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News flashes are posted here frequently to keep you up-to-date with the latest advances in health and longevity. We have an unparalleled track record of breaking stories about life extension advances.

Fish oil linked with better lung function

May 30 2025.A large study found that men and women who used fish oil (a source of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids) or had favorable plasma fatty acid levels had better lung function than individuals who were nonusers of fish oil or had less favorable levels of plasma fatty acids. The study's findings were reported in the June 2025 issue of the European Journal of Nutrition.

Zhilin Zheng of Huazhong University of Science and Technology and colleagues evaluated data from 248,133 participants in the UK Biobank, which enrolled men and women between the ages of 40 and 69 years from 2006 to 2010. Eight hundred fifty participants reported using fish oil in response to questionnaires completed at recruitment. Blood samples obtained from the participants at the beginning of the study or at the first repeat assessment were analyzed for plasma saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids and other fatty acid values. Lung function was assessed by measurement of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC, which measures the amount of air that can be exhaled after inhaling as deeply as possible.)

People in the study who used fish oil had better lung function as indicated by FEV1 and FVC values. Increases in plasma polyunsaturated fatty acids, omega-3, omega-6, DHA (an omega-3 fatty acid), linoleic acid and the ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acids to monounsaturated fatty acids were also associated with better lung function.

Analysis of the findings suggested that plasma fatty acids partly mediated the association between fish oil intake and lung function and that the omega-3 fatty acid DHA was mainly responsible for the effects. As a possible mechanism for omega-3 fatty acids, the authors discussed how they help support a healthy inflammatory response.

—D Dye

Pharmaceutical combo extends mouse lifespan by 30%

May 28 2025. Research reported May 28, 2025, in the journal Nature Aging found that giving mice two drugs that have anti-cancer properties resulted in a 30% extension of lifespan.

The pharmaceuticals included the cancer treatment trametinib and rapamycin, a geroprotector used to prevent organ transplant rejection that has also shown anticancer effects. (Geroprotective drugs are compounds that slow aging and extend life.)

Co-senior author Linda Partridge of the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne, Germany, and colleagues separately administered rapamycin and trametinib orally to groups of young mice and observed a 5–10% lifespan extension with trametinib alone and a 15%–20% extension of lifespan in association with rapamycin. When orally administered together using the same doses, the drugs had an additive effect that extended life by approximately 30%. Health span also improved, along with less cancer development and brain and other tissue inflammation in comparison with animals that did not receive the drugs.

Investigation of the mechanisms of action rapamycin and trametinib determined that combining the drugs influences gene activity differently than that which occurs with separate administration.

"While we do not expect a similar extension to human lifespans as we found in mice, we hope that the drugs we're investigating could help people to stay healthy and disease-free for longer late in life," Partridge stated. "Further research in humans in years to come will help us to elucidate how these drugs may be useful to people, and who might be able to benefit."

"Trametinib, especially in combination with rapamycin, is a good candidate to be tested in clinical trials as a geroprotector," co-senior author Sebastian Grönke, also of the Max Panck Institute, recommended. "We hope that our results will be taken up by others and tested in humans."

—D Dye

Tea, garlic, berries, rosemary, turmeric consumption lower indicator of aging

May 26 2025. A secondary analysis of a trial reported April 17, 2025, in Aging, found an association between the intake of plant foods known as methyl adaptogens, which included berries, garlic, rosemary, turmeric, and green and oolong tea, and a decrease in epigenetic age in comparison with a regular diet in men.

Epigenetic age is a measure of biologic aging that results from gene expression rather than changes to the genes themselves and is determined by analyzing DNA methylation patterns. DNA methylation is the addition of methyl groups consisting of carbon and hydrogen to genetic material, thereby maintaining the integrity of the genome.

"Alterations in cellular function regulating inflammation, cell cycle regulation, cellular energy production, detoxification, and remediation of oxidative stress are mechanistically connected to established chronic diseases of aging," authors Jamie L. Villanueva and colleagues explained. "The regulation of gene expression controls these processes, with epigenetic regulation potentially malleable."

