News U Can Use

Researchers at McMaster University have developed a cocktail of ingredients that forestalls major aspects of the aging process.

The findings are published in the current issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine.

"As we all eventually learn, ageing diminishes our mind, fades our perception of the world and compromises our physical capacity," says David Rollo, associate professor of biology at McMaster. "Declining physical activity—think of grandparents versus toddlers—is one of the most reliable expressions of ageing and is also a good indicator of obesity and general mortality risk."

The study found that a complex dietary supplement powerfully offsets this key symptom of ageing in old mice by increasing the activity of the cellular furnaces that supply energy—or mitochondria—and by reducing emissions from these furnaces—or free radicals—that are thought to be the basic cause of ageing itself.

A forensic pathologist thinks some people's embarrassment about taking herbal medicines can leave them vulnerable to taking a lethal cocktail of drugs, the ABC reports.

Professor Roger Byard of Adelaide University has published a research paper on the dangers of herbal medicines when taken in large quantities, injected or combined with use of prescription drugs.

He has found it can lead to serious illnesses, worsen pre-existing conditions or cause death.

Professor Byard says people are often reluctant to tell their doctor they are taking herbal medicines for fear of ridicule, but it can be a fatal mistake.

"Although obviously a number of herbal substances are quite safe, you don't know what's in the package sometimes and there may be interactions, so it is important to talk to your doctor," he said.

Headaches and heartaches. Broken bones and broken spirits. Hurting bodies and hurt feelings. We often use the same words to describe physical and mental pain. Over-the-counter pain relieving drugs have long been used to alleviate physical pain, while a host of other medications have been employed in the treatment of depression and anxiety. But is it possible that a common painkiller could serve double duty, easing not just the physical pains of sore joints and headaches, but also the pain of social rejection? A research team led by psychologist C. Nathan DeWall of the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences Department of Psychology has uncovered evidence indicating that paracetamol (the active ingredient in Tylenol) may blunt social pain.

"The idea—that a drug designed to alleviate physical pain should reduce the pain of social rejection—seemed simple and straightforward based on what we know about neural overlap between social and physical pain systems. To my surprise, I couldn't find anyone who had ever tested this idea," DeWall said.

According to a study due to be published in the journal Psychological Science, DeWall and colleagues were correct. Physical and social pain appear to overlap in the brain, relying on some of the same behavioral and neural mechanisms.

The giant monoliths of Easter Island are worn, but they have endured for centuries. New research suggests that a compound first discovered in the soil of the South Pacific island might help us stand the test of time, too.

Men with a high daily intake of coffee have a significantly lower risk of advanced and lethal prostate cancer, The American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference has been told.

The beverage contains antioxidants and minerals as well as caffeine, all of which could impact cancer risk.

Postdoctoral fellow Kathryn M. Wilson, PhD of Harvard School of Public Health and her colleagues at Harvard Medical School's Channing Laboratory and McGill University in Montreal evaluated data from nearly 50,000 participants in the Health Professionals’ Follow-Up Study. Regular and decaffeinated coffee intake was assessed for 1986 and every four years thereafter until 2006. During this time period, 4,975 men developed prostate cancer.

While coffee drinking appeared to have a small protective effect on the overall risk of prostate cancer, with those who consumed 6 or more cups per day having a 19 percent lower risk compared with those who did not drink coffee, when advanced and fatal cancers were separately analyzed, the risk of each was 59 percent lower in men who consumed the most coffee, and among men who had never smoked, the risk was 89 percent lower. Similar results were observed for both regular and decaffeinated coffee. "Few studies have looked prospectively at this association, and none have looked at coffee and specific prostate cancer outcomes," noted Dr Wilson. "We specifically looked at different types of prostate cancer, such as advanced versus localized cancers or high-grade versus low-grade cancers."

An extract found in the bright yellow curry spice turmeric can kill off cancer cells, scientists have shown, the BBC reports.

The chemical - curcumin - has long been thought to have healing powers and is already being tested as a treatment for arthritis and even dementia.

Now tests by a team at the Cork Cancer Research Centre show it can destroy gullet cancer cells in the lab.

Cancer experts said the findings in the British Journal of Cancer could help doctors find new treatments.

Diets rich in strawberries, other berries, nuts, and certain spices may lower age-related cognitive declines and the risk of neurodegenerative disease, according to James Joseph, Ph.D., of the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston. Dr. Joseph describes his breakthrough work on the everyday foods that promote brain health during a presentation this week at Neuroscience 2009, the 39th annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience being held in Chicago.

Aging often results in mental decline -- and the world's aging population is large and growing. There are currently 390 million people over the age of 65 around the world with an expected increase to 800 million by 2025. According to Alzheimer's Disease International, dementia affects one in 20 people over the age of 65. Some 24 million people worldwide are currently thought to experience some form of dementia.

"With the rising cost of healthcare and drugs, patients are increasingly turning to preventive lifestyle actions over which they have some control, such as exercise and diet," said Dr. Joseph. "Emerging science continues to point to natural foods as sources of beneficial nutrients that can have some positive impact on cognitive function."

Strawberries, other berries, nuts, and certain spices contain plant compounds called polyphenols and other plant chemicals, which are believed to provide brain health benefits.

Many people start feeling tired when they hit their 50's, and blame it on their age. That's probably not the case at all. A lack of energy at mid-age and older is more often due to dietary deficiencies. For example, the reason I can ride BMX and ski race at my age is because I've done a lot of research about what the boomer body needs - and I make sure my body receives it.

As we hit mid-age, our bodies get less efficient at absorbing many factors of the B group of vitamins from food; especially B6 and B12. These are essential nutrients. The B6 factor helps metabolize amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein. It's also needed to make melatonin, which helps us sleep, as well as seratonin, the hormone that prevents depression and keeps us feeling in a good mood.

B12 is involved in nerve function, mood and energy. A deficiency of this B factor causes fatigue, makes us feel lethargic and mentally dull. It's also suspected as a possible cause of Alzheimer's disease. But many boomers have real problems absorbing this nutrient, so taking a vitamin B supplement can prevent a deficiency and eliminate its symptoms.

When most people think of insulin, they think of diabetes — a disease that arises when, for one reason or another, insulin can't do the critical job of helping the body process sugar. But the hormone has another, less well-known function. It's also necessary for muscle growth, increasing blood flow through muscle tissue, encouraging nutrients to disperse from blood vessels and itself serving as a biochemical signal to boost muscle protein synthesis and cell proliferation.

Recently, scientists have recognized that loss of responsiveness to insulin plays a major role in the loss of physical strength that occurs as people grow older. Now, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers have demonstrated that by increasing insulin levels above the normal range in elderly test subjects, they can restore the impaired muscle-building process responsible for age-related physical weakness.