Having A Higher Purpose In Life Reduces Risk Of Death Among Older Adults. Possessing a greater purpose in life is associated with lower mortality rates among older adults according to a new study by researchers at Rush University Medical Center.
Patricia A. Boyle, PhD, and her colleagues from the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, studied 1,238 community-dwelling elderly participants from two ongoing research studies, the Rush Memory and Aging Project and the Minority Aging Research Study. None had dementia. Data from baseline evaluations of purpose in life and up to five years of follow-up were used to test the hypothesis that greater purpose in life is associated with a reduced risk of mortality among community-dwelling older persons.
Purpose in life reflects the tendency to derive meaning from life’s experiences and be focused and intentional, according to Boyle. Old Gastrointestinal Drug Slows Aging, Researchers Say. Recent animal studies have shown that clioquinol – an 80-year old drug once used to treat diarrhea and other gastrointestinal disorders – can reverse the progression of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases.
Scientists, however, had a variety of theories to attempt to explain how a single compound could have such similar effects on three unrelated neurodegenerative disorders. Researchers at McGill University have discovered a dramatic possible new answer: According to Dr. Siegfried Hekimi and colleagues at McGill's Department of Biology, clioquinol acts directly on a protein called CLK-1, often informally called "clock-1," and might slow down the aging process.
Berry Compound Reduces Aging Effect. In a new study, aged laboratory animals that ate a diet rich in the berry and grape compound pterostilbene performed better than those in a group that did not eat the enriched diet, scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have reported.
Pterostilbene reversed measurable negative effects of aging on brain function and behavioral performance. Neuroscientist James Joseph, psychologist Barbara Shukitt-Hale and colleagues at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, Mass., collaborated on the study with chemist Agnes Rimando of the ARS Natural Products Utilization Research Laboratory in Oxford, Miss.
For the two-part study, the researchers wanted to determine if pterostilbene would be effective in reversing the effects of aging on mature rats. The Gurus' Guide To Daily Nutrition: Newsweek, January 16, 2006. International Antiaging Systems. Anti-cancer cream fights wrinkles. A cream used to treat pre-cancerous skin lesions also reverses signs of ageing, a study reveals.
Fluorouracil improved wrinkles, dark spots, shadows and sallowness, as well as its intended effect of removing suspect growths from sun damaged skin. Patients with pre-cancerous actinic keratoses can expect younger-looking skin as a side effect of the treatment, Archives of Dermatology reports. The US authors warn some will seek to capitalise this cosmetic effect. But experts advised against using the drug for purely cosmetic reasons, saying that it could cause severe skin reactions. The treatment encourages the body to make healthy new skin by purposefully damaging the outermost layer of the skin, much like chemical peels and laser treatment. And being cheaper, it is an attractive alternative to laser therapy.
Added bonus And patients with actinic keratoses may also be lured by the cosmetic added bonus, they said. "The best way to avoid wrinkles is to avoid too much sun. " A few drinks 'cuts dementia risk' Older people who drink moderate amounts of alcohol may have a lower risk of dementia, a US study suggests.
Researchers found people who consumed between eight and 14 alcoholic drinks a week had a 37% lower risk of the disease than the general population. However, people who consumed more than 14 drinks a week were at twice the normal risk of developing dementia. The Wake Forest University study was presented at the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease. The US researchers focused on 3,069 people aged 75 or older. Anti-aging Cosmetic Reduced Wrinkles In Clinical Trial. Scientists testing a cosmetic anti-ageing product sold commercially have shown it can clinically reduce wrinkles and improve the appearance of skin damaged by everyday exposure to sunlight.
Dermatologists at The University of Manchester carried out a clinical trial on 60 volunteers with typical signs of sun-damaged skin and found that the cosmetic, No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Beauty Serum, could improve some of these clinical features. The study showed that 70% of individuals using the beauty product had significantly fewer wrinkles after 12 months of daily use compared to volunteers using a placebo. Rapamycin Could Be Anti-Aging Treatment. Researchers have found that rapamycin, a compound that has antifungal and antibiotic properties, found in the soil at Easter Island, extended the lifespan of mice who were fed the potential anti-aging chemical.
Rapamycin could become a genuine anti-aging treatment that could promote quality of life with aging. The compound, named after Easter Island’s Polynesian name, Rapa Nui, extended the lives of mice by 28 to 38 percent. That equates to greater longevity in humans if diseases such as cancer and heart disease could be prevented or cured. The mice were the equivalent of sixty years old in human years. The National Institute on Aging (NIA) Interventions Testing Program studies compounds that could help humans remain active and disease-free throughout life. Arlan G. Rapamycin, called sirolimus, is used to reduce the chances of organ and bone marrow rejection in transplant patients. ABC Health Report.