Oct
12
2024

Cardiovascular Risk Markers Predict Heart Attacks and Strokes

By | blood test, Cardiovascular disease, cholesterol, diet, fasting mimicking diet, Fitness, heart attack, Heart Disease, Mortality, Stroke, Weight loss

An article in The New England Journal of Medicine stated that cardiovascular risk markers predict heart attacks and strokes. A summary of this study was also published by NBC News.

30-year follow-up of the Women’s Health Study

This is based on a 30-year follow-up study of the Women’s Health Study. In the beginning of the study all women had blood tests taken. In the beginning none of the women had cardiovascular disease.  The blood tests were LDL cholesterol, lipoprotein(a) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP). When either of these markers was high at the beginning of the clinical trial, it turns out that 30 years later the person either was dead from cardiovascular disease or had a heart attack or stroke.

More details of the study

In the beginning of the study 27,939 initially healthy U.S. women had 3 of the mentioned blood tests taken. If only one of them was elevated, there was a risk in the next 30 years to get a myocardial infarction, coronary revascularization, stroke, or death from cardiovascular causes. The initial age of the patients was 54.7 years. During the next 30 years of follow-up 3662 cardiovascular events took place. Hazard ratios for the primary end point in a comparison of the top with the bottom quintile were calculated. The following hazard ratios were derived:

  • 70-fold for high-sensitivity CRP
  • 36 for LDL cholesterol
  • 33 for lipoprotein(a)

Each biomarker showed an independent contribution to the overall risk. The risk of developing cardiovascular disease was highest when all three biomarkers were elevated.

Traditional risk calculation

Cardiologists calculated risk for cardiovascular events by the traditional 10-year estimates of risk. The authors suggest that physicians should do screening blood tests with these three biomarkers. If any of the biomarkers is elevated, measures to reduce cardiovascular risk should be initiated. This will be very effective to prevent cardiovascular events for the next 30 years.

Be proactive, prevent heart disease

As we get older, many people develop elevations of high-sensitivity CRP, LDL cholesterol and lipoprotein (a). But don’t wait for this to happen. Here are 9 steps you  can follow to prevent it.

  • Maintain a healthy weight
  • Quit smoking
  • Choose good nutrition
  • Be physically active
  • Treat hypertension adequately
  • Manage diabetes, if you have it
  • Stress management
  • Limit alcohol intake
  • Get enough sleep

Comments to the steps you can take to prevent cardiovascular disease

The ideal body mass index is between 21.0 and 22.0. I found that the fasting mimicking diet helps me to stay in that BMI range. Good nutrition eliminates red meat and emphasizes vegetables and salads. Fish, lean chicken and turkey meat are healthy. Avoid all processed meats like sausages. Watch your calorie intake to keep your body mass index stable. In addition, avoid excessive salt and sugar intake. Avoid highly processed carbohydrates and processed food. Eliminate fried fast food, chips and baked goods from your diet as they contain trans fats. Trans fats cause hardening of the arteries.

Aim to get 30 to 60 minutes of daily activity. Do two or more strength training sessions a week. This raises the protective HDL cholesterol and prevents cardiovascular disease. Excessive alcohol intake leads to cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure. Limit your alcohol intake, if you find it hard to eliminate it altogether.

Cardiovascular Risk Markers Predict Heart Attacks and Strokes

Cardiovascular Risk Markers Predict Heart Attacks and Strokes

Conclusion

A unique 30-year follow-up study of the Women’s Health Study identified three risk factors that a doctor can be determin from a blood sample. They predict whether a person will develop cardiovascular disease 30 years down the road. The three risk factors are high-sensitivity CRP, LDL cholesterol and lipoprotein (a). The best approach to prevention of heart disease is to adopt the approach of the Mayo Clinic described above. It comes down to the basics of good nutrition, regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, limiting excessive alcohol intake and stress management.

Aug
17
2024

Exercise for healthy Aging and a young Brain

By | andropause, Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, cholesterol, Diabetes, diet, e-cigarettes, exercise, Fitness, Health, heart attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, lifestyle, Menopause, sleep, Smoking, stress, Stroke, sugar, Weight loss

This article is about exercise for healthy aging and a young brain. A review article in Medical News Today states that several research papers showed that exercise greatly improves brain health, cognition and mood. It also reduces the risk of neurodegenerative diseases.

The benefits of regular exercise 

Here is a list of the beneficial effects of regular exercise:

  • Increased muscle strength
  • Improved heart health
  • Lower blood sugar
  • Improved mood
  • Alleviates stress
  • Improvement of cognitive function

Researchers from Stanford Medicine have examined in a rat model how exactly exercise influences various tissues. Unfortunately, such experiments in humans are not possible and results of rat experiments do not readily translate into the human context. In 8 weeks of regular exercise rats experienced stimulation of the immune system, a reduction of the stress response, an increase of energy production and stimulation of the metabolism. From indirect measurements we know that in humans the same findings likely also hold true. The mitochondria, the area in cells where energy production occurs, are stimulated in muscles, the heart, liver, kidneys, and white adipose tissue.

Effect of exercise on the immune system

Researchers showed in a mouse model that exercise stimulated the T cell response and rejuvenated aging microglia in the brain. The result is a strengthening of the immune system and rejuvenation of the supportive microglia. In the aging human regular exercise rejuvenates microglia in the hippocampus. This can prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Exercise strengthens brain cell connections

How does exercise affect the functioning of the brain?

Ryan Glatt is a senior brain health coach and director of the FitBrain Program at Pacific Neuroscience Institute in Santa Monica. He said: “Exercise enhances synaptic plasticity and blood flow while reducing inflammation and increasing the expression of neurotrophic factors like Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). These effects can synergistically improve memory, learning, and overall brain health.”

The best forms of exercise for brain health

Glatt said: “Activities combining physical and cognitive challenges, like dance or tai chi, can be especially effective for certain aspects of brain health.”

Brisk walking is a simple method of exercise. However, we also need isometric exercises, which helps muscle strength and endurance. A good way of combining the two forms of exercise is to regularly go to a gym. Use a treadmill for 30 minutes and then use 30 minutes of a workout with 10 weight machines. Mix this with tai chi or ballroom dancing several days per week. This keeps you mentally and physically fit.

Slow your biological age through the use of the “Essential 8”

Research identified 8 factors that determine how long you live. These 8 factors are what can lower your biological age by 6 years. Here are the 8 factors:

  • Diet

    A diet high in fruit, vegetables and lean meats helps you to lower your cholesterol level. In addition, avoid trans fats, fried foods and sugary foods. This helps you to lose weight and prevents Together with regular exercise eating a healthy diet prevents heart attacks and strokes.

  • Activity

    The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week. Alternatively, 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity achieve the same thing. Examples of moderate aerobic activity are a brisk walk, jogging, biking, social dancing and water aerobics. Vigorous aerobic activity involves spinning, running, swimming laps or jumping rope. Exercise reduces blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol. It also helps people to reduce weight.

