Reviewing What is Known of Insulin in Aging
When it comes to the mechanisms by which the operation of metabolism determines natural variations in longevity, few areas are as well studied as the role of insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1). This is no doubt in part due to the size and influence of the type 2 diabetes research community, but it is also the case that most of the methods so far demonstrated to slow aging and extend life in mice, such as calorie restriction, appear to act at least partially through alterations to insulin metabolism and related systems. Here is a review on this topic, with a focus on the brain:
Insulin is the most powerful anab...
Source: Fight Aging! - February 26, 2015 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Everybody Into The Sauna?
Spending more time in the sauna may lead to a longer and healthier life– at least if you live in Finland, according to a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Finnish researchers analyzed data from the Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study. The new analysis focused on 2,315 middle-aged men who had 1, 2-3, or 4-7 sauna bathing sessions per week. After 20 years of followup the rate of sudden cardiac death, fatal coronary heart disease, fatal cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality was significantly reduced in people who used the sauna more often. … Click here to read the More̷...
Source: CardioBrief - February 23, 2015 Category: Cardiology Authors: Larry Husten Tags: People, Places & Events Prevention, Epidemiology & Outcomes Finland sauna Source Type: blogs
How NOT to have HIGH TRIGLYCERIDES
High triglyceride levels are common, as common as muffin tops and man breasts. You will find a triglyceride level among the four values on any standard cholesterol panel. High triglycerides are either ignored by most doctors or reflexively “treated” with drugs, such as fibrates (Lopid, fenofibrate) or prescription fish oil (Lovaza). But buried in this single value is tremendous insight into diet, metabolic efficiencies, and cardiovascular risk, with control using natural, non-medication means very easy to accomplish.
Why are triglycerides important? Triglyceride levels of 60 mg/dl or higher will:
Block insu...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - January 24, 2015 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: Wheat Belly Lifestyle carbohydrates cholesterol fats fiber prebiotic resistant starch starches triglycerides Source Type: blogs
Coronary angiography prior to surgery for valvular heart disease
Brief Review
Abstract: Coronary angiography prior to surgery for valvular heart disease is considered for those forty years and above if there are no coronary risk factors and for those thirty five years and above when there are coronary risk factors.
Screening coronary angiography is usual prior to surgery for valvular heart disease in older individuals even though most of these diagnostic angiograms turn out to be normal. This is done because clinical, electrocardiographic, echocardiographic and radionuclide are not very specific for detection of coronary artery disease in the presence of severe valvular heart diseas...
Source: Cardiophile MD - January 11, 2015 Category: Cardiology Authors: Prof. Dr. Johnson Francis, MD, DM, FACC, FRCP Edin, FRCP London Tags: Angiography and Interventions Cardiac Surgery Source Type: blogs
Healthy Habits Of Young Women Lead To Long-Term Health Benefits
It may seem obvious but a new study shows that young women with healthy habits are less likely as they age to get coronary heart disease or go on to develop cardiovascular risk factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes. Andrea Chomistek and colleagues analyzed data from more than 88,000 women participating in the Nurses Health Study II and who were between 27 and 44 years of age at the start of the study. … Click here to read the full post on Forbes. (Source: CardioBrief)
Source: CardioBrief - January 5, 2015 Category: Cardiology Authors: Larry Husten Tags: Prevention, Epidemiology & Outcomes cardiovascular risk Nurses' Health Study primordial prevention risk factors women Source Type: blogs
The Latest from Telomerase Gene Therapy Research
Telomeres are caps of repeated DNA sequences at the end of chromosomes. A little telomere length is lost every time a cell divides and its DNA is replicated, and this is one portion of the limiting mechanism that causes the somatic cells that make up the overwhelming majority of tissues to divide only a set number of times and then destroy themselves. Stem cells on the other hand make use of the enzyme telomerase to add repeated DNA sections to the ends of their telomeres as needed. They must maintain lengthy telomeres as it is their job is to continually spin off new long-telomere somatic cells to keep tissues running smo...
Source: Fight Aging! - December 30, 2014 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs
Top stories in health and medicine, December 16, 2014
From MedPage Today:
Painful Hands, Hurting Hearts? Symptomatic osteoarthritis (OA) of the hands was associated with an elevated risk for coronary heart disease events, analysis of data from the Framingham Heart Study showed.
Can Social Media Aid Public Health? Here’s an angle Mark Zuckerberg has probably not yet mined: restaurant reviews and bookings as surveillance tools for public health departments.
Lyme Disease, Fibromylagia Link Evaporates. Lyme disease is not a trigger for fibromyalgia, according to a long-term assessment of patients with culture-confirmed Lyme disease.
