Longevity News

Are You Triggering Cancer While You Sleep?

posted on July 27, 2010

According to a new study carried out by Dr. Rachel Ben-Shlomo of the University of Haifa-Oranim and with Prof. Charalambos P. Kyriacou of the University of Leicester, just one "pulse" of artificial light at night disrupts circadian cell division.

"Damage to cell division is characteristic of cancer, and it is therefore important to understand the causes of this damage," notes Dr. Ben-Shlomo. (Read on to see how to avoid this and more)

The current research was carried out by placing lab mice into an environment where they were exposed to light for 12 hours and dark for 12 hours. During the dark hours, one group of mice was given artificial light for one hour. Changes in the expression of genes in the rodents' brain cells were then examined.

Earlier studies that Dr. Ben-Shlomo carried out found that the cells' biological clock is affected, and in the present research, she revealed that the mode of cell division is also harmed and that the transcription of a large number of genes is affected. She states it is important to note that those genes showing changes in their expression included genes connected to the formation of cancer as well as genes that assist in the fight against cancer.

I know how hard it is to remember even a fraction of what we read. So here’s reminder of some information and advice I gave you in Life Extension Express about sleep.

Losing sleep for even part of one night can trigger the key cellular pathway that produces tissue-damaging inflammation. Your body perceives sleep deprivation as stress and responds by producing deadly stress chemicals. A single night of reduced sleep significantly impairs your ability to function. As you add days, impairment becomes cumulative.

This increases mood swings, stress and irrationality; spikes your blood pressure; reduces your ability to adapt to change; impairs performance; saps your energy; slows reactions and impairs memory, judgment and decision making no matter what you do. Worse, you are often the last to notice or admit it. This has been clearly proven in clinical studies as well as in brain scans.

Even more alarming is, lack of sleep contributes to diabetes, obesity, weakened immune system, depression, cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. Also, a single night of sleeping just four, five or even six hours can impact your ability to think clearly. Sleep deprivation can cause changes in your brain activity similar to those experienced by people with psychiatric disorders.

So lack of adequate sleep is definitely pro-aging. And if that's not enough reason to get enough quality sleep, consider the fact that sleep deprivation makes you a less active lover.

The average person needs seven to eight hours of quality sleep a night. Some need more, and some need less. That means deep, undisturbed sleep.

Helpful hints for deep, rejuvenating sleep:

• Get regular exercise, but do not exercise shortly before going to bed.
• Adopt a regular sleep schedule.
• Keep your TV out of your bedroom.
• Go to bed earlier and get up earlier, rather than going to bed later and getting up later.
• If you drink coffee or tea, drink them early in the day.
• Reduce interruptive noise, even if you need to use some type of white noise machine. Heavy drapes can also reduce noise.
• Keep your bedroom as dark as possible.
• If you normally get up during the night to urinate, stop drinking liquids late in the day, and urinate right before bedtime.
• If you drink, do not have more than one or two alcoholic beverages in the evening. Excess alcohol disturbs your sleep cycle.
• Take a warm bath before bed.
• Keep your bedroom cool, under 70° F.
• Use a deep relaxation technique, or listen to a deep relaxation audio right before sleep.
• Quit working at least an hour before turning in to give your mind time to unwind.
• Supplement with: melatonin; sleep-inducing herbs such as kava, chamomile, valerian and/or ziziphus spinosa; 200–500 mg of calcium citrate; or 200–400 mgs of magnesium citrate right before bedtime.

 

Long Life,
David Kekich
____________________________

LATEST HEALTHY LIFE EXTENSION HEADLINES

METHUSELAH FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER, JULY 2010 (July 23 2010) http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/vnl.cfm?id=4825
The latest Methuselah Foundation newsletter is out: "2010: Where We Are Now: Methuselah Foundation took on a big challenge: extending healthy human life. From SENS to My Bridge 4 Life, we've supported and incentivized major initiatives and research to fulfill our mission. In 2010 we are focusing our attention on tissue and whole organ engineering. Read this newsletter and follow the links to our site to learn more about what we are doing now so you live longer and healthier. This year we are focusing our efforts on tissue engineering and organ replacement. We are looking ahead 10 years and projecting that, with our help, everyone who needs an organ will get an organ. Prizes have proven to be the most powerful tool for inspiring radical scientific breakthroughs. That's why we offer prizes, including the recently announced NewOrgan Prize. The end result will allow many people to live longer and - if history is an indicator - the many innovations that come as a result of this work are unimaginable today. To build a replacement organ, from a patients own cells, and have it fully function, scientists must first develop and preserve all the tissues that build that organ - including muscle, nerves, arteries and veins. Leaders in the science of organ engineering have joined the NewOrgan Advisory Board. The members of our Scientific Advisory Board are frontrunners in the research and development of new organ technology. "

