Forever Young

The Times has an article about the benefits of exercise on slowing the aging process.  It is great news for mutant mice, and maybe for Times readers, as well.

...Indeed, in heartening new research published last week in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, exercise reduced or eliminated almost every detrimental effect of aging in mice that had been genetically programmed to grow old at an accelerated pace.

...

The mice that Dr. Tarnopolsky and his colleagues used lacked the primary mitochondrial repair mechanism, so they developed malfunctioning mitochondria early in their lives, as early as 3 months of age, the human equivalent of age 20. By the time they reached 8 months, or their early 60s in human terms, the animals were extremely frail and decrepit, with spindly muscles, shrunken brains, enlarged hearts, shriveled gonads and patchy, graying fur. Listless, they barely moved around their cages. All were dead before reaching a year of age.

Except the mice that exercised.

Half of the mice were allowed to run on a wheel for 45 minutes three times a week, beginning at 3 months. These rodent runners were required to maintain a fairly brisk pace, Dr. Tarnopolsky said: “It was about like a person running a 50- or 55-minute 10K.” (A 10K race is 6.2 miles.) The mice continued this regimen for five months.

At 8 months, when their sedentary lab mates were bald, frail and dying, the running rats remained youthful. They had full pelts of dark fur, no salt-and-pepper shadings. They also had maintained almost all of their muscle mass and brain volume. Their gonads were normal, as were their hearts. They could balance on narrow rods, the showoffs.

But perhaps most remarkable, although they still harbored the mutation that should have affected mitochondrial repair, they had more mitochondria over all and far fewer with mutations than the sedentary mice had. At 1 year, none of the exercising mice had died of natural causes. (Some were sacrificed to compare their cellular health to that of the unexercised mice, all of whom were, by that age, dead.)

OK, that is amazing.  Naturally, one wonders how well that carries over to non-mutant humans.  Or, one might wonder why it would not:

Although in this experiment, the activity was aerobic and strenuous, Dr. Tarnopolsky is not convinced that either is absolutely necessary for benefits. Studies of older humans have shown that weightlifting can improve mitochondrial health, he said, as can moderate endurance exercise. Although there is probably a threshold amount of exercise that is necessary to affect physiological aging, Dr. Tarnopolsky said, “anything is better than nothing.” If you haven’t been active in the past, he continued, start walking five minutes a day, then begin to increase your activity level.

The good doctor is a believer.

Comments

[Army of Davids]

Hollywood hires Chris Dodd to be it's number one lobbyist at the same time "Inside Job" gets the Oscar for best documentary.

No irony there.

[Root, Hog.]

Work for Food.
========

[Danube of Thought]

Work for Sex.

[clarice]

No sweat

You can sweat and strain or just wait a few years and get a brand new cardiovascular system surgically implanted

[clarice]

I'm sorry I no longer understand the new typepad formatting systems..they seem to change without notice by the hour

[Melinda Romanoff]

forwarded to YL...

[Cecil Turner]

So what's the moral of story (from the point-of-view of the "sacrificed" mice)? Work yer butt off, do everything right, and some damn doctor kills you anyway . . . just to compare your cells with some layabout good-fer-nothing.

Kinda makes you want to have a drink.

[narciso]

That's why they were always plotting to take over the world, Cecil, specially after they
had been 'genetically programmed' to age faster, CEcil.

[Old Lurker]

:-) Mel.

[Ignatz]

--Work yer butt off, do everything right, and some damn doctor kills you anyway . . . just to compare your cells with some layabout good-fer-nothing.--

Sneak peek at the 2012 Democrat platform?

[Melinda Romanoff]

I should say I texted YL that this was up, not e-mailed. Fixing that.

[Neo]

So you're saying that there might be money in making the wire wheels that mice use, but only large enough for humans ?

[Janet]

Sneak peek at the 2012 Democrat platform?

LOL!

This is bad news for me, cause I only run if someone is chasing me with a knife. I'll have to hire Obama's exercise guy - Cornell - to chase me with a knife. :(

the animals were extremely frail and decrepit, with spindly muscles, shrunken brains, enlarged hearts, shriveled gonads and patchy, graying fur.

...doesn't sound SO bad...hmmm, yep...I think I can live with that if the alternative is running.

[matt]

So the conclusion is that the rats are winning the rat race?

