familial combined hyperlipidemia (FCHL) ... in the pioglitazone group HDL cholesterol (+28%; p = 0.003) and adiponectin (+156.2%; p = 0.0001) were increased and plasma insulin (-35%; p = 0.017) was reduced ... In patients with FCHL treated with conventional lipid-lowering therapy, the addition of pioglitazone led to significant improvements in MGU and MBF, with a favorable effect on blood lipid and metabolic parameters"
• Nutritional intervention to reduce the n-6/n-3 fatty acid ratio increases adiponectin concentration and fatty acid oxidation in healthy subjects - Eur J Clin Nutr. 2007 Aug 15 - "Dietary intervention was associated with significant reductions in TNF-alpha (baseline: 2.2 (s.d. 0.3), post-intervention: 1.5 (s.d. 0.3) pg/ml, P=0.01) and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (baseline: 2.5 (s.d. 0.2), post-intervention: 2.3 (s.d. 0.1) mmol/l, P=0.03) and increased adiponectin (baseline: 6.5 (s.d. 0.7), post-intervention: 7.6 (s.d. 0.6) mug/ml, P=0.02). Fasting lipid oxidation was increased (baseline: 0.7 (s.d. 0.1), post-intervention: 0.9 (s.d. 0.1) mg/kg.min, P=0.01), whereas glucose oxidation decreased in both fasting (baseline: 1.6 (s.d. 0.1), post-intervention: 1.3 (s.d. 0.1) mg/kg.min, P=0.02) and hyperinsulinaemic conditions (baseline: 3.6 (s.d. 0.1), post-intervention: 3.3 (s.d. 0.1) mg/kg.min, P=0.04). Insulin sensitivity was not affected by the intervention.  Conclusion:  A decreased n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio can be achieved with simple dietary counselling, resulting in multiple, potentially favourable effects on the metabolic and inflammatory profiles"
• The effect of thiazolidinediones on adiponectin serum level: a meta-analysis - Diabetes Obes Metab. 2007 Jul 21 - "The results clearly reveal an increase of endogenous serum adiponectin levels by intake of TZDs and may point to a potential new option to manage obesity-related diseases"
• Low serum adiponectin is associated with high circulating oxidized low-density lipoprotein in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and coronary artery disease - Metabolism. 2007 Jul;56(7):881-886 - "low adiponectin concentration indicates increased oxidative state in the arterial wall, which further supports previous data on the role of adipose tissue in atherogenesis"
• The Differential Effects of Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers on Microalbuminuria in Relation to Low-Grade Inflammation in Metabolic Hypertensive Patients - Am J Hypertens. 2007 May;20(5):565-72 - "There was a significant increase in high molecular weight adiponectin in the telmisartan group ... The reductions of microalbuminuria and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were significant in the telmisartan group"
• Adiponectin in health and disease - Diabetes Obes Metab. 2007 May;9(3):282-9 - "Adiponectin is an important adipokine because of its beneficial effects on glucose and lipid metabolism. Low levels of adiponectin are associated with disease states such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease ... Adiponectin levels in humans can be increased through indirect methods such as weight loss or treatment with thiazolidinediones"
• Adiponectin accelerates reverse cholesterol transport by increasing high density lipoprotein assembly in the liver - Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2007 May 15 - "APN might protect against atherosclerosis by increasing HDL assembly through enhancing ABCA1 pathway and apoA-1 synthesis in the liver"
• Do low levels of circulating adiponectin represent a biomarker or just another risk factor for the metabolic syndrome? - Diabetes Obes Metab. 2007 May;9(3):246-58 - "The metabolic syndrome is currently defined by various combinations of insulin resistance, obesity, dyslipidaemia and hypertension. The tendency for these risk factors to appear simultaneously suggests a single aetiologic basis. A low level of circulating adiponectin is associated with the appearance of each metabolic syndrome risk factor ... An association between the metabolic syndrome and low adiponectin supports the view that the development of the metabolic syndrome may be triggered by a single underlying mechanism. Clinical studies in the future may show that a low level of circulating adiponectin is a primary biomarker for a specific cluster of metabolic syndrome risk factors rather than all the possible combinations of risk factors currently used to identify the metabolic syndrome"
