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.

Early Life Experiences May Predict Cognitive Status Later in Life
Bruce Reed, from the University of California Davis Alzheimer’s Disease Center (California, USA), and colleagues assessed 300 English- or Spanish-speaking men and women, ages 60 years and older, recruited from the general community.  Subjects completed multidisciplinary diagnostic evaluations to assess for Alzheimer’s Disease.  Regardless of ethnicity, advanced age and apolipoprotein-E (APOE genotype, an established risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s) were associated with increased cognitive decline over an average of four years that participants were followed. The team observed that less cognitive decline was experienced by persons who reported more engagement in recreational activities in late life and who maintained their levels of activity engagement from middle age to old age.  Observing that single-word reading—the ability to decode a word on sight, which often is considered an indication of quality of educational experience—also was associated with less cognitive decline, the study authors submit that: “Literacy had robust associations with baseline cognition and cognitive change in both English and Spanish speakers.”

Dr. Klatz observes: “While declining cognitive function with age is a primary personal and public health concern, there is wide variability in the trajectory of cognitive change across the population.  This study suggests that literacy in childhood may exert a potent influence on the risk of cognitive impairment later in life.”

Running Deters Disease, Lengthens Lifespan
Iowa State University (Iowa, USA), researchers observe that people who run in their spare time tend to have lower rates of heart-disease related deaths.  Duck-chul Lee and colleagues studied 55,137 adults, ages 18 to 100 years (mean age 44 years), surveying the subjects about their physical activities of the past 3 months – including whether they ran (and if so, the speed, duration and frequency).  Participants were followed for a mean of 15 years, during which death rates and causes were tracked.  The data revealed that people who ran at all were 30% less likely to die during the study period and 45% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease, as compared to the non-runners.  Moreover, runners were at a reduced risk of death even if they ran for less than 51 minutes or less than six miles per week, and even if they ran at a pace slower than six miles per hour. Writing that: “Running, even 5 to 10 min/day and at slow speeds <6 miles/h, is associated with markedly reduced risks of death from all causes and cardiovascular disease,” the study authors are hopeful that: “this study may motivate healthy but sedentary individuals to begin and continue running for substantial and attainable mortality benefits.”

Remarks Dr. Goldman: “Running is a popular leisure-time physical activity, with many of us taking a regular jog.  Regardless of speed or distance, these researchers find that runners tend to have lower rates of heart-disease related deaths – translating to a potential of 3 additional years of lifespan.”

Macadamias Benefit Metabolic Disorders
Cyril Kendall, from the University of Toronto (Canada), and colleagues completed two meta-analyses looking at the effects of tree nuts on triglycerides and fasting blood glucose as relevant to Metabolic Syndrome; and the effects of tree nuts on HbA1c and fasting blood glucose levels as they relate to type- diabetes.   In the analysis focusing on Metabolic Syndrome, the researchers selected 47 randomized control trials involving a total of 2,200 participants, to find that consuming 2 ounces of tree nuts a day decreased triglycerides by 0.06 mmol/L and reduced fasting blood glucose by 0.08 mmol/L, over an average follow-up of eight weeks.  Separately, the team’s meta-analysis of 12 randomized clinical trials on glycemic control in type-2 diabetes involved 450 participants compared the effects of diets emphasizing tree nuts to isocaloric diets without tree nuts on HbA1c (a marker of longer term blood sugar control), fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin and insulin resistance (HOMA-1R). The results showed that diets emphasizing about 2 ounces of tree nuts per day significantly lowered HbA1c as well as  fasting glucose.  The study authors write that: “Pooled analyses show that tree nuts improve glycemic control in individuals with type 2 diabetes, supporting their inclusion in a healthy diet,” and separately that: “Pooled analyses show a [Metabolic Syndrome] benefit of tree nuts through modest decreases in triglycerides and fasting blood glucose with no adverse effects on other criteria across nut types.”

Comments Dr. Klatz:  “A number of previous studies suggest a therapeutic effect of tree nuts (almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts) on metabolic dysfunctions.   Canadian team reports that tree nuts may confer beneficial effects for metabolic parameters of people with type-2 diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome.”

Anti-aging medicine is the fastest-growing medicalroughout 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.