  • Quit smoking

    Smoking cigarettes, vaping or using e-cigarettes causes your  body to develop higher blood pressure and damages your blood vessels because of circulating toxins. You also develop shortness of breath from narrowed airways. On the other hand, when people quit smoking, their risk of coronary heart disease drops to half after 1 year.   

  • Getting enough sleep

    People who don’t get enough sleep at night tend to have higher blood pressures, higher cholesterol and higher blood sugar values. This leads to weight increase and obesity. Sleeping at night for 7 to 9 hours improves cardiovascular health.

  • Body mass index (BMI) 

    An elevation of your body weight occurs when you eat the wrong foods and combine this with a sedentary lifestyle. Increased weight causes heart and joint problems as well as diabetes. Eating the right foods and exercising regularly gets your BMI into the normal range. This reduces your biological age.

  • Cholesterol

    An increase of cholesterol can cause heart attacks and strokes. But when you watch your fat and cholesterol intake you can reduce your cholesterol level. Make healthier choices with foods like reducing saturated fats, reducing refined carbohydrate intake, eating more vegetables and leaner meats. This reduces inflammation in the arteries and plaque deposits with much lower risks of heart attacks and strokes.

  • Blood sugar

    Increased blood sugars lead to diabetes. In this case there is accelerated hardening of the arteries in the heart, brain, eyes, and kidneys. This leads to premature heart attacks and strokes. People need to avoid eating refined sugars, carbohydrates (bread, pasta, rice) and sugary drinks. This normalizes blood sugars and your biological age reduces. Regular exercise is also important to burn off any excess sugar in the system.

  • High blood pressure

    An elevated blood pressure strains the arteries and the heart. If you don’t pay attention to this you are at a high risk of getting heart failure, a heart attack or a stroke. Sticking to a heart healthy diet, avoiding salty foods, and exercising regularly allows you to lower your blood pressure and avoid the above mentioned complications. If these measures alone do not reduce your blood pressure to normal, ask your doctor to prescribe blood pressure lowering medications for you.

  • Bioidentical hormone replacement

    What was not contained in the 8 factors was bioidentical hormone replacement. As you can see from the illustration, testosterone in males reduces more slowly in males (with a delay of 10 years) in comparison to estrogen reduction in menopausal women. Several authors describe that men and women in andropause and menopause live longer when bioidentical hormones are administered compared to those that do not use hormone replacement therapy.

Exercise for healthy Aging and a young Brain

Exercise for healthy Aging and a young Brain

Conclusion

Regular exercise even in older age keeps your brain free from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. But in addition to this other research showed that 7 more factors are important to reduce your biological age. They are a healthy diet, quitting smoking, getting enough sleep and reducing your body mass index. In addition, you need to keep your cholesterol and blood sugar levels normal. Control high blood pressure with a healthy diet, refrain from salty foods and if necessary, treat it with medication.

Life’s essential 8 factors

It is important to simultaneously control all these “Life’s essential 8” factors for optimal control. People who do this were found to consistently have a lower biological age than others who do not. They also tend to not get Alzheimer’s disease whereas controls do. Lifestyle factors matter for healthy aging and a young brain. Studies showed that the biological age of those who take care of their lifestyles is on average 6 years younger than that of controls. You can reduce your biological age even further with bioidentical hormone replacement in andropause and menopause.

May
25
2024

Cancer in younger Adults is due to Accelerated Aging

By | alcohol, Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, diet, Heart Disease, Mortality, Processed food, telomeres

Recent research showed that cancer in younger adults is due to accelerated aging. Researchers presented a paper at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2024. They discussed in detail how cancer presents in aging tissues.

Details of the study

Researchers examined the UK Biobank databases of 148,724 individuals aged 37 to 54 years. 9 biomarkers from blood of these patients served to calculate the biological age of these patients. The following were the blood tests: albumin, alkaline phosphatase, creatine, C-reactive protein, glucose, mean corpuscular volume, red cell distribution width, white blood cell count, and lymphocyte proportion. I will discuss below how they calculated the biological age from these factors. In most patients there was a discrepancy between the chronological age and the biological age.

The researchers also checked the cancer registries to check how many cancer patients were found before age 55. Nearly 3200 cancers were found. Patients born between 1950 and 1954 were compared to patients born in or after 1965. Surprisingly the younger patients (born in or after 1965) had 17% higher accelerated aging. This made this group more prone to develop early cancers.

Significance of accelerated aging regarding cancer frequency

The researchers also found that increases in accelerated aging were associated with a significant risk of early-onset lung cancer, early-onset gastrointestinal cancer, and early-onset uterine cancer. Individuals who had the highest amount of faster aging were compared to people who had the smallest amount of faster aging. The faster aging group had twice the risk of early-onset lung cancer, more than 60% higher risk of gastrointestinal tumors, and more than 80% higher risk of uterine cancer.

Calculating the biological age 

The following is a list of items to calculate the biological age (taken from this CNN source):

  • albumin: a protein made by the liver that declines with age
  • creatinine: a waste product in blood produced by protein digestion and the breakdown of muscle tissue; a measure of kidney function. Lower levels correlate with better longevity.
  • glucose: With age, blood sugar stays higher for longer after meals.
  • c-reactive protein: made by the liver in response to inflammation; relatively higher levels correspond to faster aging
  • lymphocyte percent: The concentration of these white blood cells related to immune function tends to decrease with age.

More items to calculate biological age:

  • mean cell volume: a measure of the average size of red blood cells, which increases with age
  • red cell distribution width: the difference between the size of a person’s smallest and largest red blood cells, which tends to increase with age
  • alkaline phosphatase: an enzyme produced mainly by the liver and bones that tends to increase with age
  • white blood cell counts: Numbers of white cells in the high end of the normal range in the blood may correspond with greater aging.

Using these criteria, a research group developed the algorithm PhenoAge. This is how the biological age was calculated.

What factors lower the biological age?

There are 8 essential components that determine your biological age: diet, physical activity, avoiding nicotine exposure, sleep health, lower body mass index (BMI), cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure. This link states that when you optimize this list of 8 essential components your biological age will be 6 years less than your chronological age. It will make you resistant to several diseases including cancer.

Your telomere length is important to reduce your biological age

Researchers know for some time that telomere length determines the biological age. Telomere length determines how old we get. It also can predict whether we get illnesses like cancer and cardiovascular diseases as we age. In addition, it determines whether you get the blessing of longevity or not. Researchers showed that two lifestyle habits, namely a Mediterranean diet and regular exercise, preserve our telomeres to give us a younger biological age.

Effect of Junk foods on our biological age

Too many people eat unhealthy foods like processed meats, French fries, hamburgers and other processed foods. How does this affect your lifespan? When we consume unhealthy foods and beverages, like sugar-sweetened beverages and highly processed foods, we gain weight. Obesity and other chronic conditions are the results that put us at a higher risk regarding at least 13 types of cancer. Included in this are endometrial (uterine) cancer, breast cancer in postmenopausal women, and colorectal cancer.

How can we counter the devastating effect of highly processed foods?

