Last notes of 2021

SUBJ: Parkinson’s treatment success

SUBtitle: Best foods before sex

See past newsletters here  Long explanation of senolytics, ‘almost the fountain of youth’.  Feliz año nuevo!

SHORT NOTES: Parkinson’s treatment success, Phase 3 human trial of its P2B001 successful in Israel; Best foods before sex: oysters, pomegranate, chocolate, etc;  A single 30-s sprint is a potent physiological stimulus for growth hormone; average levels of sugar-sweetened beverage purchases at 13 ounces (0.38 L) daily leave little to no room for added sugars from all other sources;  Specific death rates per 1000 for the various racial groups in America were: Whites, 4.49; Blacks, 10.60; Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians, 8.19; Native Americans and Alaska Natives, 7.87; and Asians, 3.38; a higher coffee intake appeared to slow Alzheimer’s disease, give higher executive function and better attention span; It’s not the fountain of youth, but senolytic compounds could bring us closer to achieving the age-old quest for longer life, better health, and greater vitality, like quercetin (in Mito-C); For Covid, it is the immune system that needs treating and that antioxidants may be more effective than respiratory medications; Those that eat fatty foods tend to be night owls, whereas those that have a high fiber diet tend to be early risers; Compared to normal weight, overweight  pregnant women fail to upregulate iron absorption in late pregnancy, transfer less iron to their fetus, and their infants have lower BIS; "The impotence pill Viagra may be a useful treatment against Alzheimer's disease”;  

LONG NOTES:

Parkinson’s treatment success. (TY Hazel) Israel’s Pharma Two B (see here in 2015) has successfully completed the Phase 3 human trial of its P2B001 treatment for Parkinson’s Disease. The trial met its primary and key secondary endpoints, and the company can now prepare for US FDA approval.

AARP: Best foods before sex: oysters have zinc, pomegranate and spinach raise testosterone levels, chocolate for serotonin, watermelon for citrulline to relax blood vessels, Avocado also has vitamin B6, which experts say can play a part to ease PMS symptoms like fatigue, bloating, and crankiness, strawberries are a romantic favorite, high in vitamin C, which may help rev up your sex drive, boost blood flow, and ease stress and anxiety, also helps your body release more of something called oxytocin,  a dose of caffeine from coffee or tea, which perks up your nervous system and reduces erectile dysfunction, Native to the Peruvian mountains, the maca plant, its root can improve sexual desire.

A single 30-s sprint is a potent physiological stimulus for growth hormone (GH) release. However, repeated bouts of sprinting attenuate the GH response, possibly due to negative feedback via elevated systemic free fatty acids (FFA).

Large State Variation in Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Purchases: What We Learn from the Beverage Industry Data. There is considerable variation in per capita SSB purchases across states, from an estimated annual 23.5 gallons (89.1 L) in Hawaii to 51.8 gallons (196.1 L) in Missouri. Current average levels of SSB purchases at 13 ounces (0.38 L) daily leave little to no room for added sugars from all other sources. 

 Black babies die twice as often and the rate of improvement for White babies is faster resulting in a widening of the gap! Specific death rates per 1000 for the various racial groups in America were: Whites, 4.49; Blacks, 10.60; Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians, 8.19; Native Americans and Alaska Natives, 7.87; and Asians, 3.38.

published in the Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience , a higher coffee intake appeared to slow the accumulation of amyloid protein – the substance that seems to be the core problem in the slow progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Coffee was also associated with higher executive function and better attention span. in PLOS Medicine, coffee or tea was associated with reduced risk for stroke and dementia. The most recent data comes from a 2018 analysis which showed that 1 in 44 eight-year-old USA children was diagnosed with autism. 

It’s not the fountain of youth, but a fast-emerging class of drugs could bring us closer to achieving the age-old quest for longer life, better health, and greater vitality. The drugs, called senolytics, carry out search-and-destroy missions against senescent cells, which are linked to aging. Early in life, senescent cells support crucial functions such as embryonic tissue development and later wound repair. They also send signals that cause women to go into labor and initiate live birth. But senescent cells stop dividing over time—that is how they function. They accumulate in the body and release harmful molecules that contribute to arthritis, osteoporosis, glaucoma, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and many other age-related conditions and afflictions.  They were recently shown to be a major mediator of fatalities in coronavirus-infected mice, possibly explaining the increased susceptibility of older people to COVID-19. Tufts Now: What is cellular aging—or senescence—and how does it contribute to aging? Chris Wiley: Senescent cells are those that have been dividing, but stop doing so and go into permanent lockdown. If the cells are stem cells or other forms of progenitor cells, they are not able to contribute in a meaningful, positive way to that tissue ever again. If you have too many of these cells, you can easily imagine a situation in which your body is unable to regenerate after illness or injury. The more problematic part of senescence is that these cells don’t just sit there after their positive contributions are over. Instead, they release a blend of factors called the senescence-associated secretory phenotype, or SASP. This is a combination of molecules that can cause disease by promoting inflammation and disrupting the environment around the cell. Senescent cells show up in virtually every vertebrate, from fish to humans. If you live long enough, they appear in nearly every tissue in the body. We can’t keep up with the number of diseases that they seem to drive. It’s almost as if there’s a new one discovered every other month. Can you provide some examples of senolytics? One of the first that was discovered is fisetin, a flavonoid found in strawberries, apples, onions, and cucumbers. Flavonoids are compounds, often found in plants, that have many properties. For example, vitamin B2, or riboflavin, is a well-known dietary flavonoid. Fisetin is one of the most prolific senolytics tested on mice so far, and has even entered clinical trials in humans. But this is not something where you eat a couple of strawberries every day and get a dose that would kill senescent cells. You’d have to consume an extremely large number, which no one should try. It is currently being sold to the public as a dietary supplement. Another senolytic, quercetin, is the most abundant flavonoid in food (and in Mito-C). It is found in green tea, coffee, various berries, apples, onions, broccoli, grapes, citrus fruits, and red wine. Like fisetin, it is available as a dietary supplement.

Covid is not what it seems. Scientists at Israel’s Ben Gurion University have found that coronavirus patients have damaged mitochondria in the blood, but not in the lungs. They now urge a medical re-think, in that it is the immune system that needs treating and that antioxidants may be more effective than respiratory medications.  

Link between sleep and the gut. Scientists at Haifa University and the Technion Institute have found a link between bacteria in the gut and sleep patterns.  Those that eat fatty foods tend to be night owls, whereas those that have a high fiber diet tend to be early risers.

"The impotence pill Viagra may be a useful treatment against Alzheimer's disease, say US researchers who have been studying its effects in the brain. Tests in cells suggest the drug targets some of the proteins that accumulate in this type of dementia. The Cleveland team also analysed a database of 7m patients and found men who were on the drug had a lower risk of Alzheimer's. More studies on it are worthwhile, they say in the journal Nature Aging.

Maternal iron kinetics and maternal-fetal iron transfer in normal weight and overweight pregnancy. Compared to normal weight, overweight  pregnant women fail to upregulate iron absorption in late pregnancy, transfer less iron to their fetus, and their infants have lower BIS.