IN THIS ISSUE, SEPTEMBER 21 2001 - LIFE EXTENSION UPDATE EXCLUSIVE: Vitamin
E enhances immune cells in old mice
WHAT'S HOT: Another reason why women live longer
PROTOCOL: Immune Enhancement
LIFE EXTENSION MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2001: The spice of life: Unlocking the
power of curcumin
TUNE IN SATURDAY TO LIFE EXTENSION RADIO
LIFE EXTENSION UPDATE EXCLUSIVE
Vitamin E enhances immune cells in old mice
A study published in the October 1 2001 Journal of Immunology
http://www.jimmunol.org/ showed "for the first time that supplemental
vitamin E has direct immunoenhancing effect on naive T cells from old mice."
T cells are immune cells whose proliferation and function decline with age,
partly due to increased production of PGE2 by macrophages which suppresses
them. Interluekin-2, made by T-helper cells when they are stimulated by an
infection, also declines with age. There is a shift with aging toward
greater proportions of memory T cells and fewer naive T cells that have not
encountered antigens. Naive T cells also exhibit a decline in function with
aging. Some changes in T cell function that are seen in aging may be due to
free radical damage. Because the antioxidant vitamin E is known to increase
T Cell function in aged humans and animals, researchers from Tufts
University in Boston sought to determine if its T cell enhancing mechanism
is other than that of its previously demonstrated ability to reduce PGE2.
Researchers purified T cells obtained from the spleens of young and old
healthy male mice and incubated them in a solution containing
alpha-tocopherol in a concentration representing average plasma
alpha-tocopherol levels of humans taking 200 international units of vitamin
E per day. Control T cells from young mice and old mice were incubated in a
solution that did not contain vitamin E. An examination of vitamin E uptake
in old and young cells showed no difference between the two groups.
The proliferative capacity of T cells from old mice was found to be lower
than that of young animals. Vitamin E increased the proliferative capacity
of the T cells of old mice, while those from young mice did not show an
increase. No PGE2 could be stimulated in the samples collected, showing
that vitamin E's effect on T cell proliferation did not occur though
reduction of PGE2. After forty-eight hours, interleukin-2 secretion was
significantly lower in old mice compared to young mice but in the vitamin-E
supplemented cells of old mice, levels were restored to that of young cells.
This finding was not due to the increase in proliferative capacity observed
in the vitamin E enhanced cells.
When naive T cells were examined, vitamin E was found to increase their
ability in old mice to progress through cell division cycles, however the
effect was not observed for memory T cells. The researchers concluded that
it is the naive T cells that experience the greatest age-related decline in
interleukin-2 production, and that vitamin E acts specifically on these
cells. They summarize that the increased free radical burden associated
with aging leads to damage resulting in an age-associated decline in T cell
response which can be partially reversed in vitro by dietary antioxidant
supplementation. This study revealed that vitamin E has a direct effect on
T cells in addition to its inhibition of PGE production.
WHAT'S HOT
Another reason why women live longer
Research published in the September 2001 issue of the journal Clinical and
Experimental Immunology and summarized in New Scientist has established that
the stronger immune system of women could be a reason why they live longer
in modern societies. A team at the Imperial College School of Medicine in
London discovered that women have higher levels of new T lymphocytes than
men of equal age.
T cells are immune system cells that are made by the thymus, a gland that
shrinks 3% every year after birth until middle age, after which it shrinks
1% yearly. The researchers in this study measured the amount of new T cells
in forty-six men and women aged 20 to 62. They also examined statistics
regarding deaths from influenza and pneumonia in the UK between 1993 and
1998. What they found is that peripheral blood samples from males contained
significantly lower levels of a marker for recent thymic emigrants than
females of the same age, although both levels declined with age, and that
more men than women died of the infections during the period studied, with
the risk of death of infection for men and women correlated with their
differences in thymic activity.
http://www.lef.org/cgi-local/welcome.cgi/id=151066672/sgroup_id=699/welcome.
html
PROTOCOL
Immune enhancement
Free radicals have been linked to immune system damage that accompanies
normal aging. A strong immune system is critical to the prevention of
infection by viruses, fungi, and bacteria. It is thought that cancer cells
form regularly, and that a vigilant immune response is therefore required to
kill or deactivate these deformed cells before they become malignant tumors.
Members of the Life Extension Foundation have long been encouraged to follow
a daily antioxidant regimen that protects against immune-suppressing free
radicals.
The incidence of cancer and new infectious diseases increases every year in
the United States. In addition, many dangerous bacteria have become
resistant to the antibiotics that once kept them in check. These virulent,
antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria are increasingly becoming a threat
to our lives. There is strong scientific evidence showing that antioxidants
and other natural therapies can play an important role in maintaining and
enhancing immune function.
The concept that appropriate nutrients can enhance the human immune response
is known as nutritional immunology. The foundation of this field of study
was laid in the early 1800s when physicians discovered that severe
malnutrition led to thymic atrophy. For most of that century, the evidence
of a relationship between malnutrition and the immune system was based on
anatomical findings. With the discovery of vitamins, it became evident that
essential nutrients played a critical role in maintaining immune function.
Studies published in the 1980s and 1990s clearly show specific
immune-enhancing effects of the proper use of nutritional supplements,
proteins, hormones, and certain drugs. Micronutrients are now known to play
a key role in many of the metabolic processes that promote survival from
critical illnesses.
Vitamins are essential for oxidative phosphorylation and protection against
oxidants. Dietary supplementation with ascorbic acid, tocopherols, and
vitamin B6 enhances several aspects of lymphocyte function. Benefits are
most evident in the elderly.
http://www.lef.org/cgi-local/welcome.cgi/id=151066673/sgroup_id=699/welcome.
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LIFE EXTENSION MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2001
The spice of life: Unlocking the power of curcumin
Curcumin, the extract found in a common household spice, is common no
longer. It's been drawing more and more attention among medical experts the
last several years for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory qualities.
When the body responds to a physical injury, a series of changes occurs
through which free radicals are released. These free radicals, or
"oxidants," protect the body from foreign invasion, such as infection.
However, in the process of killing invading bacteria, oxidants can also harm
our cells. Such oxidants can include superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl
radicals and lipid peroxides. Over time, as our cells continue to be
affected by these free radicals, or oxidants, organs begin to degenerate.
The result can be such diseases and conditions as chronic inflammation,
heart disease, aging acceleration and chaotic cell growth leading to cancer.
The body does have built-in defense mechanisms to protect itself from free
radical damage, but eventually, aging and disease deplete the body's ability
to keep oxidants at bay. Studies show that curcumin can inhibit, or possibly
even reverse this process by scavenging or neutralizing free radicals and
breaking their subsequent oxidative chain reaction.
Research as early as 1995 has shown that a diet that includes curcumin can
restrict this oxidative stress. Scientists in India found curcumin inhibited
lipid peroxidation, superoxides and hydroxyl radical.
http://www.lef.org/cgi-local/welcome.cgi/id=151066677/sgroup_id=699/welcome.
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TUNE IN SATURDAY TO LIFE EXTENSION RADIO
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Listen to the live webcast by going to
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Visit our website at www.lef.org . This week's poll question: Why do you
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Send your questions, comments or suggestions regarding this issue or past
issues of Life Extension Update, or on any other life extension topic to
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For longer life in freedom,
Dayna Dye
Editor, Life Extension Update
ddye@lifeextension.com
Life Extension Foundation
www.lef.org
1 800 841 LIFE
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