We need to buy whole foods that were not processed. Buy fresh vegetables, fruit, nuts, organic chicken, fish like wild salmon.  Cook your own meals. This link describes anti-aging foods that help you to enjoy a longer life with less diseases. Other studies showed in the past that this type of food preserves your telomeres, prevents many cancers and prevents heart attacks and strokes.

Discussion

The study in the beginning of this review showed a higher cancer frequency in younger patients. This is a new concerning trend. But the study failed to show the reason behind this. In my opinion it is the fact that younger people nowadays have poorer lifestyles than in the past. They consume junk foods and larger amounts of alcohol regularly. This behavior pattern causes shortening of telomeres, lowering of the biological age and the emergence of diseases mentioned above. We need more research into the causes of telomere shortening in younger patients. Also, why do they experience accelerated aging with an increase in the biological age? The research paper shown in the beginning of this review was done on a British population.

There is a need for other studies

A similar study with a more diverse population including a record of their eating habits would be welcome. Apart from measuring the biological age, measuring the telomere length would also be useful. In addition, a control group of younger people who consume healthy foods would help as a contrast. This control group likely would have a lower biological age and longer telomeres than the experimental group.

Cancer in younger Adults is due to Accelerated Aging

Cancer in younger Adults is due to Accelerated Aging

Conclusion

In the beginning of this review, I described a study about younger patients. They had an accelerated biological age with a higher rate of various cancers. I showed that other researchers examined telomere length and the longer it was the less cancer the patients got. I mentioned that eating junk foods, processed meats and consuming sugary drinks was bad for your health. This accelerates your biological age and shortens your telomeres. As this study was based on a British cohort, we need new research that concentrates on a more diversified population. Apart from measuring the biological age, measuring the telomere length would also be useful. In addition, a control group of younger people who consume healthy foods would help as a contrast. This control group likely would have a lower biological age and longer telomeres than the experimental group.

Jan
20
2024

Fasting-Mimicking Diet Is Benefitting Cardiovascular Health

By | diet, fasting mimicking diet, food, Heart Disease, Nutrition, Weight loss

A crossover study showed that a fasting-mimicking diet is benefitting cardiovascular health. This new study was done by Dr. Valter Longo et al. from the University of Southern California. It compared the effect of two diets. They were the fasting-mimicking diet versus an unrestricted diet. In other studies Dr. Longo compared the fasting-mimicking diet (FMD) with a Mediterranean diet. He said: “The significance is that fasting-mimicking diet cycles were able to decrease fat mass without reducing muscle mass and without requiring changes in the subjects’ preferred diet for 25 days a month. In contrast, the everyday Mediterranean diet required a change in everyday dietary habits and was associated with a 5 pounds loss of muscle.”

Findings of the effects of 5 days of the fasting mimicking diet per month

3 cycles of 5-day FMD per month showed the following effect. Fasting-mimicking diet patients experienced a remarkable decrease in trunk fat mass. Dr. Longo also showed in a previous study that the FMD reduces the circulating insulin-like growth factor 1. In addition, blood sugar, triglycerides, LDL and total cholesterol were reduced. In short, cardiovascular markers showed a protective effect in the FMD group.

Comments of a cardiologist to fasting mimicking diet

Dr. Rigved Tadwalkar is a cardiologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA. He was not involved in the study by Dr. Valter Longo. He said: “When we look at different sorts of diets, we really want to get down to what sort of health benefit they actually provide. It was nice to see that both the fasting-mimicking diet and Mediterranean diet – which is almost like the mainstay of recommended diets right now – both led to weight loss and improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar. These are all very important cardiometabolic parameters that lead to cardiovascular disease, so it’s nice to see that both are able to do so.”

Fasting-mimicking diet reduces abdominal fat

He went on to say: “What was interesting about the fasting-mimicking diet is that it had the added benefit of reducing abdominal fat, which was really important because that is a big reason why a lot of people diet. Not to mention it’s still important even from a medical standpoint because abdominal fat is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.” He continued to point out that it will be important to show the long-term effect of the FMD. He suggested to have observations over several month and years. Also, he stressed the importance of showing the direct effect of the FMD on the reduction of cardiovascular disease. This would be in comparison to controls. All this requires much larger clinical trials with longer follow-ups.

Advantage of fasting-mimicking diet

The FMD is easy to follow. You only have to reduce your daily calorie intake for 5 days out of a month. The remaining 25 days they eat their normal diet. People are often unwilling to change their diet. With the FMD they only have to reduce their calorie intake to 500 to 600 calories per day. And this is only for 5 days in a row once per month. They will lose 0.5 to 0.7 units of body mass index (BMI) once a month. Compare the first day of your 5 day FMD with the day after your last FMD.

My experience with the fasting mimicking diet

I have done this for 6 years. In  December of 2017 I listened to a lecture by Dr. Valter Longo at a conference in Las Vegas. Immediately after I started dong monthly FMD for 5 days. This kept my BMI within 21.0 to 22.0, because I use the FMD to correct any weight gains. Whether you want to adopt a DASH diet or a Mediterranean diet is another issue. This is eventually desirable to solve. But in the meantime stay in a healthy range with your BMI with the help of the FMD.

Fasting-Mimicking Diet Is Benefitting Cardiovascular Health

Fasting-Mimicking Diet Is Benefitting Cardiovascular Health

Conclusion

The fasting-mimicking diet (FMD) is a tool to reduce your abdominal fat.  At the same time you improve your blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar. You can achieve that by reducing your daily calorie intake. With the FMD you aim for between 500 and 600 calories for 5 consecutive days every month. With body composition scales you can see how your weight, fat percentage and body mass index reduce from before. These are all very important cardiometabolic parameters. If you allow them to get out of control they lead to cardiovascular disease.  Start adopting the FMD to keep your weight the same or reduce it slightly. Worry about a possible diet change to a Mediterranean diet at a later point and introduce the beneficial changes. This makes dieting easier.

Jul
15
2023

Poor Health is Linked to Loneliness and Social Isolation

By | Anxiety, Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, depression, heart attack, Heart Disease, Mortality

In June 2023 a new study showed that poor health has a link to loneliness and social isolation. It was also reviewed by CNN. There have been many studies in the past examining whether poor health shows an association to loneliness and social isolation. But this new study is different: it is a meta-analysis of 90 prospective studies with follow-up from 6 months to 25 years. The study included only persons age 18 years and older. There was a total of 2.2 million participants. The study specifically examined the links between loneliness, social isolation and early death.

The Meta-analysis

This new meta-analysis is significant, because with such a high number of participants the statistical strength is much better than with smaller studies. All of the 90 studies examined were prospective studies. The meta-analysis showed the difference between controls and various experimental groups suffering loneliness, social isolation and early death. The researchers identified independent risk factors of subsets among the 2.2 million subjects as discussed further below.