[Thomas Collins]

So a good morning walk and moderate stretching and moving and lifting is good for you? Who woulda thunk it?! Thank God for modern scientific research!

[Jim Ryan]

I'm telling you, these trendy 90-day video programs that are going around are quite nice. The one I got cost $20 for the ten DVDs. After only the first 30 days, I have to be careful not to damage the furniture with my triceps and some scientists believe that my abs may now be the hardest substance yet discovered.

If you're bored with your same-old workout like I was, go for it.

[Neo]

The Indian Space Research Organization has discovered a massive underground chamber near the moon's equator, one that would be perfect for housing a moon base. A moon base!

[clarice]

Jay Cost argues that Obama will be tough to beat but he is vulnerable
Beat him

[Janet]

If you're bored with your same-old workout like I was, go for it.

No thanks, mine is fine.
Lift & sip
Lift & puff
Lift & puff
Lift & sip...

[Jim Ryan]

16oz curls, is it, Janet?

[Jane (sit on the couch or save your country)]

Jim,

Which one did you get for $20 and where?

I'm on week 11 of a 12 week Jillian Michaels work out. So I guess I'm ready for more torture.

[Janet]

Yep Jim, hahaha...
You know that Soylent is suppose to be returning April 16th. Ya'll are in the same part of Virginia right?

[Jim Ryan]

Jane, it's this one. If you order on the phone it takes ten minutes to get through the call because the robot tries to sell you lots of other stuff and you have to keep saying no. The DVDs are good. All you need is dumbells of two or three different weights and one of those big exercise balls. Get some high-quality whey powder from them or from GNC to take as soon as you finish each workout.

[Jim Ryan]

Yeah, but I don't know if he's being stationed here again or not.

[matt]

insight into the bureaucratic mindset:

"The WSJ today reports on a key component of combat operations at Bagram Airfield, U.S. Department of Agriculture employee George Graves, who hunts and traps birds and other animals that could get get sucked into jet engine intakes (WSJ). Graves, who sends his victims to the Smithsonian for study, told the Journal, "Not only is it contributing to airfield safety...but it's also contributing to science world-wide. It's kind of a win-win situation. Except for the animals, of course."

[Rob Crawford]

Studies of older humans have shown that weightlifting can improve mitochondrial health...

If only they could get the mitochondria to exercise without making me waste my time on it.

[Ignatz]

OT, but Bill Gross of PIMCO says he thinks bonds aren't going to like it when the good ship QE II hits the iceberg in June.
Of course most likely he is pleading with Cap'n Ben to set sail aboard the QE III on a rescue mission to prevent the poor bondholders from being soaked, of which PIMCO is preeminent.

[Jack is Back!]

Why does Kosovo hate us? Germans have one in custody for attack on US service members at Frankfort airport. 2 US airman killed. Where's Waldo?

[daddy]

BBC specifically says that the shooter is an Islamic guy. Says the motive is probably terrorism.

CNN INternational simply says that the shooter is from Kosovo. No mention of religion or motive at all.

[pagar]

"Police have told German media it is not clear if it was a terrorist attack."

Is this a joke? What do they need, a statement from the shooter that he was mistreated as a child?

LUN

[Enlightened]

Hi All - Popping in to ask for your prayers -

A very wonderful young man with Down's Syndrome (just happens to be the brother of my sister's husband) is very critically ill. He is courageously fighting for his life in the face of Cytomegalovirus that is causing pneumonitis and Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). He is on 90% Co2 right now and heavily sedated and has a very high fever - he has been in ICU since Feb 14....

Also pray for my niece who is just 24- last week her boyfriend who is just 27 years old, became quite ill- he thought with the flu- and instead it is stage 3 testicular cancer that has spread to the brain, lungs and stomach. This is a highly treatable cancer and it is survivable, but the treatments are so intense and scary......

And please pray for my Mom, who is in her late 70's and is in the throes of dementia with advancing brain atrophy which is now affecting her physically in several different ways.

Life has a way of changing the narrative in ways we never expect. Pow - just like that, everything happening outside my life circle just became very unimportant.

Another reminder to live each day to the fullest and tell your loved ones how much you love them every day.

[Jane (sit on the couch or save your country)]

Holy cow Enlightened. Hang tough, that is quite a heavy load.

[Thomas Collins]

My prayers tonight, Enlightened, will be for all the people you mentioned, and for you, too.

