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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.

Bacterial biofilm in atherosclerotic plaque could contribute to heart attack

August 29 2025. Findings reported in the Journal of the American Heart Association suggest that bacterial biofilms could be a culprit in atherosclerotic plaque prone to rupture that causes heart attack.

"Bacterial involvement in coronary artery disease has long been suspected, but direct and convincing evidence has been lacking," lead researcher Pekka Karhunen, MD, PhD, explained. "Our study demonstrated the presence of genetic material—DNA—from several oral bacteria inside atherosclerotic plaques."

Dr Karhunen and associates examined coronary artery plaques derived from 121 autopsied sudden death victims and 96 men and women who underwent surgical removal of arterial plaque. Bacterial DNA was found in 65.7% of the plaques derived from autopsies and 57.9% of surgical samples. A group of oral bacteria known as viridans streptococci was identified in 42.1% of plaques obtained from autopsied individuals and 42.9% of surgically removed plaques. These bacteria occurred in 35% of proximal right coronary artery samples that showed early atherosclerosis and in 60% of samples with plaque rupture and clotting or hemorrhage. Bacteria including Porphyromonas gingivalis, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Prevotella intermedia were additionally identified.

"The present results suggest that the change from a stable soft‐core coronary atheroma into a vulnerable rupture‐prone coronary plaque, as well as the development of a symptomatic peripheral artery plaque, may be contributed to by a chronic bacterial infection in the form of a dormant biofilm that colonizes the lipid core and wall of the atheroma and evades immune detection," Dr Karhunen and colleagues wrote. "The biofilm may activate and release virulent‐phenotype bacteria capable of invading and rupturing the fibrous cap of the atheromas. This finding adds to the current conception of the pathogenesis of myocardial infarction and opens new possibilities for the diagnostics and prevention of the fatal complications of atherosclerosis."

—D Dye

Exercise, fewer calories boost Mediterranean diet’s protection against diabetes

August 27 2025. A study reported August 25, 2025, in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that moderate exercise and a reduction in calories improved the protective effect of a Mediterranean diet against the development of type 2 diabetes by 31%.

A Mediterranean diet is characterized by a high intake of vegetables, fruit, whole grains and healthy fats such as olive oil, with a moderate intake of dairy products and lean proteins, and little red meat.

"We're facing a global epidemic of diabetes," co-author Frank Hu, of the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health acknowledged. "With the highest-level evidence, our study shows that modest, sustained changes in diet and lifestyle could prevent millions of cases of this disease worldwide."

The current study involved 4,746 men and women enrolled in the PREDIMED-Plus randomized clinical trial. The participants, who were overweight and had metabolic syndrome, were assigned to a Mediterranean diet or the same diet reduced by approximately 600 calories per day with the addition of moderate physical activity and professional weight loss support.

During the study's six-year follow-up, participants assigned to the low-calorie Mediterranean diet plus exercise had a 31% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than the control group participants assigned to a Mediterranean diet alone. Participants assigned to calorie restriction and exercise had an average 3.3 kilograms of weight loss and a 3.6-centimeter decrease in waist circumference, compared with losses of 0.6 kilograms and 0.3 centimeters among those in the control group.

"In practical terms, adding calorie control and physical activity to the Mediterranean diet prevented around three out of every 100 people from developing diabetes—a clear, measurable benefit for public health," coauthor Professor Miguel Martínez-González, who is an adjunct professor of nutrition at Harvard Chan School noted.

—D Dye

Unsaturated fatty acids reduced in female Alzheimer patients

August 22 2025. The August 2025 issue of Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association published findings from a study that revealed lower levels of unsaturated fatty acids and higher saturated fatty acid levels among women with Alzheimer disease in comparison with cognitively health women. In contrast, men with Alzheimer disease had levels of these lipids that were similar to cognitively healthy men.

Researchers evaluated lipid levels in plasma samples from 165 individuals with mild cognitive impairment, 306 individuals with Alzheimer disease and 370 cognitively healthy controls.Lipids with attached omega-3 fatty acids were the lowest in the Alzheimer's group. "We were able to detect biological differences in lipids between the sexes in a large cohort and show the importance of lipids containing omegas in the blood, which has not been done before," first author Asger Wretlind reported. "The results are very striking and now we are looking at how early in life this change occurs in women."