Loneliness

The definition of loneliness in the study was the subjective distress people feel when there is a discrepancy between the social relationships they have and what they want. If their is no fulfillment of the need for connection or intimacy in their relationships, this too can be a source of loneliness. There is increased isolation of Americans due to the increase in TV watching, spending more computer time and increase in cell phone use. This is loneliness by choice. But very few know that this can cause disease.

Social isolation

When people are under social isolation, they are under chronic stress, which translates into disease. In the statistics below it is apparent that cancer and cardiovascular mortality show a significant elevation from social isolation. In women with breast cancer there was a 51% increased mortality due to social isolation.

Findings of the study

Here are the findings form the metaanalysis. All the findings of patients suffering from loneliness and social isolation were in comparison to control groups without social deprivation.

  • There is a 32% all-cause mortality from loneliness and social isolation
  • Loneliness is responsible for a 14% increase in mortality compared to those who are not lonely
  • There is a 24% increased cancer mortality due to social isolation
  • Social isolation is responsible for a 34% increase of cardiovascular mortality
  • Socially isolated individuals with cardiovascular disease had a 28% increased all-cause mortality
  • Socially isolated women with breast cancer had a 51% increased all-cause mortality

Life style factors part of loneliness and social isolation

Turhan Canli, a professor of integrative neuroscience in the department of psychology at New York’s Stony Brook University had no involvement in the study. He said: ”People who feel socially isolated or lonely tend to have unhealthy habits, such as smoking, alcohol use, poor diet or little exercise. Having a small social network or little to no contact with the outside world can also make someone less likely to receive medical care if they don’t have anyone checking on them.”

Broadening social connections

We learnt how devastating loneliness and social isolation are for your health. It follows from this that the solution is to concentrate on broadening social connections as a preventative measure. Canli said: “Think of maintaining a social network like any other health-promoting activity: exercising regularly, eating well, looking after yourself.” Cultivate your social connections with a higher priority than in the past. Engage in new circles of like-minded people. Seek opportunities out like joining an exercise class or a discussion group.

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Conclusion

Loneliness and social isolation are a real entity that threatens all of our health. A meta-analysis of 90 prospective studies (6 months to 25 years of follow-up) including more than 2 million people showed the following. There is a 32% all-cause mortality from loneliness and social isolation. Cancer mortality is up 24% due to social isolation. Socially isolated individuals with cardiovascular disease had a 28% increased all-cause mortality. Socially isolated women with breast cancer had a 51% increased all-cause mortality. There were more findings than these. Overall, this stresses the importance to cultivate your social connections, which prevents social isolation and loneliness. You will stay healthier for longer and not die prematurely.

Nov
19
2022

Lack of Sleep Harms the Immune System and Causes Inflammation

By | Cardiovascular disease, depression, Diabetes, Heart Disease, Inflammation, Insomnia, sleep, Sleep apnea

A research group from Boston, MA and New York, NY found that a lack of sleep harms the immune system and causes inflammation. This was summarized in this CNN article.

Specifically, they first conducted experiments with a mouse model. They studied the effects of sleep disruption and sleep deprivation and could later confirm identical changes in man. The observation was that a lack of sleep caused the hematopoietic cells in the bone marrow to proliferate, but the cell diversity was less than in people with normal sleep patterns. The same pattern of bone marrow proliferation was present in mice. This research was published Sept. 21, 2022 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

Chronic sleep deficit

A chronic sleep deficit caused chronic inflammation and eventually autoimmune diseases. Again, this was a pattern present in both the mouse model and in humans. Next the researchers observed what happened with sleep recovery. In the past it was assumed that with sleep recovery all of the physical changes from sleep deprivation would disappear. However, the opposite was true: both in mice and in humans the bone marrow stimulation and the lack of cell diversity persisted.

In the mouse model the researchers could show that there were permanent epigenetic changes, which were caused by sleep deprivation. The same is true with humans, but this is more difficult to show than in the mouse model. The researchers came to the conclusion that sleep deprivation stimulates bone marrow maturation, but restricts the clonal differentiation. In doing so the body initiates inflammation, which becomes chronic even with sleep restoration.

Human sleep studies

There were 14 volunteers that were the test subjects. One group was the normal sleep control. The other group underwent chronic sleep deprivation. Each group did this for 6 weeks. There was a 4-to-6-week washout period. Following this the previous normal sleep group started a 6-week sleep deprivation program. On the other hand, the prior sleep-deprived group switched to 6 weeks of normal sleep. All of the participants had daily late afternoon blood tests.

There are many sleep disruptions, which cause a sleep deficit

In modern life sleep gets disrupted in many ways. There can be sleep fragmentation, sleep restriction, jet lag, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and insomnia.

People with these conditions often oscillate between these various types. They may have a few days of normal sleep, but then have sleep deprivation again for a few days. Every time they have sleep deprivation the bone marrow enhances hematopoietic activity. Normally there is a high leukocyte number in the blood at the end of the day and in the morning a lower leukocyte count. But with sleep deprivation there is a high monocyte count in the blood that stays high even when subjects switch back to a normal sleep pattern.

Epigenetic effect of sleep deprivation on bone marrow cells

The authors found that sleep deprivation affects the genetic control of hematopoietic cells in the bone marrow. They called this the epigenetic effect of sleep deprivation. This is responsible for the evening leukocyte response, the monocytosis and the tendency for autoimmune diseases. They summed this up by saying: “Our findings support the hypothesis that periods of poor sleep, even if followed by sleep recovery, have sustained consequences on immunological health.”

Lack of sleep harms the immune system and causes inflammation says the literature

There is ample evidence that a lack of sleep causes cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression and more frequent infections. Healthy sleep is important when you want to age well without complications. But enough sleep is also necessary to prevent obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Experts consider getting enough high-quality sleep as essential as a balanced diet and regular exercise.

Lack of Sleep Harms Immune System and Causes Inflammation

Lack of Sleep Harms Immune System and Causes Inflammation

Conclusion

So far, most researchers believed that when you miss some sleep for a few nights that a afternoon nap or a few nights of longer sleep would compensate for the sleep deficit with no sequelae. Think again, because new research from a group in Boston, MA and New York, NY found that lack of sleep harms the immune system and causes inflammation permanently. Sleep deprivation stimulates the bone marrow cells to multiply and causing proliferation of monocytes, called monocytosis as well. Despite afternoon naps and recovery sleep this condition remains  and can lead to autoimmune diseases. All this was unknown up to now. Our bone marrow cells need regular sleep hours to stay diversified and to optimally fight infections in the body. This prevents autoimmune diseases and keeps our defenses against viral diseases strong.

Aug
07
2021

A New Disease, Long Covid

By | Cardiovascular disease, chronic pain, Heart Disease, Infectious Disease

Some of the Covid cases do not resolve; this created a new disease, long Covid. The German news magazine “Der Stern” described this in detail. I summarized this in  English here. The English literature also mentions long Covid. Certainly, physicians learnt from observing the course of many Covid-19 cases. It is important to realize that they did not all heal. Some of them seemed to resolve, but then they reoccurred. Other patients suffer from ongoing exhaustion, shortness of breath, tiredness and pains.