ON PREVENTING THE GLOBAL AGING CRISIS (July 22 2010) http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/vnl.cfm?id=4823
KurzweilAI looks at the recent scientific publication promoted by the LifeStar Institute: "Unfortunately, most biogerontologists see aging-intervention strategies as a considerable deviance from mainstream thinking, which is based on the notion that aging is a certainty and that pursuit of any kind of 'fountain of youth' or life-extension therapies will only end in failure. But de Grey is not swayed by the skeptics. He says perspectives are changing. Five of the other authors [of the paper] are among the absolute top tier of biogerontologists, whose views are universally respected in the field. Their voice here will make a huge impact on thinking about the issue, both within the field and beyond. The surprising conclusion from the past two decades of research on biological aging is that aging is plastic. Within a species, maximum life span is not fixed, but can be increased by dietary manipulation (particularly calorie restriction) or genetic manipulation. But a new world of indefinite lifespans has also raised questions about potential population impacts.
'Contrary to what is widely assumed, however, the net effect should be relatively minor,' the authors respond, reasoning that new human births have a greater effect on population than adding a fraction of life span to existing humans. A policy of aging as usual will lead to enormous humanitarian, social, and financial costs. Efforts to avert that scenario are unequivocally merited, even if those efforts are costly and their success and full consequences uncertain. To realize any chance of success, the drive to tackle biological aging head-on must begin now."

ENVISIONING REGROWTH OF ORGANS  (July 21 2010) http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/vnl.cfm?id=4821
From CBC News: "Scientists in Toronto are trying to crack the secrets of regeneration to trigger the human body to grow tissues and organs damaged by disease. In his lab at Mount Sinai Hospital, Dr. Ian Rogers is working on a replacement pancreas that would be grown in a lab and then placed in those with Type 1 diabetes to restore their insulin production. At this stage, Rogers's team is building a pancreas out of a surgical sponge, a three-dimensional structure seeded with insulin-producing islet cells. The pancreas would be grown in the lab and then placed under the skin of those with Type 1 diabetes to restore their insulin production. But making a pancreas is complicated, Rogers said. The most advanced research at his lab is simpler: regenerating blood vessels so people with Type 2 - or adult onset - diabetes who have damaged fingers and toes can avoid amputation. In theory, any condition where cells are damaged - from insulin-producing cells in diabetes to brain cells in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, to retina cells in blindness, to damaged areas in the heart - could one day be repaired. If we can find a way to replace these cells back in to where it's missing, we can envision a cure for these diseases which are currently devastating."

NANOPARTICLES AND STEM CELLS VERSUS ATHEROSCLEROSIS (July 20 2010) http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/vnl.cfm?id=4818
Via PhysOrg.com: "A technique that combines nanotechnology with adult stem cells appears to destroy atherosclerotic plaque and rejuvenate the arteries. Nanoparticles (microscopic particles with at least one dimension less than 80 nm) were infused into the heart of pigs along with adult stem cells. After the nanoparticles were heated by laser light, they burned away arterial plaque. However, nanoparticles were less effective at eliminating plaque if not combined with adult stem cells. Unlike angioplasty, a common treatment for atherosclerosis, this new technique seems to actually demolish the plaque. The researchers found that plaque volume shrunk considerably in the nanoparticle groups immediately after the procedure (an average of 28.9 percent across the three groups) and six months later plaque volume had declined 56.8 percent on average. Both groups that received stem cells showed signs of new blood vessel growth (neovascularization) and restoration of artery function."

COSMIC LOG ON ENGINEERED LONGEVITY (July 19 2010) http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/vnl.cfm?id=4816
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