Apple Promotes Digestive Health

The adoption of the adage "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" suggests that our “gut instinct” has speculated that apples confer a variety of health benefits. Andrea Wilcks, from the University of Denmark's National Food Institute (Denmark), and colleagues engaged a lab animal model to investigate the effects of apple and apple product consumption on microbial balance in the digestive tract. The team fed the animals a diet of whole apples as well as apple-derived products such as apple juice and puree. They found that the apples delivered a hearty dose of pectin, a type of dietary fiber present in apples, and consequently raised the amounts of “friendly bacteria,” that is -- those bacteria strains that are associated with improved intestinal health. The team concludes that: “Our findings show that consumption of apple pectin (7% in the diet) increases the population of butyrate- and beta-glucuronidase producing Clostridiales, and decreases the population of specific species within the Bacteroidetes group.” Tine R Licht, Max Hansen, Anders Bergstrom, Morten Poulsen, Britta N Krath, Jaroslaw Markowski, Lars O Dragsted, Andrea Wilcks. “Effects of apples and specific apple components on the cecal environment of conventional rats: role of apple pectin.” BMC Microbiology 2010, 10:13doi:10.1186/1471-2180-10-13

HDL Cholesterol Proposed as a Modulator of Aging

Previous studies have shown that plasma concentrations of HDL cholesterol decline with age, most likely as a result of hormone changes, inflammation, and metabolic dysfunction. M. Walter, from Charite-Universitatsmedizin (Berlin, Germany), and colleagues suggest, however, that “beyond these effects specific aging processes may be involved.” Namely, the team posits that replicative aging, in which a cell’s capacity to divide is limited by its telomere length, may serve as a specific aging mechanism that may decrease HDL concentration and function. Additionally, in acknowledging the age-related HDL decline, the team suggests that a HDL-lowering genetic variation may exist. Applying these arguments, the researchers propose that “HDL may modulate the aging process, not only by its well-known antiatherogenic effects, eg, its ability to remove cellular lipids and by antiatherogenic pleiotropic effects on cell survival, but possibly also by direct interfering with aging signaling or survival factor KLOTHO.” Michael Walter. “Interrelationships Among HDL Metabolism, Aging, and Atherosclerosis.” Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol, Sep 2009; 29: 1244 - 1250.

Study shows declining mental performance begins in adults in their late 20s

Researchers from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville conducted a study of 2,000 healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 60 to assess subtle changes in mental function, including memory, reasoning and perception. Participants were given a variety of standard tests that involved solving puzzles, recalling details from stories and identifying patterns at the beginning of the study, then again at some point over the following seven years. The researchers found that the capability of abstract reasoning, mental speed and puzzle solving began to decline around the age of 27. Memory was shown to decline at the age of 37. On the positive side, however, participants performed better on tests of vocabulary and general knowledge as they grew older, suggesting that a person's ability to accumulate knowledge actually improves with age. The researchers are currently evaluating the health and lifestyle of participants to determine if any factors might influence age-related changes in cognitive function. "These patterns suggest that some types of mental flexibility decrease relatively early in adulthood, but that how much knowledge one has, and the effectiveness of integrating it with one's abilities, may increase throughout all of adulthood if there are no pathological diseases," says researcher Timothy A. Salthouse, professor of psychology at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He emphasized that young adults do not need to start worrying about their memories and that most people continue to function at a high level, even later in life. According to the researchers, their findings, which were published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, provide insight into normal age-related changes in mental function. This may help scientists better understand the process of dementia. "By following individuals over time, we gain insight into cognition changes and may possibly discover ways to alleviate or slow the rate of decline," says Salthouse. "And by better understanding the processes of cognitive impairment, we may become better at predicting the onset of dementias such as Alzheimer's disease." News Release: Age-related mental decline starts in the late-20s www.news.yahoo.com April 2, 2009

Study launched to learn about factors that contribute to longevity

The National Institute on Aging, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, is conducting the first study of its kind to uncover what factors, including genetic and environmental, contribute to keeping the "oldest old" families relatively healthy and to discover if families with many long-lived individuals share common characteristics or habits that help them stay healthy. The Long Life Family Study (LLFS) is collecting data from families with at least two members reaching a very old age. The data may, at some time in the future, help guide lifestyle advice and medical treatments. While previous research on centenarians and other elderly people suggest that longevity has a familial link, LLFS researchers are also examining non-genetic factors, including physical activity and social networks. "This is a groundbreaking study because it is the first and largest to examine both siblings and children of the very old," says Winifred K. Rossi, Deputy Director of the NIA's Division of Geriatrics and Clinical Gerontology. "We hope this will be a longitudinal study where we can study their families for many years." Researchers began recruiting participants in 2006 and are hoping to obtain data for 4,800 people, including the primary subject and their siblings and children. LLFS investigators are seeking families with a history of longevity, including at least two very old living siblings. Participants are screened to ensure that they meet specific study criteria, including being relatively healthy, not cognitively impaired and not confined to a wheelchair. This is no easy task since frailty and illness is common among individuals at an advanced age. "The biggest recruiting challenge is finding participants and getting them to respond and getting them engaged," says Ms. Rossi. And adds Dr. Michael A. Province, a professor of biostatistics at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, which is responsible for gathering the data: "These are exceptional families, who make up only one to two percent of the population over age 85."