Villanueva and colleagues utilized data obtained in the Methylation Diet and Lifestyle study. The study included men who consumed healthful plant foods and lean meat and avoided consuming dairy products, grains, legumes and alcohol, and a control group consisting of men who consumed their regular eating pattern for eight weeks. Foods consumed by the plant-based diet group included liver, eggs, dark leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, colorful vegetables, beets, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, lean meat, low glycemic fruit and methyl adaptogens. "Significant reductions in epigenetic age post-intervention were observed but with notable variability," they authors noted.

By analyzing foods included in the plant-based diet, the researchers observed a linear association between the intake of polyphenol (antioxidant compounds from plants) methyl adaptogens including berries, rosemary, garlic, turmeric, and green and oolong tea and epigenetic age reduction.

"These findings suggest that consuming foods categorized as methyl adaptogens may reduce markers of epigenetic aging," they concluded.

—D Dye

Trial finds giving vitamin D decreases marker of aging

May 23 2025. Findings from a trial reported May 21, 2025, in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed a protective effect on the telomeres of men and women who received 2,000 international units (IU) vitamin D3 per day for four years. Telomeres consist of segments of DNA that cap and protect the ends of chromosomes (the body's genetic material) and shorten during the aging of a cell.

First author Haidong Zhu, PhD, who is a molecular geneticist at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, concluded that the findings "suggest that targeted vitamin D . . . may be a promising strategy to counter a biological aging process, although further research is warranted."

The current findings were obtained in a substudy of the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled VITamin D and 6 OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL) trial, which evaluated the effects of giving vitamin D3 and/or omega-3 fatty acids to participants aged 50 and older for five years. White blood cell telomere length was measured in 1,031 participants at the beginning of the study and at two and four years.

In comparison with individuals who received a placebo, participants who received vitamin D3 had significantly less white blood cell telomere shortening during a four-year period, which was equivalent to the prevention of nearly three years of aging.

Report coauthor JoAnn Manson, MD, who is chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and a principal investigator of VITAL, announced that VITAL is the first large long-term randomized trial to demonstrate that vitamin D protects telomeres and preserves telomere length. "This is of particular interest because VITAL had also shown benefits of vitamin D in reducing inflammation and lowering risks of selected chronic diseases of aging, such as advanced cancer and autoimmune disease," she noted.

—D Dye

Metformin associated with exceptional longevity in women with diabetes

May 21 2025. A study reported May 19, 2025, in The Journals of Gerontology® Series A revealed that women with type 2 diabetes who were treated with the diabetes drug metformin had a better chance of surviving to the age of 90 compared with women treated with sulfonylurea drugs.

While either of the drugs are frequently prescribed for people with type 2 diabetes, research has associated metformin with benefits beyond glucose management, including reductions in aspects of aging.

"Biological aging is characterized by a progressive loss in physiological functions and tissues, thereby increasing the risk of chronic diseases and geriatric syndromes," the authors wrote. "The geroscience hypothesis posits that biological aging is malleable and that slowing biological aging may delay or prevent the onset of multiple age-related diseases and disability. A key goal of geroscience is to identify novel therapeutic and preventive interventions that slow biological aging."

The study included women with type 2 diabetes diagnosed between enrollment and the third-year visit of the Women's Health Initiative, a 31-year prospective study that enrolled postmenopausal women from 1993–1998. Aladdin H. Shadyab of the University of California San Diego and colleagues matched 219 participants who used metformin as a sole therapy with an equal number of women who were prescribed sulfonylurea drugs including glipizide, glyburide, gliclazide or glimepiride. The pairs were matched for demographics, lifestyle behaviors and other factors.

Through February 17, 2024, the risk of dying before the age of 90 among women who used metformin was 30% lower than the risk experienced by women who used sulfonylurea drugs as a sole therapy for type 2 diabetes.

"In this first target trial emulation of metformin and exceptional longevity, we found that metformin initiation increased exceptional longevity compared with sulfonylurea initiation among women with type 2 diabetes," the authors concluded.

—D Dye

CoQ10 helps protect against muscle damage in athletes

May 19 2025. A systematic review and meta-analysis published in the August 2025 issue of Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice concluded that the addition of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) to the diets of athletes decreased muscle damage and oxidative stress, thereby helping to support exercise recovery.

"Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) has been widely recognized for its potential antioxidative and cytoprotective properties," authors Hui Qu of Northeastern University and Yueyao Qu of East China Normal University wrote. "Oxidative stress and muscle damage can impair recovery in athletes."

