Author Archives: admin
Vitamin Pills and Aging — Part II
When I recently speculated that taking vitamin pills may contribute to unhealthy choices because many people assume the pills shield them from the choices’ ill effects, I figured there was no way to support my hunch. But I was mistaken: A recent Taiwanese study demonstrated that taking multivitamins does indeed make people feel protected against [...]
Scientific American on TOR and Aging
If you follow aging science—and my guess is that you’re one of those mortal, aging types who do—you might want to take a look at the latest issue of Scientific American (the January 2012 issue), which has a cover story I wrote for the magazine about research on target of rapamycin (TOR) and its implications [...]
Posted in aging, Drugs and aging, Genetics of aging, Life Span, TOR and aging Tagged aging, anti-aging, longevity, mTOR, Scientific American, Youth Pill Comments closed
Yes, Red Wine May Hold Some Answers. Recheck Dosage.
If you’ve tuned into the resveratrol story over the past five years, you’ve probably heard that you’d need to take giant doses of the red-wine ingredient to do any good. That idea was based on mouse studies in 2006 that showed massive doses of the compound blocked bad effects of eating too much fat. A [...]
Posted in aging, Diet and aging, Drugs and aging, Genetics of aging, Life Span, Obesity and aging, Resveratrol, Sirtuins Tagged aging, Hypertension, lifespan, longevity, red wine, SIRT1, Sirtuins Comments closed
Sirtuin News For Mammals
The negative buzz about sirtuins recently grew louder when Science ran a lengthy news piece on Dec. 2 titled, “Aging Genes: The Sirtuin Story Unravels.” The article played up studies in lower organisms casting doubt on earlier high-profile reports that sirtuin enzmes play major roles in aging, which in turn challenged the idea that they [...]
Posted in aging, David Sinclair, Drugs and aging, Genetics of aging, Life Span, Obesity and aging, Resveratrol, Sirtuins Tagged aging, anti-aging, GlaxoSmithKline, lifespan, longevity, Pfizer, Resveratrol, Sinclair, SIRT1, Sirtuins Comments closed
Vitamin pills and healthy aging
The idea that taking vitamin pills can’t hurt and might do some good recently became a harder sell after two studies suggested that the pills may actually increase the risk of death. In one study, involving more than 38,000 older women, taking a daily multivitamin was found to be associated with a 2.4% higher risk [...]
Posted in aging, Cancer and aging, Diet and aging, Obesity and aging, Vitamins and aging Comments closed
Does obesity speed up aging?
Obesity is a major risk factor for a list of diseases that seems to be getting longer every week. Recent additions include metastasizing prostate cancer and cirrhosis of the liver. Over the past few years, brain shrinkage and Alzheimer’s disease have been added, as have arthritis, various cancers, and even incontinence. Scanning the multitude of [...]
Posted in aging, Diet and aging, Life Span, Obesity and aging, TOR and aging Tagged aging, Blagosklonny, healthcare, mTOR, obesity Comments closed
More on Demi, Ashton and Aging
If you’re tracking developments in aging research, don’t miss the issue of National Enquirer that hit newsstands today (dated Feb. 28)—it contains a full-page spread based on the Ashton-Demi Gerontology Seminar on the Beach that graced celebrity news outlets last week. You might also want to take a look at the related piece I did [...]
Posted in aging, Diet and aging, Drugs and aging, Happiness and Aging, Life Span, Resveratrol Tagged aging, Ashton Kutcher, celebrities, Demi Moore, depression, Hollywood, inflammation, omega-3, stress, telomeres, Youth Pill Comments closed
An Accidental Anti-Aging Drug?
Researchers recently reported encouraging news about an experimental drug Merck is developing to boost HDL, the good cholesterol. In a study of 1,623 patients, the drug, anacetrapib, more than doubled HDL levels while also lowering LDL, the bad cholesterol. Best of all, it didn’t raise blood pressure, a side effect that contributed to Pfizer’s decision [...]
Posted in aging, Centenarians, Drugs and aging, Genetics of aging Comments closed
One for the Record Book
Here’s a curious coincidence: The current world records for human longevity and for running the mile were both set back in the 20th century. The longest-lived human was France’s Jeanne Calment, who reached 122 years and 164 days of age before her death in 1997. In 1999, Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj ran the world’s fastest [...]
Posted in aging, Cancer and aging, Jeanne Calment, Life Span Tagged aging, anti-aging, Calment, longevity, Prefontaine, running Comments closed
A New Study On High-Speed Aging