• Decreased Plasma Adiponectin is Associated with Insulin Resistance and HDL Cholesterol in Overweight Subjects - Endocr J. 2007 May;54(2):221-6 - "In overweight subjects, adiponectin levels negatively correlated with body weight (r = -0.35, P<0.001), body mass index (BMI) (r = -0.28, P<0.006), systolic blood pressure (r = -0.21, P<0.04), fasting insulin (r = -0.19, P<0.01) and HOMA-IR (r = -0.20, P<0.01) and positively with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (r = 0.27, P<0.009). Overweight subjects with low HDL-C levels had significantly decreased plasma adiponectin levels compared to those with high HDL-C levels ... findings may suggest that circulating adiponectin is associated with insulin resistance and HDL-C levels independent from BMI in overweight subjects"
• Raised alanine transaminase and decreased adiponectin are features of the metabolic syndrome in patients with type 2 diabetes - Diabetes Obes Metab. 2007 May;9(3):438-40 - "Mean ALT was significantly higher in patients with the MS and higher ALT was associated with lower adiponectin levels. As the number of features of MS increased, ALT increased and adiponectin decreased independent of glycaemic control"
• The effect of testosterone replacement therapy on adipocytokines and C-reactive protein in hypogonadal men with type 2 diabetes - Eur J Endocrinol. 2007 May;156(5):595-602 - "Testosterone treatment reduced leptin (-7141.9 +/- 1461.8 pg/ml; P=0.0001) and adiponectin levels"
• Lower plasma adiponectin is a marker of increased intima-media thickness associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus and with male gender - Eur J Endocrinol. 2007 Mar;156(3):387-94 - "Increased IMT in type 2 diabetes may in part be explained by lower plasma adiponectin and higher triglycerides, but not by leptin, resistin, and TNF-alpha"
• Effect of antihypertensive agents on plasma adiponectin levels in hypertensive patients with metabolic syndrome - Nephrology (Carlton). 2007 Apr;12(2):147-53 - "Ramipril and valsartan increased the plasma adiponectin levels significantly higher than the other regimens"
• Rosiglitazone treatment increases plasma levels of adiponectin and decreases levels of resistin in overweight women with PCOS: a randomized placebo-controlled study - European Journal of Endocrinology, Vol 156, Issue 2, 263-269 - "Rosiglitazone had beneficial effects on serum levels of adiponectin and resistin, suggesting that these adipocytokines may contribute to the improvement in insulin sensitivity observed during the treatment"
• Comparison of the effects of pioglitazone and metformin on insulin resistance and hormonal markers in patients with impaired glucose tolerance and early diabetes - Hypertens Res. 2007 Jan;30(1):23-30 - "pioglitazone was superior to metformin for the improvement of insulin resistance and adiponectin "
• Telmisartan improves lipid metabolism and adiponectin production but does not affect glycemic control in hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes - Adv Ther. 2007 Jan-Feb;24(1):146-53 - "Triglyceride levels were significantly decreased, however, and adiponectin levels were significantly increased"
• Effect of PPAR-gamma agonist on adiponectin levels in the metabolic syndrome: lessons from the high fructose fed rat model - Am J Hypertens. 2007 Feb;20(2):206-10 - "rosiglitazone increased plasma levels of adiponectin fourfold from 4.3 +/- 0.1 to 18.4"
• The effects of irbesartan and telmisartan on metabolic parameters and blood pressure in obese, insulin resistant, hypertensive patients - J Endocrinol Invest. 2006 Dec;29(11):957-61 - "Group A (23) was submitted to irbesartan 150 mg/day, Group B (23) to telmisartan 80 mg/day for 6 months ... Both irbesartan or telmisartan reduced blood pressure and ameliorated the insulin sensitivity, with increased adiponectin values; in Group B, the amelioration of metabolic parameters was greater than in Group A"

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