STRONG CHOLESTEROL-ALZHEIMER'S LINK FOUND
Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center have uncovered a strong link between elevated blood cholesterol levels and the development of Alzheimer's disease. APP, a protein found in several major organs including the brain and heart, is present in all people. Its normal function in the body is unknown, but in people with Alzheimer's, it is processed abnormally and converted to another protetin called beta amyloid. When fragments of this protein break off, they become entangled, leading to the plaques that are one of the characteristic structural abnormalities found in the brains of people suffering from Alzheimer's. "High cholesterol levels also increase the rate at which the amyloid beta ... form(s) the tangles that kill brain cells," researchers said. They also found that high cholesterol increases the production of another protein, called APOE, which mainly is responsible for flushing cholesterol out of the cell. Too much APOE results in the accumulation of free cholesterol, which is toxic to human nerve cells.
ANDROGEN THERAPY HELPS SENIOR MEN
A short course of hormone therapy can increase older men's strength and may help seniors continue their everyday activities throughout the aging process. Researchers at the University of Southern California found men over 60 who took the hormone androgen oxandrolone daily for 12 weeks had "significantly stronger muscles in their upper and lower body" than men who took a placebo. The findings suggest supplemental androgen therapy might benefit older men who are prone to losing muscle mass -- a process known as sarcopenia -- as they age. Loss of leg power may interfere with basic activities, such as rising from a chair or walking up stairs. That, in turn, can lead to immobility, eroding independence and depression. "Our findings are encouraging because a short course of treatment appears to increase muscle mass, strength and power, which can be augmented or maintained with subsequent resistance exercise," researchers said.
CRANBERRY JUICE FIGHTS UTI BACTERIA
Although it has been commonly known for some time, researchers have found cranberry juice cocktail kills certain antibiotic resistant bacteria that cause urinary tract infections, thereby decreasing the need for antibiotics. This, in turn, helps fight the rising problem of antibiotic resistance that bacteria develop to common prescription drugs. Researchers working jointly from several universities have found " when subjects consumed cranberry juice cocktail, their urine was capable of preventing not only susceptible, but antibiotic-resistant bacteria from attaching to the urinary tract. Cranberry acts to promote flushing of these problematic bacteria from the bladder into the urine stream, which should result in a lower rate of infection." In all, researchers said, cranberry juice cocktail prevented 80 percent of all bacteria tested from sticking to the urinary tract, and the beneficial effect "may start within two hours and can last for up to 10 hours in the urine, which suggests that consuming a serving in the morning and one in the evening may provide more effective anti-adhesion protection than consuming one serving a day."
LOCATION INFLUENCES MELANOMA RISK
The probability whether a person carrying a specific genetic mutation will develop skin cancer seems to be influenced by where he or she lives. British researchers examined a gene called CDKN2A, which in mutated form is linked to melanoma. They studied 80 families in Europe, Australia, and the Unites States with documented CDKN2A mutations and at least two cases of malignant melanoma. They found there "was a statistically significant association with residing in a place with a high incidence of melanoma." Carriers of the gene mutations who lived in Australia had an estimated 32 percent risk of developing melanoma by age 50, compared with 50 percent for those living in the United States and 13 percent for those living in Europe. By age 80, researchers said, that risk increased to 91 percent, 76 percent and 58 percent, respectively. The findings suggest future studies should examine whether ultraviolet light levels might be the key cause of the differing rates.
(Editors: For more information on CHOLESTEROL, contact Beth Porter at 202-687-4699 or [email protected]. For ANDROGEN, Jon Weiner at 323-442-2830 or [email protected]. For CRANBERRY, Michele Hujber at 732-932-9000 x555 or [email protected]. For MELANOMA, Linda Wang at 301-841-1287 or [email protected])
