X-Message-Number: 28008
Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2006 17:36:26 -0700 (PDT)
From: Doug Skrecky <>
Subject: pycnogenol reverses some signs of aging

[Bone marrow malfunction may lie at the heart of the human aging.
A treatment for this may be available now.]

Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2005 Nov;289(5):H2089-96.
Increasing donor age adversely impacts beneficial effects of bone
marrow but not smooth muscle myocardial cell therapy.
  We evaluated the impact of donor age on the efficacy of
myocardial cellular therapy for ischemic cardiomyopathy.
Characteristics of smooth muscle cells (SMC), bone marrow stromal
cells (MSCs), and skeletal muscle cells (SKMCs) from young, adult,
and old rats were compared in vitro. Three weeks after coronary
ligation, 3.5 million SMCs (n = 11) or MSCs (n = 9) from old
syngenic rats or culture medium (n = 6) were injected into the
ischemic region. Five weeks after implantation, cardiac function
was assessed by echocardiography and the Langendorff apparatus.
In the in vitro study, the numbers and proliferation of MSCs from
fresh bone marrow and SKMCs from fresh tissue but not SMCs were
markedly diminished in old animals (P < 0.05 both groups). SKMCs
from old animals did not reach confluence. After treatment with
5-azacytidine (azacitidine), the myogenic potential of old MSCs
was decreased compared with young MSCs. In the in vivo study,
both SMC and MSC transplantation induced significant angiogenesis
compared with media injections (P < 0.05 both groups).
Transplantation of SMCs but not MSCs prevented scar thinning
(P = 0.03) and improved ejection fraction and fractional
shortening (P < 0.05). Load-independent indices of cardiac
function in a Langendorff preparation confirmed improved function
in the aged SMC group (P = 0.01) but not in the MSC group compared
with the control group. In conclusion, donor age adversely impacts
the efficacy of cellular therapy for myocardial regeneration and
is cell-type dependent. SMCs from old donors retain their ability
to improve cardiac function after implantation into ischemic
myocardium.

[Oral pycnogenol reverses aging of bone marrow in a short lived
mouse strain.]

Cell Mol Life Sci. 1998 Oct;54(10):1168-72.
Pycnogenol enhances immune and haemopoietic functions in
senescence-accelerated mice.
  Pycnogenol (procyanidin extracted from Pinus maritima) has been
shown to be a potent free radical scavenger and an antioxidant
phytochemical. The effects of pycnogenol on immune and
haemopoietic dysfunction in senescence-accelerated mice (SAM), as
a murine model of accelerated ageing, were determined. SAMP8, a
strain of senile-prone mice, exhibit learning and memory deficits,
immunodeficiency and dysfunction of the haemopoietic system. Oral
feeding with pycnogenol for 2 months significantly improved their
T- and B-cell function. Pycnogenol also augmented the
proliferative capacity of haemopoietic progenitors of bone marrow
in SAMP8. These data suggest that pycnogenol may be useful for
either retardation or restoration of parameters associated with
ageing.

[Slower wound healing is a biomarker of aging. Topically applied
pycnogenol can reverse this.]

Phytother Res. 2004 Jul;18(7):579-81.
Pycnogenol accelerates wound healing and reduces scar formation.
  Pycnogenol was applied topically to experimental wounds inflicted
on healthy rats by means of a branding iron. The wound-healing time
was taken as the number of days required for 50% of the scabs to
separate spontaneously from the animals. Application of a gel
formulation containing 1% Pycnogenol significantly shortened the
wound healing time, by 1.6 days compared with the group treated
with gel only (15.4 days). The application of 2% Pycnogenol
decreased the healing time by almost 3 days, while 5% Pycnogenol
further accelerated the wound-healing process. In parallel,
Pycnogenol gels reduced the diameter of the scars remaining
following complete scab loss in a concentration-dependent manner.
In conclusion, Pycnogenol is a potent active ingredient for the
treatment of minor injuries.

[For an OTC supplement, pycnogenol is surprisingly effective at
healing ulcers.]

Angiology. 2005 Nov-Dec;56(6):699-705.
Venous ulcers: microcirculatory improvement and faster healing
with local use of Pycnogenol.
  Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) causes a well-defined
microangiopathy described as venous hypertensive microangiopathy
(VHM) leading to venous ulcerations. VHM is mainly observed in the
distal part of the leg, in the perimalleolar region. In VHM edema
is the consequence of increased capillary pressure and reduced
local clearance, and this affects local perfusion. The healing of
venous ulcers is usually very slow. Many treatments are available,
but there is still no standard. Oral Pycnogenol is effective in
venous disease and particularly in controlling edema. The aim of
this study was the evaluation of the local effects of Pycnogenol
on ulcers healing associated with venous hypertension. The study
lasted 6 weeks including 18 patients (16 completed the study) with
venous ulcerations. The oral treatment with Pycnogenol was compared
with a combination treatment including oral and local treatment. In
subjects treated with the combination treatment (oral and local),
venous ulcers healed better (there was a faster reduction in
ulcerated area) in comparison with oral treatment only. According
to this pilot study Pycnogenol appears to have an important role
in local treatment of venous ulcers improving healing and
signs/symptoms.

[A combination of pycnogenol and nattokinase completely prevented
deep vein thrombosis.]

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.

[If the stuff is so great, people ought to be brushing their teeth
with it.]

Phytomedicine. 2002 Jul;9(5):410-3.
PYCNOGENOL chewing gum minimizes gingival bleeding and plaque
formation.
  PYCNOGENOL is an antioxidant phytochemical shown to have
antiinflammatory activity in both the in vitro and in vivo models.
This study compared the effects of chewing gums with and without
PYCNOGENOL on gingival bleeding and plaque formation in 40 human
subjects. In this double-blind study, subjects were assigned
randomly to receive either control gums without PYCNOGENOL or
experimental gums containng 5 mg PYCNOGENOL. Subjects used chewing
gums for 14 days. Gingival bleeding and plaque scores were taken
before and after the experiment. PYCNOGENOL chewing gums
significantly reduced gingival bleeding, while no changes were
noted in bleeding indexes in control subjects who used regular
chewing gums. Subjects using regular control gums had significant
increases of dental plaque accumulation during the two-week period.
No increases in plaque accumulation were noted in subjects using
PYCNOGENOL chewing gums. The data of this study suggest that the
use of Pycnogenol chewing gums can minimize gingival bleeding and
plaque accumulation.

[Like a lot of OTC supplements, pycnogenol has not been tested in
any long term mortality study. However an argument could be made
for testing this supplement in centenarians, as it seems to
address a lot of the problems they would have. Since centenarians
live for an average of only about 2 years, it would not take long
to assess, in this population whether pycnogenol could
significantly reduce human mortality.]

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=28008