When do physicians diagnose long Covid?

If symptoms of Covid-19 do not resolve within 4 weeks after the beginning, physicians diagnose this condition as long Covid. Different subtypes exist.

  • Persistent symptomatic Covid-19: Covid-19 symptoms persist between 4 and 12 weeks from the beginning of Covid-19.
  • Post Covid-19 syndrome: After more than 12 weeks the patient still has Covid-19 symptoms.
  • Long Covid: when a patient develops new Covid-19 symptoms or still has symptoms beyond 4 weeks after Covid-19 physicians diagnose the patient with long Covid.

Who is getting long Covid?

A longitudinal study showed that about 1 in 10 Covid-19 cases can turn into long Covid. In some cases, this can develop out of relatively benign courses of Covid-19 cases. In other cases, a severe Covid-19 case can develop into long Covid. Notably, a research study identified risk major factors for developing long Covid. They found that increasing age, an increased body mass index and female sex were risk factors for developing long Covid. Persistent symptoms of headaches, fatigue, difficulties to breathe and a loss of smell characterize the presence of long Covid. Another criterion was whether a person had to be treated in an ICU setting during the acute phase of Covid-19. These people are at a higher risk to develop long Covid at a later time.

Long Covid symptoms

The most common symptoms of long Covid are tiredness, headaches, problems breathing, concentrating and circulation problems. But fast heart beats, sleeping disorders, chronic pains and hypersensitivity to light and sound are also part of the symptom complex. Researchers found that in 70% of patients with long Covid one or more organs were damaged by the virus. All the affected organs had ACE2 cell receptors. Many patients with long Covid have lung problems.

Pre-existing lung problems

According to one review it was mainly patients with pre-existing lung problems, older patients or patients who had other pre-existing health problems who developed lung complications. 3-5% of long Covid patients can also develop heart problems. Most patients have reduced pumping capacity, heart muscle inflammation, pericardial inflammation or scarred heart tissue. One symptom is very common: fatigue, which is a state of persistent tiredness, exhaustion and listlessness that cannot be managed with sleep. These are the symptoms of a new disease, long Covid.

Treatment possibilities for long Covid patients

The therapy is based on the symptoms. A guideline on post/long Covid, which was recently published by several professional societies, states that there is still no scientifically reliable evidence for a specific therapy. The guideline lists diagnostic recommendations as well as therapy options for various symptoms such as fatigue, olfactory disorders, cardiological, neurological and psychiatric aspects.

Oxygen therapy

The researchers are currently working on a variety of different treatment approaches. Oxygen therapy is one of them. Hyperbaric oxygen tanks are used for this. Patients breathe pure oxygen in these tanks for about two hours a day for several weeks. The first patients treated with this oxygen therapy have reported positive effects according to Dr. Ullrich Siekmann in Aachen, Germany. Further studies, however, are required to confirm these preliminary investigations.

Blood washing or HELP apheresis

Doctors see another possibility of treatment in blood washing. With the so-called “HELP apheresis“, the blood is freed from harmful substances in a similar way to dialysis in kidney failure patients. Blood washing is already in use for people who have had strokes or heart attacks and where other medicines do not help. Researchers used this procedure also for long Covid patients.

Supplements that may help

According to Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum, a board-certified internist, these supplements may be helpful: N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), glutathione, CuraMed (a curcumin supplement), and omega-3 supplementation. These supplements treat chronic inflammation.

A New Disease, Long Covid

A New Disease, Long Covid

Conclusion

Long Covid is a sub-category of Covid-19 in patients whose symptoms do not resolve. This is subject to intensive research, which I summarized here. These patients have characteristic symptoms. Newer treatment options seem to consist of pressurized oxygen therapy and of blood washing with the name of “HELP apheresis”. Certain supplements that are anti-inflammatory may also be of benefit. Despite these new efforts this leaves many patients with organ damage and continuing chronic symptoms.

Jan
09
2021

Melatonin Is More Than a Sleeping Aid

By | Alzheimer’s disease, Anti-aging medicine, Autism, autoimmune disease, Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, Circadian rhythm, Dementia, Diabetes, Health, heart attack, Heart Disease, Hormones, immune system, Inflammation, Insomnia, melatonin, Menopause, mitochondria, Multiple sclerosis, neurological disease, Osteoporosis, Parkinson’s disease, sleep, Stroke

Notably, the January 2021 issue of the Life Extension magazine informs you that melatonin is more than a sleeping aid. It contains an interview between Dr. Roman Rozencwaig and a Life Extension (LE) magazine reporter. It must be remembered that Dr. Rozencwaig dedicated much of his career to the healing effects of melatonin. Another keypoint is that in 1987 Dr. Rozencwaig published a paper together with two other researchers. Specifically, it showed that melatonin production by the pineal gland declines in older age. Markedly, they stated that this is the reason why people age and why diseases of aging develop. Another key point is that Dr. Rozencwaig also stated that taking oral melatonin can promote a healthier life.

Melatonin deficiency causing aging and various illnesses

With the aging process the pineal gland calcifies and melatonin production is steadily declining. Surely, along with this is a deterioration of the circadian hormone rhythm. Meanwhile, the neuroendocrine system in the brain gets disorganized. Accordingly, this causes various diseases to occur. To emphasize, Dr. Rozencwaig says that a proper balance between melatonin and neurotransmitters is what we need to maintain health and longevity. As a result, a daily intake of melatonin supports healthy aging and longevity.

The many clinical effects of melatonin

Oral melatonin tablets help you to fall asleep easier, particularly the population that is older than 60 years.

But besides that, melatonin has many other clinical effects.

  • Melatonin improves immunity, which improves resistance against infections. It helps also in cancer prevention
  • Melatonin maintains the circadian hormone rhythm by synchronizing pituitary and hypothalamic hormone production
  • It protects the brain and may prevent Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, autism, and others
  • Melatonin modulates anti-inflammatory cytokinins in different diseases

Dr. Rozencwaig mentioned that melatonin slows down the aging process. There are multiple intertwining reasons for this. 

Melatonin’s actions against the aging process 

  • Melatonin regulates gene expression. This means that some signs and symptoms of aging can be reversed through genetic switches
  • Because melatonin regulates the immune response, the body is more protected against viral, bacterial and parasitic infections
  • Melatonin helps to overcome chronic inflammation that produces cytokines
  • Melatonin is also liver-protective through stimulation of an enzyme (AMPK). This enzyme regulates cellular metabolism.
  • There are other processes that melatonin is involved in: energy metabolism by protection and restoration of mitochondria.
  • Melatonin protects against osteoporosis by balancing and regulating bone formation versus bone loss.

More actions of melatonin

  • An important function of melatonin is the stimulation of antioxidant enzymes like glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase (SOD)
  • Melatonin regulates sirtuins, which are proteins that maintain cellular health. They protect you from obesity, type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart attacks and strokes, dementia and more
  • As already mentioned, melatonin is a neuroprotective agent and may prevent Alzheimer’s and dementia
  • Melatonin stimulates apoptosis of cancer cells.
  • Oral health and melatonin are related. Melatonin suppresses herpes infections and periodontal disease. Melatonin prevents oral cancers to a certain degree. In addition, dental implants survive better when melatonin is present in saliva.

