Nitric Oxide: The New Hero of Human Biology

by

Twenty minutes on a treadmill will certainly help you fit into that one-size-too-small dress. But new research suggests that exercise may also help increase the production of nitric oxide, a substance that does a variety of important jobs in the body, perhaps none more valuable than to help prevent heart disease.

“Nitric oxide does a variety of jobs,” explains Dr. Jason Allen of Duke University. “It tends to be antiatherogenic, which means that it helps prevent your arteries from becoming clogged. From start to finish, this is a 40-year process which depends on lifestyle.” That is, it’s a function of what you eat, how you exercise, and the stresses you are under.

Read more

Breastfed babies develop fewer behavioural problems

by

Children who are breastfed for four months or more develop fewer behaviour problems, Oxford researchers say. The study, involving 10,000 mothers and their babies and in journal Archives of Disease in Childhood, says that may be because of the make-up of breast milk. Or, it says, breastfeeding may lead to better mother-baby interaction. Breastfeeding is … Read more

Priligy (Dapoxetine) can treat Premature Ejaculation (PE)

by

Priligy® or its generic version Dapoxetine is the first pill-form medication designed specifically to treat premature ejaculation (PE) in men. Premature ejaculation is defined as ejaculating quicker than their partner or themselves would desire.

Technically, Dapoxetine or Priligy® is what is known as a SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor). SSRI’s are typically prescribed for patients who experience depression and as such are used as antidepressants. However, some SSRI’s have shown the ability to reduce ejaculation time in some men but no other SSRI in studies has worked as well as Dapoxetine for this issue. Apparently it is also safer and eliminated from the body quicker than typical SSRI’s as its terminal half life is approximately 20 hours with its initial half life around 1.4 hours. This is partially why it was rejected as a depression treatment. Because of its short duration a patient would need to be taking this medication several times per day for a proper effect, which is fairly unrealistic and as such Dapoxetine has not been actually approved as an antidepressant.

Read more

Drug prevents Type 2 Diabetes in Majority of High-Risk Individuals

by

A pill taken once a day in the morning prevented type 2 diabetes in more than 70 percent of individuals whose obesity, ethnicity and other markers put them at highest risk for the disease, U.S. scientists report.

The team also noted a 31 percent decrease in the rate of thickening of the carotid artery, the major vessel that supplies blood to the brain. The study, which enrolled 602 participants through The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio and seven collaborating centers, is described in the New England Journal of Medicine and has direct implications for the care of 40 million Americans who are pre-diabetic.

“It’s a blockbuster study,” said senior author Ralph DeFronzo, M.D., professor in the School of Medicine and chief of the diabetes division at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio. “The 72 percent reduction is the largest decrease in the conversion rate of pre-diabetes to diabetes that has ever been demonstrated by any intervention, be it diet, exercise or medication.”

Read more

Eating Apples Extends Lifespan of Test Animals by 10 Percent

by

Scientists are reporting the first evidence that consumption of a healthful antioxidant substance in apples extends the average lifespan of test animals, and does so by 10 percent. The new results, obtained with fruit flies — stand-ins for humans in hundreds of research projects each year — bolster similar findings on apple antioxidants in other animal tests.

The study appears in ACS’s Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Zhen-Yu Chen and colleagues note that damaging substances generated in the body, termed free radicals, cause undesirable changes believed to be involved in the aging process and some diseases. Substances known as antioxidants can combat this damage. Fruits and vegetables in the diet, especially brightly colored foods like tomatoes, broccoli, blueberries, and apples are excellent sources of antioxidants. A previous study with other test animals hinted that an apple antioxidant could extend average lifespan. In the current report, the researchers studied whether different apple antioxidants, known as polyphenols, could do the same thing in fruit flies.

Read more