Senate Passes Budget Deal; No SGR Fix I...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - December 16, 2014 Category: Journals (General) Authors: MedPage Today Tags: News Infectious disease Rheumatology Source Type: blogs
Continuity Of Care For Chronic Conditions: Threats, Opportunities, And Policy
Continuity of care is a bedrock principle of the patient-doctor relationship and is believed to be a fundamental attribute of high-quality medical care. Mounting evidence suggests that continuity of care for patients with chronic conditions prevents hospitalizations, reduces health care costs, and may prolong life in some populations.
Because patients are most likely to have longitudinal relationships with their pediatricians, family physicians, and internists, taken together, these primary care doctors are integral to translating continuity into meaningful care coordination. However, within the rapidly shifting landscape ...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - November 18, 2014 Category: Health Management Authors: Joseph Ladapo and Dave Chokshi Tags: All Categories Chronic Care Physicians Policy Research Source Type: blogs
The Bigger They Come, the Softer They Fall - the Size of Pharma Companies and How Vigorously they are Prosecuted
After we found lessons to be learned from even relatively small legal cases involving medical device companies, we reviewed some relatively small cases involving pharmaceutical companies made public in 2014. Again, we had an index case that linked to larger issuesMerck Settled Fraud Allegations for $31 MillionThis case got very little coverage in October, 2014. A very short story by Reuters included these essentials,A subsidiary of Merck & Co has agreed to pay U.S. states $31 million to settle claims that it overcharged their Medicaid programs for an antidepressant it had sold at a discount to pharmac...
Source: Health Care Renewal - November 14, 2014 Category: Health Management Tags: adverse effects deception Eli Lilly fraud impunity kickbacks legal settlements Merck Takeda Teva US Department of Justice Source Type: blogs
Newly Identified Mutations Act Like a Lifetime of Treatment with Ezetimibe
A very large genetic study published in the New England Journal of Medicine offers compelling evidence in support of a central role for LDL cholesterol in coronary heart disease. In a series of studies analyzing blood samples from nearly 100,000 people, Sekar Kathiresan and colleagues identified 15 rare mutations that block the activity of a single gene — called Niemann-Pick C1-Like 1 (NPC1L1). The mean LDL level was 12 mg/dL lower in mutation carriers than noncarriers. There were just 11 carriers of the mutations among 29,954 people with CHD versus 71 carriers among 83,140 people without known CHD (carrier fr...
Source: CardioBrief - November 13, 2014 Category: Cardiology Authors: Larry Husten Tags: Prevention, Epidemiology & Outcomes cholesterol ezetimibe IMPROVE-IT LDL vytorin Zetia Source Type: blogs
Techniques that May Actually Save Your V-Fib Patient
Winning teams have depth, and games are often won from the bench or deep in the batting order. That is certainly true when competing against ventricular fibrillation, and a few tools you might not know can help these patients.
A 55-year-old man with severe coronary heart disease and previous four-vessel coronary artery bypass surgery collapsed at a mall. He also had an unprotected left main atherosclerotic plaque. Bystanders immediately began chest compressions, and the available AED, unfortunately, advised no shock.
Paramedics started bag-valve-mask ventilation and high-quality mechanical compressions with a Lucas devi...
Source: Spontaneous Circulation - October 1, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Techniques that May Actually Save Your V-Fib Patient
Winning teams have depth, and games are often won from the bench or deep in the batting order. That is certainly true when competing against ventricular fibrillation, and a few tools you might not know can help these patients.
A 55-year-old man with severe coronary heart disease and previous four-vessel coronary artery bypass surgery collapsed at a mall. He also had an unprotected left main atherosclerotic plaque. Bystanders immediately began chest compressions, and the available AED, unfortunately, advised no shock.
Paramedics started bag-valve-mask ventilation and high-quality mechanical compressions with a Lucas d...
Source: Spontaneous Circulation - October 1, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
AGE Levels Associate with Bone Fracture Risk in Aging
Our bones become dangerously weak with advancing age. A lot of this stems from a growing failure of maintenance processes and an imbalance in the bone remodeling that constantly takes place - too much bone removal, and not enough creation. In addition, however, rising levels of the sugary metabolic wastes known as advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) are also thought to play a role in weakening tissue structures like bone. There are many different types of AGE and not all are relevant to this type of dysfunction: some are short-lived and usually cleared out by the body, and thus their presence indicates a failure in clear...
Source: Fight Aging! - September 17, 2014 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Wheat elimination is just the start!
Wheat Belly Total Health
Eliminating products made with modern semidwarf wheat, a creation of genetics research, is an astoundingly powerful strategy to regain control over health and weight, more powerful than any other single strategy I have ever encountered. Peruse the Wheat Belly Success Stories or the thousands of experiences discussed in the Wheat Belly Facebook page, and you get a sense for the power in following this lifestyle.
But anyone who has consumed wheat for any length of time has accumulated health problems that do not fully reverse with wheat elimination. It is therefore necessary to take steps to fully re...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - September 1, 2014 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: News & Updates diabetes Endocrine gluten free grains Grasses obesity Thyroid Source Type: blogs