The duo analyzed data from 17 controlled trials that included a total of 440 participants. Evaluated blood biomarkers included lactate dehydrogenase and creatine kinase (markers of muscle damage), malondialdehyde (a marker of oxidative stress caused by free radicals) and total antioxidant capacity (CoQ10 is an antioxidant present in most cells).

Coenzyme Q10 use was associated with significant reductions in lactate dehydrogenase and creatine kinase, which indicated less muscle damage. It was also associated with lower levels of malondialdehyde, revealing a decrease in damaging oxidative stress. However, CoQ10 did not affect total antioxidant capacity.

"Several meta-analyses have investigated the effects of CoQ10 on biomarkers of oxidative stress and muscle damage," the authors wrote. "However, none of them have focused on trained athletes. This study provides critical insights into the role of CoQ10 . . . in supporting the recovery of high-performance athletes."

—D Dye

Exercise helps maintain vitamin D levels

May 16 2025. Findings from a trial reported May 11, 2025, in Advanced Science revealed a benefit for regular exercise to support healthy levels of serum vitamin D levels during winter, when vitamin D often declines due to reduced ultraviolet light exposure.

The VitaDEx randomized trial included 21 overweight men and women assigned to ten weeks of cardiovascular exercise four times per week during winter and 20 overweight participants who were requested to maintain their usual lifestyle. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, subcutaneous fat tissue vitamin D, serum vitamin D binding protein, vitamin D metabolites, vitamin D metabolism-related genes and biomarkers, body composition and other factors were measured at the beginning and end of the study.

While seasonal declines in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D occurred in both groups, participants who exercised experienced a 15% reduction in contrast with a 25% average decline in the non-exercising group. Levels of the active vitamin D metabolite 1,25(OH)2D3 were completely maintained in the group assigned to regular exercise, but declined by 15% among those who did not engage in regular exercise.

"Collectively, the findings from the VitaDEx project show that exercise increases the concentrations of vitamin D metabolites each time you are active – and, on top of this, doing regular activity helps to maintain your basal resting levels of vitamin D during winter," lead researcher Dylan Thompson noted. "This means exercise gives you a double benefit to your vitamin D – firstly in and around each exercise bout, and secondly through changing your baseline levels."

"This is the first study to show that exercise alone can protect against the winter dip in vitamin D, lead author Oly Perkin, PhD, of the University of Bath stated. "It's a powerful reminder that we still have lots to learn about how exercise benefits our health."

—D Dye

Adding nutrients to the diet may benefit people with COPD

May 14 2025. A meta-analysis that included 1,975 men and women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema) found that adding nutrients to the diet improved breathing, exercise endurance and quality of life. The findings were published in the May 8, 2025, issue of BMC Pulmonary Medicine.

The meta-analysis included 37 randomized, controlled trials that evaluated 20 nutrients, including a combination of Chinese yam and the herb Epimedium ("horny goat weed"), creatine, coenzyme Q10 plus creatine, beta-alanine complex, fish oil, curcumin, melatonin, pomegranate juice, whey protein, butyrate, essential amino acids, probiotics, a combination of Picrorhiza kurroa, ginkgo and ginger, vitamin C, low or high dose vitamin E, vitamin C plus vitamin E, vitamin D, proanthocyanidins and the omega-3 fatty acid EPA. The trials included a total of 998 individuals who were given nutritional therapy and 977 who received a placebo.

Curcumin, butyrate and probiotic use were associated with significant improvement in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), which is a marker of respiratory function. FEV1 to forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio (another indicator of respiratory function) declined less rapidly with curcumin. Six-minute Walk distance, which is used to assess exercise endurance, improved with CoQ10/creatine, melatonin, nitrate and whey protein.

The yam-Epimedium combination improved Medical Research Council scores that evaluated difficult breathing. Quality of life, as determined by COPD Assessment Test scores, improved with melatonin, whey protein and vitamin D. Improvement in St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire scores was associated with the Picrorhiza kurroa, ginkgo and ginger combination, creatine, and yam/Epimedium.

Authors Jia Zeng and colleagues concluded that nutrients had varying effects on different aspects of COPD. They anticipated that the meta-analysis' findings may aid healthcare professionals in the selection of appropriate nutritional interventions to improve patient outcomes.