"Women are disproportionately impacted by Alzheimer's disease and are more often diagnosed with the disease than men after the age of 80," senior author Christina Legido-Quigley of King's College London observed. "One of the most surprising things we saw when looking at the different sexes was that there was no difference in these lipids in healthy and cognitively impaired men, but for women this picture was completely different. The study reveals that Alzheimer's lipid biology is different between the sexes, opening new avenues for research."

"Our study suggests that women should make sure they are getting omega fatty acids in their diet," Dr Legido-Quigley concluded."However, we need clinical trials to determine if shifting the lipid composition can influence the biological trajectory of Alzheimer's disease."

—D Dye

HMB improved surgery outcomes in analysis of randomized trials

August 22 2025. The results of a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials published July 23, 2025, in Frontiers in Nutrition determined that adding beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) to the diet was associated with a shorter hospital length of stay and fewer postoperative complications compared with a placebo or usual care among surgery patients. Those who received HMB also had improvements in muscle measurements and physical function.

"For many years, HMB has been used in athletes for muscle building, strength, endurance enhancement, and recovery after exercise-induced muscle injury," Yan-Ge Hu of Fuxing Hospital of Capital Medical University and colleagues wrote. "In recent years, its interest has rapidly expanded to include the elderly ill populations, sarcopenia, cancer, and critically ill patients."

For the meta-analysis, Yang and associates identified 11 randomized, controlled trials that evaluated the effects of HMB among a total of 575 men and women who had heart surgery, laparoscopic gastric bypass, liver transplantation or other surgeries. HMB was given in 1.5-gram doses twice per day. Four of the trials added exercise to the treatment regimen and five trials combined arginine and glutamine with HMB. Participants were evaluated 10 days to one year postoperatively.

Participants who were given HMB had nearly a day shorter hospital length of stay and half the rate of postoperative complications compared with control group participants who received a placebo or usual care. Midarm muscle circumference, muscle mass in arms and legs combined, and six-minute walking distance also improved among those who received HMB.

"Our analysis shows that HMB alone or its complexes significantly reduce length of stay in hospital and postoperative complications in surgical patients," Yang and colleagues concluded. "Future research should be well-designed to clarify the effects of HMB in surgical patients.

—D Dye

Omega-3 may help prevent common eye condition

August 20 2025. Research reported August 19, 2025, in the British Journal of Ophthalmology uncovered a lower risk of myopia (near-sightedness) among children who consumed the highest amount of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in fish (EPA and DHA), or in some plant foods (ALA). Conversely, children who had the highest intake of saturated fat, which occurs in red meat and butter, had the greatest risk.

The study included 1,005 Chinese children aged 6-8 years who participated in the Hong Kong Children Eye Study. Food frequency questionnaires completed with the help of the children's parents provided information concerning the intake of fats and other dietary components. Other questionnaire responses provided information concerning screen use and time spent reading and writing or outdoors.

Two hundred seventy-six children in the current study had myopia. Axial length (a measurement of eye length from the cornea in the front of the eye to the retina in the back which increases with the progression of myopia) was greatest among children whose intake of omega-3 fatty acids was among the lowest 25% and shortest among those whose intake was among the top 25%. Furthermore, measurement of refractive error (indicative of the degree of nearsightedness) was highest among participants who had the lowest omega-3 fatty acid intake.

When saturated fat intake was evaluated, the opposite effect was observed. Children had a greater risk of high refractive error when their intake of saturated fat was among the top 25% of participants compared with children whose intake was among the lowest 25%.

"This study provides the human evidence that higher dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid intake is associated with shorter axial length and less myopic refraction, highlighting omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids as a potential protective dietary factor against myopia development," the authors concluded.

—D Dye

Metformin use linked with less dementia and early mortality in obese men and women

August 15 2025. A study reported August 6, 2025, in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism revealed lower risks of dementia and premature mortality among obese individuals who used metformin, a drug that is used to treat type 2 diabetes.