Prevention of cognitive decline

Dr. Rozencwaig mentioned that melatonin stops much of the cognitive decline of aging. To achieve this the following processes take place.

  1. Melatonin improves the sleeping pattern and increases the amount of REM sleep.
  2. During sleep melatonin removes toxic amyloid and tau proteins. We know that with Alzheimer’s disease these are the proteins that accumulate in the brain.
  3. Melatonin improves myelination of white matter in the brain. This prevents brain atrophy of old age.
  4. The brain is metabolically very active and produces toxic free radicals. But melatonin is a strong antioxidant dealing with free radicals. Melatonin can cross the blood brain barrier and stimulates enzyme production to eliminate toxic reactive oxygen species.
  5. Chronic inflammation also increases with age, but melatonin deals with this condition in the brain.
  6. Here are 3 subtypes of melatonin receptors. The body integrates the multitude of actions of melatonin with the help of these receptors.
Melatonin Is More Than a Sleeping Aid

Melatonin Is More Than a Sleeping Aid

Conclusion

Melatonin is a powerful antioxidant that has many other useful protective qualities as explained. The body integrates various functions like anti-aging, anti-free radical activity, neuroprotection in the brain and more. Melatonin even synchronizes pituitary and hypothalamic hormone production. This helps to integrate the effect of melatonin, which benefits the body in many ways. Melatonin prevents Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, autism, obesity, type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart attacks, strokes and dementia. Melatonin production deteriorates from the age of about 60 onwards. It is important to supplement with melatonin at nighttime from that age on. Usually, you only need small amounts of melatonin, between 1mg and 3 mg at bedtime. This prevents most of the serious diseases of old age, stimulates your immune system and lets you age gracefully.

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Jun
13
2020

Mediterranean Diet Reduces Heart Attacks and Strokes in Diabetes

By | Cardiovascular disease, cholesterol, Diabetes, food, heart attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Mortality, Nutrition, olive oil, omega-3 fatty acids, Processed food, Stroke

A recent publication came to the conclusion that a Mediterranean diet reduces heart attacks and strokes in diabetes. This Canadian and Spanish study compared prospective cohort studies and randomized trials (RCT). 41 reports (3 RCTs and 38 cohorts) formed the basis for this analysis.

Details of the study

Metaanalysis showed that a Mediterranean diet reduced the cardiovascular disease incidence by 38%. It also reduced myocardial infarctions (heart attacks) by 35%. Next the authors compared the highest to the lowest adherents to the Mediterranean diet (Med diet). The highest Med diet adherents showed the following reductions:

Cardiovascular disease mortality: 21%

Coronary heart disease incidence: 27%

Coronary heart disease mortality: 17%

Stroke incidence: 20%

Stroke mortality: 13%

The conclusion was that the Mediterranean diet is beneficial to prevent heart disease and strokes in people with diabetes.

Other studies

In a study from the United Kingdom dated March 2019 several clinical trials were analyzed regarding non-diabetic populations. Again, the question came up, what the effect of a Mediterranean diet was on cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality. The authors reviewed 30 RCTs (49 papers) with12,461 randomized participants and seven ongoing trials. In one study the observation time was 46 months. A Mediterranean diet reduced the cardiovascular disease mortality by 65%!

Another study from Spain published in 2019 examined 7356 older adults (average 67 years) and followed them for 6.8 years. The investigators kept track of the physical activity and put everybody except the controls on a Mediterranean diet. The group on the lightest leisure-time physical activity consuming a Mediterranean diet had the lowest mortality. The all-cause mortality of this group was 73% lower than the control group.

What is so healthy about the Mediterranean diet?

Despite a wide variation between all the 15 countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, there are common characteristics: an abundance of vegetables and fruit, along with nuts and legumes. Cereal products are largely whole grain. Olive oil is the principal fat source, and people eat fish, seafoods and poultry in moderation. They consume red meat rarely. Cheese and yogurt can be part of the diet, depending on the region.

The first clinical evidence supporting the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet came from the Lyon Heart Study. The researchers placed patients who had a heart attack either on the diet designed by the American Heart Association or a Mediterranean style diet. After a follow-up of 27 months, the group eating the Mediterranean diet had a reduction of heart attacks by 73% and a decreased mortality by 70% compared to the other group.

More detail on the ingredients of the Mediterranean diet

An analysis of the various foods of the Mediterranean diet shows the reasons for the health benefits clearly. The fats that people on a Mediterranean diet eat are heart-healthy monounsaturated fats like olive oil or fats that contain omega-3 fatty acids. They come from fish (tuna, salmon, trout, sardines) or from plant sources (walnuts, other tree nuts and flax seed).

As there is an emphasis on natural foods, the diet is extremely low in trans fatty acids (hydrogenated fats), which increase the risk for cardiovascular disease. As people consume more than 300g of vegetables per capita daily, the contents of antioxidants and other beneficial plant chemicals is much higher in comparison to Western diets. There are many individual components of the Mediterranean diet that contribute to the reduction of disease. This is particularly true for heart disease. It also is apparent, that it is not one single food or nutrient that is responsible for the health benefits. What matters are the interactive effects of all the nutrients that lead to the health benefits.

No processed food means healthier living

The practical application does not mean deprivation and starvation, but a move away from processed fats (margarine), baked goods (donuts, muffins, pastries), and high saturated fat snacks and trans fats (chips, crackers, cookies, pies). Food choices move towards those of fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, fish, and olive oil. Portions or servings have to be adequate to maintain a healthy weight.

Mediterranean food is not the heaping plate of pasta with an afterthought of vegetables. It also is not the super-size fast food pizza with pepperoni and cheese. Mediterranean food incorporates fresh food rather than the fast food. It entails a shift from large portions of red meat to smaller portions of fish, a transition from highly processed foods to ample helpings of dark green vegetables with a dose of olive oil. Low amounts of alcohol, especially red wine can make a meal enjoyable, which means one drink per day for women, and two drinks per day for men. And after dinner go for a walk!

Olive oil is one of the reasons why the Mediterranean diet is so healthy

In the past it was thought that the monounsaturated fatty acids in olive oil would be the reason why it is protective of the heart. However, newer studies have shown that it is the polyphenols and among these in particular hydroxytyrosol that lower blood pressure and protect you from hardening of the arteries.

In a 2012 study from Spain it was found that mortality from heart attacks was 44% lower than that of a control group who did not incorporate olive oil in their diet.

How polyphenols in olive oil work for you

Only two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil per day protect you from heart disease. It does so by reducing the total cholesterol level in the blood as well as the LDL cholesterol level. When there is more polyphenol in olive oil (such as in extra virgin olive oil), the body produces more HDL, which is essential to extract oxidized LDL from arterial plaque. On top of that polyphenol rich olive oil will increase the size of the HDL particles (these larger particles are called HDL2), which are more efficient in extracting oxidized LDL from arterial plaques. A Sept. 2014 study in humans showed that higher polyphenol olive oil as found in extra virgin olive oil caused an increase in the more effective HDL2 particles, which cleans out plaques from arteries more efficiently than the regular, cheaper olive oil.