[Young Lurker]

Hi Gang,

Mel, thanks for the heads up on this.

An arm of the lab I work in now studies aging and memory, so we sometimes critique studies like this on in our journal club.

I am more inclined to believe the results in this study because it was conducted in mice in a controlled environment. Human studies of people in old folks' homes are kind of a disaster. Turns out just having the experimenter visit them every day does so much to make a sedentary old person feel rejuvenated that it's hard to figure out what the effects of exercise really are.

Now, mice that are bred in captivity are usually pretty sedentary, too, compared to their counterparts in the wild. So it's hard to know whether the strenuous exercise they underwent for this study is just more normal for them, meaning people would just have to jog a little bit to replicate the effects, or whether it's so strenuous for a mouse that people would need to hit the gym in a big way. But the important thing is the difference seen between the exercise yes/ no groups. so... despite how much is still unclear, it's really your best bet to work out. Indeed, the last study of humans I saw had a "stretching-only" group included and they didn't do as well as the running group.

sorry dad.

[Enlightened]

LUN

He is a fabulous young man and is loved by everyone that meets or has met him.

On a personal note- he is the perfect rebuttal to those that selectively choose not to love or give life to imperfection.....

[clarice]

Best wishes to you, enlightened. That's a heavy load , indeed.

[Neo]

This mouse story is a methaphor for Charlie Sheen .. right ?

[Melinda Romanoff]

Enlightened-

My heartfelt prayers to you and yours.

[centralcal]

Enlightened, I am adding my prayers to those offered here.

[Old Lurker]

Add mine too, Enlightened.

[Neo]

A MISSISSIPPI mother has been arrested in the death of her three-year-old son after authorities say they found the child's burned body in an oven.

[lyle]

I'll pray, too, enlightened. My 78 year old mother has early/mid-stage dementia and we're on the cusp of some very difficlut decisions. Not looking good here.

[matt]

and mine.....

[MayBee]

Love and prayers, En. And Lyle.

[RichatUF]

Enlightened-

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

[Extraneus]

Me too, Enlightened.

[Frau Quatschnik]

Janet is just plain lucky because she has inherited good genes and an magic pair of Birkies.

[Frau Steingehirn]

Thank you, Enlightened, for sharing your worries. That's a lot for one person to carry alone.

[centralcal]

Well . . . this seems to be a depressing day, with all sorts of heavy stories on every thread (Sue, posted the names of the young soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan on the other thread).

Just for a little pick-me-up out of the blues chuckle, James Taranto retweeted this Twitter message:

greeneforsenate Alvin Green twitter is useless

oh well, it made me smile.

[Frau Steingehirn]

Jim, I may have too much "muscle confusion" to make the 90-day thingy work. Will we get to see evidence of all that ripping when the 3 months are over? If not, you are a big, buffed tease.

[Frau Steingehirn]

should that be "rippedness"?

[peter]

I flew back from a vacation, and the two people on the plane next to me were a man with Down's syndrome, and a lady, presumably, his mother. I have never seen two people so upbeat about life. Very inspiring, as at the time I was feeling a little bit sorry for myself.

Enlightened--you and your family are in my prayers.

[Melinda Romanoff]

Frau-

How do you know what his shoes look like from there? Are they really that buffed?

[Jane (get off the couch - come save the country)]

Jim,

That was the most annoying website I have ever been to, and the noisiest as well.

[Henry]

So many positive examples for us all, yet such sad news. Sue, Enlightened, Lyle my thoughts and prayers to you and yours.

[Frau Steingehirn]

Yep. I checked out the web site. It's the spit, polish and buff after the exercise and whey protein chaser, Mel.
Is that chaser stirred or shaken?

[narciso]

So sorry to hear that Enlightened, lyle,

[clarice]

Back on the health topic, another study saying tumeric is good for you--this one from Israel where they found it useful in fighting colon cancer.

remember if you don't like curry, you can get it in French's yellow mustard or just throw a bit into your rice cooking water or scrambled eggs.

[Captain Hate]

Best wishes Enlightened and Lyle. People with Downs syndrome are truly special because they have such gentle personalities in general that it takes a cold heart not to think well of them. Testicular cancer is very beatable; I've met a number of survivors including one just recently.

[Janet]

What a lovely write up about Jay, Enlightened. In my hometown most Down's Syndrome or mentally retarded citizens were "adopted" by one of the businesses. It was/is a nice aspect of a small town. Will keep him in my prayers too...