"Metformin is the most widely prescribed drug for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and is considered an 'essential medicine' by the World Health Organization," Yu-Liang Lin, MD, of Taipei Medical University in Taiwan and colleagues noted. "It has strong glucose-lowering effects, a reliable safety profile and is relatively cheap."

Dr Lin and associates analyzed data from 131,023,506 obese men and women in US and Asia-Pacific Collaborative Networks. The subjects were divided into four body mass index (BMI) index categories, and those who had received at least two metformin prescriptions during a six-month period were compared with those who had not.

Compared with individuals who did not use metformin, men and women who used the drug had reductions in the risk of developing dementia that ranged from 8.3%–12.5% during a ten-year follow-up period. Metformin's protective effect was significant among individuals included in the US Collaborative Network. Metformin's protective effect against dementia was stronger for people who were under 65 years of age among the groups who had BMIs of 30–34.9 and 35–39.9. When mortality from all causes during follow-up was examined, the risk associated with the use of metformin was up to 28.3% lower than the risk experienced by individuals who were not metformin users.

"Our findings suggest that metformin not only has a protective effect against dementia but also significantly reduces all-cause mortality," the authors concluded. "Since dementia is a contributing factor to all-cause mortality, this may partially explain metformin's effect."

—D Dye

Olive oil compound supports healthy inflammatory response in prediabetic adults

August 13 2025. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial resulted in improvement in antioxidant status and support of a healthy inflammatory response in overweight men and women with prediabetes who were given hydroxytyrosol, a compound that occurs in olive oil. The findings were published in the September 2025 issue of Clinical Nutrition.

"In the context of aging combined with prediabetes and overweight, there exists a complex interplay of metabolic imbalance, chronic low-grade inflammation, and increased production of reactive oxygen species," Ignacio Moratilla-Rivera and colleagues remarked. "Together, they contribute to cumulative molecular and cellular damage that gradually leads to organ dysfunction and, ultimately, the development of noncommunicable diseases."

The Mediterranean diet's health benefits have been attributed in part to a high intake of olive oil. "Olive oil polyphenols have attracted significant scientific interest, particularly after the European Food Safety Authority approved the claim that 'olive oil polyphenols contribute to the protection of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) from oxidative damage,' an effect linked to their antioxidant capacity," Moratilla-Rivera and his associates wrote.

The trial included 24 overweight, prediabetic participants who were given 15 milligrams of hydroxytyrosol and 25 participants who received a placebo for 16 weeks. Oxidized LDL, and other markers of oxidative stress, total antioxidant status, activity of glutathione peroxidase (one of the body's antioxidant enzymes) and the inflammation marker known as interleukin-6 were measured at the beginning and end of the trial.

At the trial's end, participants who received hydroxytyrosol had significant reductions in oxidized LDL and other markers of oxidative stress, maintained their total antioxidant status and glutathione peroxidase activity, and had lower interleukin-6 levels indicative of a decrease in inflammation compared with the placebo group. The authors concluded that hydroxytyrosol significantly improved antioxidant status and inflammatory responses in overweight adults with prediabetes, which suggests a protective role for the nutrient against aging-related diseases.

—D Dye

Glutamine’s role in eye health

August 11 2025. An article published May 21, 2025, in the journal eLife reported a fundamental role for the breakdown of glutamine in the health of the eyes' photoreceptor cells. Photoreceptor cell death impairs vision in retinal diseases such as macular degeneration.

"Photoreceptor loss results in vision loss in many blinding diseases, and metabolic dysfunction underlies photoreceptor degeneration," authors Moloy T. Goswami and colleagues wrote. "Exploiting photoreceptor metabolism is an attractive strategy to prevent vision loss."

"Photoreceptors are one of the most metabolically demanding cells in the body, which led us to wonder whether they depend on fuel sources other than glucose for their survival," corresponding author Thomas Wubben, MD, PhD, explained. "We looked at glutamine because it is the most abundant amino acid in the blood."

Glutamine is a nonessential amino acid, meaning that it is an amino acid made in the body. Glutamine also occurs in food, including protein sources and vegetables such as cabbage.