Endothelial function

The endothelium is the lining of the arteries. Normal endothelial functioning involves widening of the arteries and maintaining its flexibility. The body achieves this through production of a signal molecule, called nitric oxide; the endothelial cells that line our arteries from inside produce it. Exercise increases the production of nitric oxide as well (Ref.1).

In a group of patients with poor endothelial function 2 tablespoons of olive oil (polyphenol rich) per day given over 4 months (the time of the study) showed a significant improvement of endothelial function.

The authors suggested that an enzyme in the endothelial cells, called nitric oxide synthase is being stimulated by components of polyphenol-rich olive oil. This leads to protracted release of nitric oxide, which in turn keeps blood vessels flexible and wide open. Other investigators found that olive oil can influence even a hereditary gene variant of endothelial nitric oxide synthase found in people with a history of premature heart attacks. This high-risk group of people should take extra virgin olive oil regularly to prevent premature heart attacks and strokes.

Endothelial dysfunction occurs when the arteries no longer can deliver adequate amounts of blood to vital organs like the heart or the brain. Endothelial dysfunction is also present in patients with type 2 diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and metabolic syndrome. Introducing extra virgin olive oil in the diet of these patients will help restore their endothelial function.

Lowering blood pressure

In a study on 23 hypertensive patients it was shown as far back as in 2000 that extra virgin olive oil over 6 months allowed physicians to reduce high blood pressure medications by 48%. When the study was crossed over, the reverse was the case for the control group on sunflower oil. The polyphenols of olive oil released nitric oxide, which is known to lower blood pressure. This is an important finding. High blood pressure is a risk factor for the development of hardening of the coronary arteries. This leads to heart attacks, congestive heart failure, but also stroke. Regular intake of 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil often will reverse high blood pressure and restore normal endothelial function.

Preventing heart attacks and strokes

In April of 2013 The New England Journal of Medicine published a Spanish diet study that showed that a participants on a Mediterranean diet with olive oil or nuts had 30% less heart attacks over 5 years than people on a low fat control diet. Other studies have also shown that olive oil and omega-3 fatty acids play a big role in preventing heart attacks and strokes. We also know that regular exercise reduces the risk further; so does keeping your body mass index below 25.0. Extra virgin olive oil is part of the protection from heart attacks and strokes. The study did not show any protection against cancer.

Mediterranean Diet Reduces Heart Attacks and Strokes in Diabetes

Mediterranean Diet Reduces Heart Attacks and Strokes in Diabetes

Conclusion

A Mediterranean diet reduced heart attacks and strokes in diabetic patients, but also in patients without diabetes. Here I attempted to show what the ingredients of a Mediterranean diet are that lead to such astounding positive effects. There is an emphasis on vegetables and fresh ingredients of food. In addition, olive oil and a lack of processed food are also important. With these wholesome ingredients the lining of the arteries works best. The body reduces cholesterol and lowers blood pressure. The end result is that there are less heart attacks and strokes, and people live longer.

Note: Part of this was previously published here and also here.

Apr
25
2020

Exosomes can Regenerate Your Stem Cells

By | Anti-aging medicine, Arthritis, blood brain barrier, Diabetes, exercise, fasting mimicking diet, Fitness, Heart Disease, immune system, Inflammation, kidney disease, lifestyle, mitochondria

Dr. Douglas J. Spiel gave a talk on how exosomes can regenerate your stem cells. In essence, this was at the 27th Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine in Las Vegas from Dec. 13 to 15th, 2019. His original topic was: “Placental MSC Exosomes for Longevity and Chronic Disease”. Notably, MSC stands for “mesenchymal stem cells”. Dr. Spiel recommended this website to look at applications of exosome therapy.

Essentially, what scientist found is that certain factors from stem cells can activate your own stem cells to regenerate tissues that grow old. These factors are messenger RNA (mRNA) and micro RNA (miRNA), which come as tiny particles of 40‐100 nm.

Advantages of administering exosomes

To emphasize, exosomes can be given systemically as infusion, and they can regenerate your stem cells, if they are in need of treatment. They cross the blood brain barrier, so it is possible to treat brain diseases. That is to say, there is no first-pass removal in the lungs as it is with mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). The potency is related to the age of the donor and his/her stem cells. Notably, exosomes are easy to store, freeze and administer.

Exosomes influence the growth of target cells and promote regeneration. In addition, exosomes stimulate immunomodulation and have anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic properties. To clarify, the only limitations are that the strength of the exosomes is related to the age of the blood donor. The exosome fraction comes from mesenchymal stem cells. That is to say, it circulates in the plasma portion of the blood, which is obtained by spinning blood cells down in a centrifuge. To emphasize, exosomes can regenerate your stem cells.

Applications of exosomes for various clinical conditions

Joint inflammation

Mesenchymal stem cells are useful to treat arthritis. But it is important to realize that exosomes from mesenchymal stem cells are doing the same by stimulating the body’s own stem cells situated in the joints. In fact, several target cells have been identified that are stimulated by exosomes. These are chondrocytes, chondrocyte progenitor cells, cartilage-derived stem cells and synovium‐resident multipotent progenitor cells. In addition, other target cells are osteoblasts and osteoclasts in resident MSC within the subchondral bone and chondrogenic cells in the knee joint.

Disc degeneration  

Degenerative intervertebral discs respond to exosome treatments. The IL1 beta cytokine is involved in intervertebral disc degeneration. Exosomes inactivate these cytokines and have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Exosomes are not all the same. Different sub-fractions were isolated that have anti-inflammatory, immune-stimulating, antioxidant and other effects on the body.

Aging research

Researchers were able to pinpoint aging to various factors that contribute to premature aging. To clarify, when there is a decrease of catabolic processes and an increase of anabolic processes, an older person can combat premature senescence. Another key point, aging is also linked to redox homeostasis. Simply put, oxygenation processes in the body need to be balanced by reduction processes. This keeps the body in a healthy state. ADP/NADH production can be stimulated by exosomes.

Longevity comes from good lifestyles

With the use of exosomes, the aging process slows down, as oxidative stress is neutralized, damaged mitochondria are removed and cellular debris as well. That is to say, this improves inflammation and premature aging.

As has been noted, in the past 200 years life expectancy has doubled in most countries. 4 areas where longevity is particularly common are: Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica and Loma Linda, USA. Only 7% of longevity stems from genetic factors, the rest is from lifestyles we adopt. In the final analysis, people who die prematurely followed a very poor lifestyle causing them to develop diseases, which ultimately killed them.