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Oh Enlightened, my prayers go out to you and all you care about who are ill, but most of all for you and your mother. I truly empathize with you and understand completely your statements about the outside world. I completely missed the last full year of the Clinton administration and most of the first couple of years of the Bush admin and all else that was going on outside my own 4 walls and my Mother's hospital rooms. And when it was finally all over, I found myself so mentally and physically exhausted, it took me another couple of years to even begin to feel more normal again. But, I wouldn't trade those years and somehow, even in the darkest moments of fear or despair, I knew deep down that I'd be a stronger person and a better person if I could make it through. I used humor. I turned off the news and turned on the sitcom reruns, I stopped reading political blogs and high-powered business stuff and started looking for jokes. I stopped reading deep, thought-provoking complicated books and started picking up light-hearted, simple stories. I started my own blog, more to immerse myself in the programming and design, than any desire to have an outlet for a personal opinion. I could lose myself for days in design and graphics.

These were my escapes, others find other ways, some self-destructive, some neutral and some very uplifting through their faith. I used to think it would be easier if I had someone else to share the burdens, rather than always having to be the final arbiter or having to shoulder the whole load, but then I watched a cousin go through a similar situation and the family squabbles that ensued and I decided as hard as it was to have no moral support or even physical support wasn't as bad as ending up in what she went through with her immediate family there 2nd guessing her every decision.

My best advice is don't fight your own emotions. You will vacillate day to day from a love so deep you can't imagine losing it to anger so intense you feel trapped and just want to run a way. You will experience frustration, a sense of helplessness, and times you will never ever want to forget because they are so touching and wonderful. You'll definitely find out who your real friends are and who the biggest family jerks are too.

I will include you and your loved ones in my prayers.

[Melinda Romanoff]

Sara-

Most eloquent, and I couldn't agree more, having gone through it with my own father, and the spouse's grandmother.

[Ignatz]

--Testicular cancer is very beatable; I've met a number of survivors including one just recently.--

One of the few real success stories in cancer therapeutics, along with some leukemias and non Hodgkins lymphomas.
Cure rate of 100% if it hasn't spread and 80% or more even if it has. The best odds by far for any metastisized cancer.

[Jim Ryan]

Yeah, Jane, it's extremely tacky. But the DVDs are very good. I guess most of their market are tacky people who want to get ripped. But we non-tacky people are welcome to tag along as long as we're slinging $20 their way.

Frau, I'm not trying to tease. Just trying to inspire you to get ripped!

[Charlie (Colorado)]

remember if you don't like curry...

... you should immediately consult a competent physician.

[clarice]

ell, I think so, but to each his own, Chaco.

[Jim Ryan]

Enlightened, Jay Rudd sounds like quite a guy. I hope he pulls through quickly.

[Jim Ryan]

Why are 98% of Chinese restaurants in America bad, but 98% of Indian restaurants in America are good?

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Speaking of diets btw, I've gotten on metformin. Two things I learned:

(1) if the low carb diet still isn't working, go immediately and have an a1c test. Mine had escalated from 6.0 pct in November to 6.7 pct on 1 Feb AFTER a month of low carbs.

(2) interestingly, metformin seems to have broken that barrier -- now have dropped 8-10 lbs in three days. My hypothesis is that since metformin inhibits gluconeogenesis in the liver, in the absence of glucose from carbs the adipocytes have to really start banging the triglycerides-to-glycerol drum to provide it. That means using up the fatty acids rather quickly.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Why are 98% of Chinese restaurants in America bad, but 98% of Indian restaurants in America are good?

Because it has to be pretty bad Indian food not to be at least reasonably good Indian food.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

There's a "only bad Indian" joke there but I'm not seeing it.

[Rocco]

You and your loved ones are in my prayers too enlightened.

[Rocco]

Clarice...is it my imagination or does TM start a new health thread every time you start cooking?

[pagar]

Enlightened and Lyle, our prayers are with you also.
----------------------------------------------
All of us will have a much greater chance of staying young, if we follow the advice of one of the few great American lawmakers we have left.

"“We Can’t Defeat This Enemy Unless We Acknowledge the Role That Islamic Ideology Plays”

[Frau Steingehirn]

Thanks, pagar. That's a powerful interview with Allen West, a powerful man. Let's hope we are worthy as a country of such as he.