The researchers compared the retinas of normal mice with retinas from mice lacking the enzyme glutaminase that breaks down glutamine into glutamate. Glutaminase-deficient mice exhibited reduced retinal thickness and loss of photoreceptor cells and function. Deficient animals had decreased levels of glutamate and aspartate, which assist the cells in building proteins needed for photoreceptor function. Reduced protein synthesis activated the integrated stress response that causes cell death when remaining active. "Our results indicate that glutamine is critical for maintaining the pools of key biosynthetic precursors, glutamate and aspartate, in rod photoreceptors and disrupting glutamine catabolism results in profound loss of photoreceptor function and survival," Goswami and colleagues concluded.

"We are now focused on understanding which pathways depend on glutamine and whether they can be targeted," Dr Wubben stated. "It is possible that resetting metabolism can help prevent vision loss and blindness."

—D Dye

JAMA reviews geroscience

August 08 2025. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a review on August 7, 2025, which discussed how therapies that inhibit aging biology could slow the development and progression of disease and functional decline.

"Geroscience studies therapies that alter aging-related biologic pathways to prevent diseases for which age is the strongest risk factor, such as stroke, heart failure, most cancers, coronary artery disease, dementia, and physical disability," Stephen B. Kritchevsky, PhD, and Steven R. Cummings, MD, wrote. "Targeting aging biology directly may simultaneously benefit many age-related health outcomes including slowing age-related diseases and mobility impairment and increasing disability-free survival."

Cellular pathways that affect lifespan or health span involve maintenance of telomeres (genetic material that caps the ends of our chromosomes), autophagy (a type of programmed cell death that occurs via cell self-digestion), nutrient environment sensing, stem cell maintenance and preservation of mitochondrial function (mitochondria are the energy-producing organelles of the cells). Kritchevsky and Cummings observed that aging is characterized by cumulative damage to these pathways and that altering one pathway is likely to affect others.

Targeting the biology of aging with calorie restriction, rapamycin, metformin, or senolytics such as fisetin or quercetin combined with the drug dasatinib has extended lifespan and delayed diseases in fruit flies, roundworms, mice and other species. In addition to utilizing therapies such as these to prevent or delay aging-related diseases, Kritchevsky and Cummings suggested that aging interventions could also improve non-disease issues related to aging and could reduce the effects of diseases and treatments that appear to accelerate aging, such as HIV and chemotherapy.

"The FDA does not recognize the indication of slowing aging or reducing aging-related conditions (e.g., sarcopenia or mobility limitation)," they noted. "Appropriate evaluations of approved drugs for their age-modifying effects will require broad inclusion criteria, possibly different dosing regimens, and longer study durations than those used to establish therapeutic efficacy for the condition for which they were developed."

—D Dye

Research links brain lithium deficiency with Alzheimer disease

August 6 2025. Findings reported August 6, 2025, in the journal Nature revealed a protective role for the mineral lithium against brain changes associated with the development of Alzheimer disease.

"The idea that lithium deficiency could be a cause of Alzheimer's disease is new and suggests a different therapeutic approach," senior author Bruce Yankner of Harvard Medical School stated. "What impresses me the most about lithium is the widespread effect it has on the various manifestations of Alzheimer's. I really have not seen anything quite like it all my years of working on this disease."

Dr Yankner was first to demonstrate the toxicity of amyloid-beta, the substance that forms plaques in the brains of people with Alzheimer disease.

During a ten-year period, Yankner's team conducted experiments in mice and in human brain tissue which demonstrated that lithium naturally occurs in the brain, helps major brain cell types maintain their function and protects the organ from degeneration. "Lithium turns out to be like other nutrients we get from the environment, such as iron and vitamin C," Dr Yankner noted. "It's the first time anyone's shown that lithium exists at a natural level that's biologically meaningful without giving it as a drug."

Among 30 metals examined, lithium was the only metal found to be reduced in human brains during the earliest stages of dementia. The decline was caused by the binding of brain amyloid to the mineral, along with impaired uptake.