Clinical diseases from aging

Ultimately, advanced aging puts you at risk of getting cardiovascular disease (heart attacks and strokes), cancer and neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease). From the third decade onwards, there is the risk of bone loss, which causes osteoporosis. As has been noted, loss of cartilage causes osteoarthritis. Loss of muscle strength and muscle mass is called sarcopenia. With aging there is often an accumulation of abdominal fat. Hormones are disbalanced. Blood pressure is often elevated and blood lipids as well. Insulin resistance can develop and the blood vessels become stiffer. This causes heart attacks and strokes.

The details of the aging process are much more complicated than originally thought of. There is a combination of aging of the DNA, mitochondrial aging, stem cell exhaustion and a change of intercellular communication due to dysregulated endocrine signalling. In addition, there is a decline of the immune system and epigenetic factors that can turn off longevity genes.

Oxidative stress as a cause of premature aging

Dr. Spiel pointed out that reactive oxidative species (also known as free radicals) cause damage to mitochondria and mitochondrial DNA. But we need the energy from the mitochondria for a comfortable life. In essence, antioxidants can neutralize free radicals. Age-related conditions due to oxidative stress are: cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease and type 2 diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer, neurodegenerative disease, frailty and sarcopenia. Surely, both reactive oxygen and reactive nitrogen are free radicals. They have one or more unpaired electrons and all aerobic body cells produce them. Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) cause oxidative damage to our cells and contribute to the development the diseases just mentioned.

Antioxidants help to prevent diseases

But antioxidants can contain these free radicals in various ways. The body has five built-in enzymatic ways to protect itself and five non-enzymatic ways (bilirubin, vitamin E, beta-carotene, albumin and uric acid). In addition, there are antioxidants that a person can take as supplements to inactivate RONS. These are: vitamin C and E; phenolic antioxidants like resveratrol, phenolic acids, flavonoids, oil lecithin, selenium, zinc and drugs like acetylcysteine.

Without control of the oxidative stress RONS can lead to cellular senescence and chronic inflammation. This leads to a vicious cycle where chronic oxidative stress and inflammation feed on each other leading to premature diseases.

Causation of several diseases

As we age, the body reduces the inborn antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase). Before we can understand how to live longer, we need to be aware what happens in various health scenarios as follows.

  • The lack of inborn antioxidant enzymes leads to vascular endothelial dysfunction, high blood pressure and premature hardening of the arteries. This can become a precursor to heart attacks and strokes.
  • Elevated blood sugar in the case of type 2 diabetes leads to increased sugar concentration of body cells and formation of free radicals.
  • Oxidants from cigarette smoke activate macrophages and epithelial cells to produce inflammatory cytokines. Continued smoking releases proteases in the process that break down connective tissue and cause emphysema and COPD.

There are more diseases

  • Chronic kidney disease comes from oxidative stress affecting the filter units of the kidney, called glomeruli. With a lack of blood supply to the kidneys secondary high blood pressure develops and endothelial dysfunction. It also leads to chronic inflammation.
  • In the brain oxidative stress leads to cognitive impairment and dementia.
  • Oxidative stress and chronic inflammation are important ingredients for the development of cancer. RONS and cytokines release NF-kB, which activates cancer genes. RONS can also directly attack the DNA of cells and cause cancer through carcinogenesis.
  • Sarcopenia and frailty come from the action of RONS on the skeletal muscles. In old age there are less inborn antioxidants available. This leads to decreased muscle quantity or sarcopenia. Eventually frailty results with the risk of falls and fractures. 

Preventative measures for slowing the aging process

There is a number of steps that in combination help to slow the aging process.

  • A Mediterranean diet combined with a fasting mimicking diet or other calorie restricted diet
  • Regular physical activity
  • Cognitive training
  • Vitamin D3 supplementation
  • Reducing your risk to develop vascular disease
  • Certain drugs turn on the longevity gene (metformin, rifampin)
  • Spiel warned that due to limited compliance and variable response these steps alone may not be enough to prevent age-related problems

How to live longer

It is important to recognize the importance of antioxidants to counteract the development of these diseases. As already mentioned, the following counter the effect of free radicals: vitamin C and E; phenolic antioxidants like resveratrol, phenolic acids, flavonoids, oil lecithin, selenium, zinc and drugs like acetylcysteine. Mesenchymal stem cells can also stop the action of free radicals. In addition, exosomes, which  are products of mesenchymal stem cells can do the same. Mitochondria, the power houses within the cells, create energy, but also release free radicals. In his clinic Dr. Spiel administers intravenous exosomes to counter the oxidative stress. Numerous studies linked mitochondrial dysfunction to various age-related diseases. There are markers in blood tests that the physician can order to analyze malfunctions in the body. Dr. Spiel showed 4 slides that contained a lot of medical information that is too technical. I omitted it for this review.

Intravenous infusions of exosomes

The important thing to remember is that epigenetics can be changed by exosome infusion and lifestyle changes mentioned above. Dr. Spiel said that generally he uses 15 ml of exosomes by intravenous infusion every 12 weeks for longevity and performance enhancement. This treats conditions like infertility, osteoporosis, osteopenia, heart, liver and kidney weaknesses. Here is the dosing for intravenous exosomes by weight:

20-50 lb: 5 ml; 50-90 lb: 10ml; more than 90 lb: 15 ml; more than 220 lb: 20 ml. Unfortunately, one exosome treatment costs between 500.00 and 922.00 USD, an amount that most people cannot afford.

Contraindication to the use of stem cells or exosome therapy

It is important to realize that a person who has cancer should not receive either mesenchymal stem cells or exosomes. Indeed, exosomes do not differentiate between cancer cells and healthy cells, but stimulate cell division. For the same reason people with myeloproliferative disease (sickle cell anemia, bone marrow dysplasia) should also not receive exosomes. To clarify, other conditions where the physician will not order exosomes are primary pulmonary hypertension, acute bacterial infection or an immune-compromised state. In addition, macular degeneration with neovascularization is also a condition where the health professional does not administer exosomes.

Exosomes can Regenerate Your Stem Cells

Exosomes can Regenerate Your Stem Cells

Conclusion

Dr. Douglas J. Spiel gave a talk on how exosomes can regenerate your stem cells. Specifically, this was at the 27th Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine in Las Vegas from Dec. 13 to 15th, 2019. Dr. Spiel explained how disease processes age our organs. Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) cause oxidative damage to our cells and contribute to the development of diseases. This involves the mitochondria in the cells as well. The good news is that a healthy lifestyle can counter these damaging processes to a certain extent. But it takes another step to re-establish the balance of our cells, exosome infusions. Exosomes are tiny particles that are shed by stem cells and that circulate in the blood. They can reenergize stem cells that are ailing to become functional again.

Expensive exosome infusions

He recommended an infusion with exosomes every 12 weeks for maintenance of good health and as a “fountain of youth”. Obviously, there are some limitations. As mentioned, it is not suitable for all patients, like cancer patients, patients with sickle cell anemia, acute bacterial infections or pulmonary hypertension. In addition, it is also not a treatment which many patients will seek out as the cost is prohibitive. One exosome treatment cost between 500.00 and 922.00 USD, an amount that most people cannot afford.