Issues - Article December 2001
George Harrison, Baby Boomer, Dies
"The Quiet Beatle" George Harrison died on November 30, 2001 after losing a battle with cancer. In addition to being a loss of a great musician with a great heart, this is a landmark for the baby boomers who grew up with the Beatles. The death of this cultural icon brings our own mortality up to us through our denial. We all tend to feel like we are much younger, but when someone who was famous and young when we were young dies, then we feel our vulnerability more acutely. This is particularly the case here where Harrison was relatively young, only 58. He had experimental radiosurgery and chemotherapy from University Medical Centers for an inoperable brain tumor.
We do know a lot about risk factors and prevention of cancer, but very few take the time to learn about this or to implement. As with cancer an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, we probably should pay more attention in this area.
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Resveratrol is a component of red wine which has been linked to longevity. A recent study, by Sirtis Pharmaceuticals and University Lous Pasteur found that resveratrol protects mice against diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance, and boosts their endurance by a factor of two! Resveratrol treated mice also had larger mitochondria, the cellular energy centers found in all cells. These changes were associated with activation of the SIRT1 gene. The study by Lagouge et al, “Resveratrol improves mitochondrial function and protects against metabolic disease by activating SIRT1 and PGC-1α,” was published in November 2006 in the journal Cell. The mice were fed the amount of resveratrol equivalent to that in 10,000 glasses of red wine. You cannot get enough resveratrol by drinking red wine!
Growth Hormone administration has many physiological effects in growth hormone deficient individuals. A recent review of the literature on growth hormone and cardiovascular effects concluded that: "
The relevance of the beneficial effects of GH on the cardiovascular system is strongly suggested but not fully proved." The review, authored by Burger et al, was published in
the Nov/Dec volume of the journal Endocrine Practice. It found that
typically, GH treatment reduces visceral fat and increases muscle mass, cardiac performance is improved, total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein levels decrease by 10% to 20%, and inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein decline.
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