By Dr. Robert Goldman & Dr. Ronald Klatz

Longevity News and Review provides readers with the latest information in breakthroughs pertaining to the extension of the healthy human lifespan.  These news summaries are compiled by the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M; www.worldhealth.net), a non-profit medical society composed of 24,000 physician and scientist members from 110 nations, united in a mission to advance biomedical technologies to detect, prevent, and treat aging related disease and to promote research into methods to retard and optimize the human aging process.   Dr. Ronald Klatz, M.D., D.O., A4M President, and Dr. Robert Goldman, M.D., Ph.D., D.O., FAASP, A4M Chairman, physician co-founders of the anti-aging medical movement, distill these headlines and provide their insightful commentary.

Anti-Aging Tenets Reaffirmed for Heart Health
Northwestern University (Illinois, USA) researchers report that when adults in their 30s and 40s decide to quit unhealthy habits that are harmful to their heart and embrace healthy lifestyle changes, they can control and potentially even reverse the natural progression of coronary artery disease.  Bonnie Spring and colleagues examined healthy lifestyle behaviors and coronary artery calcification and thickening among the more than 5,000 participants in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study who were assessed at baseline (when participants were ages 18 to 30) and 20 years later.  The healthy lifestyle factors assessed were: not being overweight/obese, being a nonsmoker, being physically active, and having low alcohol intake and a healthy diet.  By young adulthood (at the beginning of the study), less than 10% of the CARDIA participants reported all five healthy lifestyle behaviors. At the 20-year mark, about 25% of the study participants had added at least one healthy lifestyle behavior. The team found that each increase in healthy lifestyle factors was associated with reduced odds of detectable coronary artery calcification and lower intima-media thickness — two major markers of cardiovascular disease that can predict future cardiovascular events.  Conversely, the team observed that 40% of the study group lost healthy lifestyle factors and acquired more bad habits as they aged, leading to measurable, detrimental impact on their coronary arteries. The study authors conclude that: “Healthy lifestyle changes during young adulthood are associated with decreased risk and unhealthy lifestyle changes are associated with increased risk for subclinical atherosclerosis in middle age.”

Dr. Klatz observes: “Following 5 anti-aging habits in your 30s may help to lower heart disease risks later in life. Avoid being overweight/obese, don’t smoke, engage in regular physical activity, consume alcohol in moderation, and enjoy a healthy diet.”

Probiotics Boost Infection Protection in Athletes
Brylee A. Haywood, from the University of Otago (New Zealand), and colleagues enrolled 30 rugby union players in a study where each subject received either a probiotic supplement (3 billion CFUs/day), or placebo, for four weeks.  Then a four-week washout period was completed before subjects crossed over to the other intervention.  Whereas 80% of the placebo group experienced a single episode of the common cold or stomach upset, 53% of those in the probiotic group encountered such illness.   In the placebo group, the duration of illness was 5.8 days; duration among probiotic subjects was 3.4 days.  The study authors submit that:  “These positive effects of probiotic supplements provide evidence for the beneficial effects of daily supplementation with these probiotic strains in highly trained rugby union players.”

Remarks Dr. Goldman: “This New Zealand study conducted with professional rugby players suggests that daily probiotic supplements may reduce the incidence of gastrointestinal and upper respiratory tract infections, among athletes.”

Air Pollution May Prompt Cognitive Decline
Jennifer A. Ailshire, from the University of Southern California (USC; California, USA), and colleagues assessed data on 790 non-Hispanic black and white men and women ages 55 and older, enrolled in Americans’ Changing Lives Study.  Cognitive function was measured by math and memory tests and participants got a score based on the number of cognitive errors they made. Air pollution levels for each participant’s neighborhood were calculated using fine particulate levels reported by the U.S. EPA’s Air Quality System. The researchers found the average PM2.5 concentrations in the study participants’ environments were 13.8 micrograms per cubic meter, which is above the EPA’s air quality standard of 12 micrograms per cubic meter.  The team then compared the cognitive error scores to pollution levels and found that people living in high pollution areas, with 15 micrograms per cubic meter or more of PM2.5 had error scores one and a half times those of the participants who lived in low pollution areas with no more than 5 micrograms per cubic meter.  Warning that: “This study adds to a growing body of research demonstrating the importance of air pollution to cognitive function in older adults,” the study authors urge for: “Improvements to air quality may be an important mechanism for reducing age-related cognitive decline.”

Comments Dr. Klatz:  “Mounting scientific evidence suggests a variety of adverse health effects of air pollution – particularly, fine particulate matter air pollution (PM2.5): particles 2.5 microns or smaller that can travel deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream.  These data suggest that fine particulate matter air pollution, typified by vehicle exhaust, may hasten cognitive decline in older adults.”

Anti-aging medicine is the fastest-growing medical specialty throughout the world and is founded on the application of advanced scientific and medical technologies for the early detection, prevention, treatment, and reversal of age-related dysfunction, disorders, and diseases.  It is a healthcare model promoting innovative science and research to prolong the healthy lifespan in humans.  As such, anti-aging medicine is based on solid scientific principles of responsible medical care that are consistent with those applied in other preventive health specialties.  The goal of anti-aging medicine is not to merely prolong the total years of an individual’s life, but to ensure that those years are enjoyed in a productive and vital fashion.  Visit the A4M’s World Health Network website, at www.worldhealth.net, to learn more about the A4M and its educational endeavors and to sign-up for your free subscription o Longevity Magazine™ e-Journal.