By Dr. Ronald Klatz & Dr. Robert Goldman

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 26,000 physician and scientist members from 120 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.

Maintaining Gray Matter is Black and White
Previously, a team from the University of California/Los Angeles (UCLA; California, USA) reported that people who meditate have less age-related atrophy in the brain’s white matter.  Eileen Luders and colleagues expand on their work, finding that meditation may also help to preserve the brain’s gray matter – the tissue that contains neurons.  Comparing 50 people who had mediated for years and 50 who didn’t, the researchers found that among those who meditated (practiced for 20 years on-average), the decline in the volume of gray matter was not as expansive, as compared to those who did not meditate. The study authors submit that: “these findings seem to suggest less age-related gray matter atrophy in long-term meditation practitioners.”

Dr. Klatz observes: “These researchers provide brain imaging data that clearly confirms the ‘age-defying effects’ of long-term meditation.”

For Women, Less Is More
Miranda Armstrong, from the University of Oxford (United Kingdom), and colleagues completed a large-scale study involving 1.1 million women residing in the UK, average age 56 years, who were free from cancer, heart disease, sdtroke, blood clots, and diabetes at the study’s start. Women who performed strenuous physical activity – sufficient to cause sweating or a faster heart beat – two to three times per week were about 20 % less likely to develop heart disease, strokes or blood clots, as  compared to participants who reported little or no activity.  Interestingly, among active women, there was little evidence of further risk reductions with more frequent activity. The study authors report that: “Moderate physical activity is associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease, venous thromboembolic event, and cerebrovascular disease than inactivity.”

Remarks Dr. Goldman: “While there is overwhelming scientific evidence to suggest a wide range of health benefits to regular physical activity, there is some debate as to the extent and frequency optimal for such effects. This team reports that for middle-aged women, engaging in physical activity a few times per week – and not necessarily with greater frequency – may be the optimal level at which health benefits are achieved.”

Curry Compound Curtails Cholesterol
Yi-Sun Yang, from Chung Shan Medical University Hospital (Taiwan), and colleagues enrolled 65 men and women with Metabolic Syndrome in a study in which subjects received 630 mg of curcumin 3 times a day, or placebo, for 12 weeks.  The team observed significant increases in high-density lipoprotein (HDL; “good”) cholesterol levels (rose from 41 to 43 mg/dL), while low-density lipoprotein (LDL; ‘bad”) cholesterol decreased (from 121 to 107 mg/dL).  As well, triglycerides were reduced significantly.  The study authors submit that: “Daily curcumin consumption may be an alternative choice to modify cholesterol-related parameters, especially in metabolic syndrome patients.”

Comments Dr. Klatz: “The active ingredient in turmeric – the spice that lends curry its characteristic color, curcumin has been found by previous studies to exert antioxidant and anti-inflammation effects.   These researchers submit that daily supplementation of curcumin may improve the lipid profile, among people with Metabolic Syndrome – a risk factor for diabetes and heart disease.”  

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.