Mice given a lithium-restricted diet exhibited accelerated brain pathology and memory loss. Administration of a form of lithium known as lithium orotate, which evades amyloid binding, reversed the damage and restored memory. "You have to be careful about extrapolating from mouse models, and you never know until you try it in a controlled human clinical trial," Dr Yankner cautioned. "But so far the results are very encouraging."

"My hope is that lithium will do something more fundamental than anti-amyloid or anti-tau therapies, not just lessening but reversing cognitive decline and improving patients' lives," he added.

—D Dye

Vitamin D lowers disease activity in people with syndrome suggestive of MS

August 4 2025. A randomized, placebo-controlled trial reported in the April 22, 2025, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) resulted in a reduction in disease activity among men and women with a clinically isolated syndrome typical of multiple sclerosis (MS) who received up to two years of high-dose vitamin D.

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease characterized by destruction of the myelin sheath that surrounds the nerves, which results in impairment of movement and cognitive function. The disease usually starts with an episode that involves the central nervous system, called a clinically isolated syndrome.

The D-Lay MS trial included 303 adults diagnosed from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results with clinically isolated syndrome suggestive of MS. Individuals who were already receiving disease-modifying treatment were excluded from the trial. One hundred fifty-six participants received 100,000 international units of orally administered cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) while the remainder received a placebo every two weeks.

During the 24-month follow-up period, 60.3% of participants who received vitamin D experienced disease activity, defined by the first occurrence of relapse or MRI activity, in contrast with 74.1% of the placebo group. The adjusted risk of disease activity among those who received vitamin D was 35% lower than the placebo group. Median time to disease activity was 432 days among those who received vitamin D and 224 days among those who received a placebo. Magnetic resonance imaging also found significant differences in favor of participants who received the vitamin.

"This randomized clinical trial showed the efficacy and low risk of adverse events of oral cholecalciferol 100,000 IU monotherapy every 2 weeks to reduce disease activity in patients with clinically isolated syndrome and early relapsing-remitting MS," Researchers Eric Thouvenot, MD, PhD, and colleagues wrote. "These results make high-dose vitamin D an interesting candidate for further studies evaluating add-on therapy in the therapeutic strategy for managing MS."

—D Dye

Study findings explain downside of weight cycling

August 01 2025. A study reported July 8, 2025, in The Journal of Clinical Investigation found that short-term calorie restriction in obese mice with high cholesterol promoted the resolution of unhealthy arterial plaque accumulation known as atherosclerosis. However, gaining weight following calorie restriction accelerated atherosclerosis progression.

"While weight loss is highly recommended for those with obesity, more than 60% will regain their lost weight," Bianca Scolaro and colleagues noted. "This weight cycling is associated with elevated risk of cardiovascular disease, relative to never having lost weight. How weight loss/regain directly influence atherosclerotic inflammation is unknown."

The research team induced atherosclerosis and obesity in mice by treating them with a compound that induced low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor deficiency and allowing them to eat as much as they wanted of a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet for 24 weeks. Some of the mice were allowed unlimited feeding for an additional eight weeks and another group was fed for two weeks on 70% of the amount of the diet they consumed during unlimited access. An additional group was given the calorie restricted diet for two weeks and subsequently allowed unlimited access to the diet for six weeks.

Obese mice that were given a calorie restricted diet for two weeks lost 14.3% of their weight. This group exhibited decreases in fasting glucose and insulin resistance and improved glucose tolerance compared with the beginning of the study. While plasma cholesterol levels remained similar to elevated levels in mice that did not undergo calorie restriction, calorie-restricted animals experienced decreased atherosclerosis, which the researchers attributed to a subset of immune cells known as macrophages that accumulated during calorie restriction in white adipose fat tissue and atherosclerotic plaques. Weight regain following calorie restriction accelerated atherosclerosis progression and caused these macrophages to disappear, while reprogramming immune progenitors that caused greater inflammatory responses.

"Cardiovascular benefits observed with calorie restriction were lost with weight regain, with the
accelerated atherogenesis attributable to durable inflammatory reprogramming of immune progenitors," the authors concluded.

—D Dye

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