—D Dye

Multivitamin use associated with lower risk of prostate cancer recurrence

May 12 2025. A study reported May 6, 2025, in European Urology Oncology found an association between the use of multivitamins and a reduction in the risk of prostate cancer recurrence.

The investigation included 1,396 men enrolled in the Cancer of the Prostate Strategic Urologic Research Endeavor (CaPSURE) between 1999 and 2018. The men received treatment with radiation or removal of the prostate for nonmetastatic prostate cancer. Responses to health questionnaires completed after diagnosis provided information concerning the use of multivitamins.

Prostate cancer recurred in 119 men during a median follow-up of 4.7 years. Men who reported using multivitamins had a 49% lower adjusted risk of disease recurrence compared with men who had never used multivitamins. Among multivitamin users whose prostate cancer was of medium-grade or higher according to Gleason scores, the risk of recurrence was 73% lower than never-users. In contrast, men with low-grade cancer did not experience a significant protective effect associated with multivitamin use.

Authors Kevin Shee, MD, and colleagues at the University of California noted that oxidative stress is a risk factor for the onset and progression of prostate cancer. This suggests that multivitamins' antioxidant properties may be responsible for the protective effect observed in this study and may help explain the greater benefit observed among men with higher-grade prostate cancer, which has been associated with increased oxidative stress. Other potential mechanisms may involve the individual contributions of various nutrients such as vitamin D included in multinutrient formulas.

"In this study of men initially diagnosed with nonmetastatic prostate cancer, we observed that multivitamin use after diagnosis was associated with lower risk of prostate cancer recurrence," Dr Shee and his associates concluded. "Future research is needed to confirm these findings in larger, more diverse cohorts of patients with longer follow-up and repeated measures of multivitamin use over time."

—D Dye

Study suggests vitamins may slow glaucoma progression

May 09 2025. Research reported May 8, 2025, in Cell Reports Medicine found that giving rodents B vitamins helped reduce the progression of glaucoma, the leading cause of irreversible blindness.

"The results are so promising that we have started a clinical trial, with patients already being recruited at St Eriks Eye Hospital in Stockholm," first author James R. Tribble, of Sweden's Karolinska Institutet stated.

Glaucoma is characterized by gradual damage of the optic nerve due to high intraocular pressure. Disease progression can be slowed by treatments that lower pressure within the eye.

Homocysteine is an amino acid that is associated with cardiovascular disease and other disorders when elevated in the blood of humans. High homocysteine levels within the eye's retina are an early marker of glaucoma in rats. However, the researchers involved in the current investigation failed to uncover an association between genetic predisposition to high blood serum homocysteine and the risk of glaucoma in a large human population. An analysis of participants with glaucoma in a clinical trial did not reveal an association between homocysteine and glaucoma progression during a two-year period.

Vitamins, including B6 and B12, folate and choline, are used by the body to metabolize homocysteine. The researchers found that giving these vitamins to rodents with glaucoma halted retinal cell damage in the slowly developing form of the disease and slowed the progression of the rapidly progressing form.

"Our conclusion is that homocysteine is a bystander in the disease process, not a player," Dr Tribble remarked. "Altered homocysteine levels may reveal that the retina has lost its ability to use certain vitamins that are necessary to maintain healthy metabolism."

"Testing of B6, B9, B12, and choline in a clinical trial setting for glaucoma will be necessary to fully determine their utility for preventing neurodegeneration and maintaining visual function in glaucoma patients," Dr Tribble and his colleagues concluded.

—D Dye

Fisetin helps prevent arterial calcification in preclinical research

May 07 2025. The April 29, 2025, issue of Aging published the findings of researchers at Johannes Kepler University Linz of a protective effect for the plant compound fisetin against vascular calcification, an abnormal deposition of calcium within the blood vessels that contributes to cardiovascular disease.

"Medial vascular calcification is highly prevalent in advanced age and chronic kidney disease (CKD), where it is associated with increased risk for cardiovascular events and mortality," Mehdi Razazian and colleagues wrote. "Vascular smooth muscle cells actively regulate this process, which can be augmented by inflammation and cellular senescence. Thus, the present study investigated the impact of fisetin, a flavonol with anti-inflammatory and senolytic properties, on vascular smooth muscle cell calcification."

