X-Message-Number: 25959
Date: Fri, 1 Apr 2005 20:41:39 -0800 (PST)
From: Doug Skrecky <>
Subject: life extension for centenarians

[Centenarians who take aspirin live 41% longer. Since
cardiovascular disease is known to be the primary cause
of mortality in this age group, supplements which act
against this disease may further decrease centenarian
mortality.]

J. A. Geriatr. Soc. November 2001 49(11) 1578- 1580
The Effect of Low-dose Daily Aspirin Intake on Survival
in the Finnish Centenarians Cohort

Quote:
"The usual dose taken was 250 mg...
Results:
The cumulative 5-year mortality of this very old
population was 98%. Subjects taking aspirin had an average
survival of 2.4 years, whereas subjects who did not take
aspirin survived 1.7 years...
Conclusions:
Our findings indicate that centenarians who use low-dose
aspirin daily in general tend to live longer, even after
controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and
health status, suggesting that there is an association
between aspirin intake and long-term survival in extreme
old ages...
Because these findings are derived from an observational
study, clinical trials are needed to confirm our findings
and to explore further the hypothesis that low-dose aspirin
may increase longevity among older subjects."

[Below are two interventions which might prove to be
effective for further lowering centenarian mortality.
I'm wondering if there might be some support for the idea
of starting a "Supercentenarian Project" with the
admitedly ambitious goal of transforming willing centenarians
into healthy supercentenarians.]

Clin Nutr. 2004 Jun;23(3):423-33.
Pomegranate juice consumption for 3 years by patients with
carotid artery stenosis reduces common carotid intima-media
thickness, blood pressure and LDL oxidation.
Dietary supplementation with polyphenolic antioxidants to
animals was shown to be associated with inhibition of LDL
oxidation and macrophage foam cell formation, and
attenuation of atherosclerosis development. We investigated
the effects of pomegranate juice (PJ, which contains potent
tannins and anthocyanins) consumption by atherosclerotic
patients with carotid artery stenosis (CAS) on the
progression of carotid lesions and changes in oxidative
stress and blood pressure. Ten patients were supplemented
with PJ for 1 year and five of them continued for up to 3
years. Blood samples were collected before treatment and
during PJ consumption. In the control group that did not
consume PJ, common carotid intima-media thickness (IMT)
increased by 9% during 1 year, whereas, PJ consumption
resulted in a significant IMT reduction, by up to 30%, after
1 year. The patients' serum paraoxonase 1 (PON 1) activity
was increased by 83%, whereas serum LDL basal oxidative state
and LDL susceptibility to copper ion-induced oxidation were
both significantly reduced, by 90% and 59%, respectively,
after 12 months of PJ consumption, compared to values
obtained before PJ consumption. Furthermore, serum levels of
antibodies against oxidized LDL were decreased by 19%, and in
parallel serum total antioxidant status (TAS) was increased
by 130% after 1 year of PJ consumption. Systolic blood
pressure was reduced after 1 year of PJ consumption by 21%
and was not further reduced along 3 years of PJ consumption.
For all studied parameters, the maximal effects were observed
after 1 year of PJ consumption. Further consumption of PJ,
for up to 3 years, had no additional beneficial effects on
IMT and serum PON1 activity, whereas serum lipid peroxidation
was further reduced by up to 16% after 3 years of PJ
consumption. The results of the present study thus suggest
that PJ consumption by patients with CAS decreases carotid
IMT and systolic blood pressure and these effects could be
related to the potent antioxidant characteristics of PJ
polyphenols.

Angiology. 2003 Sep-Oct;54(5):531-9.
Prevention of venous thrombosis in long-haul flights with
Flite Tabs: the LONFLIT-FLITE randomized, controlled trial.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the development of
edema, and superficial and deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
prophylaxis with an oral profibrinolytic agent (Flite Tabs,
150 mg pinokinase, Aidan, Tempe, AZ, USA) in long-haul
flights (7-8 hours), in high-risk subjects. A group of 300
subjects was included; 76 were excluded for several problems
including concomitant treatments; 204 were randomized into 2
groups (active treatment or placebo) to evaluate the effects
of prophylaxis with Flite Tabs. An exercise program was used
in both groups. The femoral, popliteal, tibial, and
superficial veins were scanned with ultrasound before and
within 90 minutes after flights. Of the included subjects,
92 of 103 controls and 94 of 101 treated subjects completed
the study. Dropouts were due to connection problems. Age,
gender, and risk distribution were comparable in the groups.
In the treatment group, no DVT was observed. In the control
group, 5 subjects (5.4%) had a DVT and there were 2
superficial thromboses (7 events in 92 subjects; 7.6%). At
inclusion, edema was comparable in the 2 groups. After
flights there was an increase in score in controls (+12%)
in comparison with a decrease (-15%) in the Flite Tabs group
(the difference in variation was statistically significant).
Intention-to-treat analysis for thrombotic events shows 18
failures in controls (11 lost to follow-up + 7 thrombotic
events) of 92 subjects (19.6%) in comparison with 7 failures
(of 94 subjects, equivalent to 7.4%) in the treatment group
(p < 0.05). Events were asymptomatic. In conclusion, Flite
Tabs were effective in reducing thrombotic events and in
controlling edema in high-risk subjects in long flights.

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