In cultures of human aortic vascular smooth muscle cells to which calcium and a phosphate donor that promotes calcification were added, fisetin suppressed calcification markers compared with untreated cell cultures. Fisetin additionally decreased the expression of markers of senescence in vascular smooth muscle cells cultured with calcification promoters. (Senescence describes a state in which cells cease to divide and, rather than being destroyed by the body, remain to cause damaging inflammation in the area that surrounds them.)

When vascular smooth muscle cells were exposed to blood serum obtained from people undergoing kidney dialysis, fisetin lowered the buildup of calcium and protected the cells. This suggests that fisetin could provide protection against the vascular calcification that occurs in people with chronic kidney disease.

Further experimentation that utilized mouse aortas (main arteries) exposed to pro-calcification media also found a reduction in calcification with fisetin cotreatment. Fisetin additionally reduced calcification induced in living mice.

The researchers found that fisetin suppresses the activity of a signaling pathway known as p38 MAPK, which promotes calcification. "This study shows a novel role of fisetin as powerful protective agent during phosphate-induced vascular smooth muscle cell calcification," they concluded.

—D Dye

Magnesium depletion associated with frailty

May 05 2025. The June 15, 2025, issue of Experimental Gerontology published a report by researchers in China of the findings of an association between higher magnesium depletion scores and a greater risk of frailty and mortality during a median 70-month follow-up period.

The study evaluated data from 13,551 men and women of an average age of 71.31 years who participated in the 1999-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Frailty was assessed with a 49-item index that scored such factors as dependence, depressive conditions, cognition, medical comorbidities, hospitalization and care, body mass index and laboratory indicators. Magnesium depletion scores were determined by scoring points for current use of proton pump inhibitor drugs, current diuretic use, heavy drinking and low glomerular filtration rate (a marker of kidney function), all of which reduce magnesium levels.

Men and women with the highest magnesium depletion scores had more than double the risk of being frail than those with the lowest scores. Among the 4,662 frail individuals, 2,195 deaths occurred through 2019 and the probability of survival declined as magnesium depletion scores increased. Among those with the highest magnesium depletion scores, the risks of dying from cardiovascular disease or all causes were more than double that of individuals whose scores were lowest.

As possible protective mechanisms for magnesium against frailty, the authors remarked that magnesium is involved in energy metabolism, protein synthesis, and contraction and relaxation processes of skeletal muscle. They noted that magnesium has an important role across organ systems, which may explain the association between high magnesium depletion scores and a greater risk of premature mortality observed in the study.

"The encouraging results of this study highlighted the need for prospective clinical trials in the future to conclusively establish the causal relationship between magnesium depletion scores and the risk of frailty, as well as its prognostic significance," they concluded.

—D Dye

Research suggests nicotinamide riboside may help people with premature aging disorder

May 02 2025. An article published April 2, 2025 in the journal Aging reported a benefit for a form of vitamin B3 known as nicotinamide riboside when administered to cells derived from people with Werner syndrome. Werner syndrome is caused by a missing or damaged WRN gene, which leads to early signs of aging such as cataracts and atherosclerosis, and metabolic dysfunction including diabetes, fatty liver and unhealthy lipids.

Sofie Lautrup of the University of Oslo and colleagues found that cells from individuals affected by Werner syndrome have low levels of NAD+ (a molecule needed for energy production and cellular health) in their mitochondria, which are the cells' energy-producing organelles. "While, as we previously reported, depleted NAD+ causes accumulation of damaged mitochondria, leading to compromised metabolism, how mitochondrial NAD+ changes in Werner syndrome and the impact on Werner syndrome pathologies were unknown," they remarked.

The current study revealed that loss of a functioning WRN gene increases senescence in stem cells likely to be related to metabolic and aging pathway dysregulation. Senescence occurs when cells cease to divide and, instead of being eliminated by the body, remain to cause damaging inflammation in the area that surrounds them. Administering nicotinamide riboside to stem cells and skin cells that had a loss of functional WRN resulted in reduced senescence and better metabolic profiles. Although increasing NAD+ with nicotinamide riboside improved cellular health, the researchers noted that it could not fully replace the functions of WRN.

"Our results indicated compromised NAD+ metabolism in Werner syndrome while NAD+ augmentation decreased senescence in both Werner syndrome mesenchymal stem cells and primary fibroblasts, shedding light on potential therapeutics," Lautrup and her coauthors concluded.

—D Dye

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