Jim, I said you would be a tease if you will *not* let us see what a Ripped Ryan looks like after the 90 days are over.

[centralcal]

Another Dem Senator will not run for re-election - Akaka of Hawaii.

How many does that make now?

[Jack is Back!]

Enlightened,

Our prayers are with you and your loved ones.

[lyle]

Thanks, everyone, for the kind words and prayers. We're gonna need them. My wife's dad is dying of liver failure as well. Every day is a test of will and trying to stay positive is a challenge.

[Rocco]

Oh no lyle...when it rains it pours, prayers on the way

[Janet]

Every day is a test of will and trying to stay positive is a challenge.

So true lyle...some parts of life are just hard. No getting around it. What a blessing for your Mom & your wife's Dad to have children that love them though.

[maryrose]

Enlightened and lyle:
You and your families are in my prayers.That young man with cancer is lucky to have your niece as a girlfriend.If she is anything like you she will offer him love and support just like you do your mom.This blog helped me cope after losing my mother and father and my in-laws within the space of 6 years.treasure every moment lyle and yes it does help you realize what is most important in life.

[pagar]

You can believe the word of a great American like Allen West, who has met the enemy and knows who they are.

Or you can hear from our President who believes the "sweetest sound on earth is"----------

"Obama Sees Motive Unclear"

as "Gunman Screams 'Allahu Akbar',"

LUN

I choose Allen West.

[Janet]

Pakistani minister Shahbaz Bhatti predicted his own assassination - video

Wow. Got this from Verner on FB.
I got chills...
Our nation better wake up.

[farmtoschool]

I'm not sure about how to treat retarded citizens,but I'm pretty sure their adopted by a party like luciferians and as far as cancer if its luciferians just stick it in the dog.

[Jack is Back!]

cleo,

You are a special turd. You are the one we all want to flush.

[Jim Ryan]

That's not Cleo. That's Cryptic. Cleo is from this universe.

Frau, I'm afraid my abs become visible only during the summer on Virginia Beach.

[Danube of Thought]

How many does that make now?

Bingaman, Conrad, Webb...

But it'll be a cold day in hell before there's a GOP Senator from Ha'w'a'ii.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

I saw this poem posted after Lucianne's son died a few weeks ago and it really touched me:

Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free,
I'm following the path God laid for me.
I took his hand when I heard his call,
I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day,
To laugh, to love, to work, to play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way,
I've found that peace at the end of the day.

If my parting has left a void,
Then fill it with remembered joy.
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss,
Ah, yes, these things too I will miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow,
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
My Life's been full, I savoured much,
Good friends, good times, a loved one' touch.

Perhaps my time seemed all too brief,
Don't lengthen it now with undue grief.
Lift up your heart and share with me,
God wanted me now, He set me free.

[Janet]

From the Shahbaz Bhatti video -
"...but I want to share that I believe in Jesus Christ who has given His own life for us. I know what is the meaning of cross and I'm following of the cross,..."

[Thomas Collins]

Hang in there, lyle. You and the lyle crew will be in my prayers tonight along with Enlightened and Enlightened's crew.

[Extraneus]

So all the Wisconsin Republicans need to do is recall one fleebagger, right? Anyone know what the status of their best shot is?

[Henry]

Ext, the Ds are trying to recall 4 Rs. 2 or 3 Ds will face recall attempts. Wirch in Kenosha is most vulnerable. The Ds best shot is through the courts-- if and only if they can unseat Judge Prosser and flip the supreme court to 4-3 liberal on April 5. Expect a shift to full attack ad blitz by the unions any day now. The question is how strongly freedom loving groups like WI Club for Growth show up to counter the muck.

[caro]

Enlightened,Jay sounds like a thoroughly charming character. Is your family in Utah,too?

I have a Downs cousin who is also a sunny,fun character. He must be in his late 40s now and has worked on a farm in Wisconsin for many years. He has always been an asset to the family.

Don't forget to take care of yourself as you go through this difficult time. I will be praying for good outcomes.

[MarkD]

Oh, fine, Social Security goes even more broke.

Wait, I exercise regularly. This could be good news.

[clarice]

rocco, I never looked at it that way. Maybe I should start posting broccoli and tumeric recipes.

[Rick Ballard]

Henry,

Have you seen any mention of the bolded items below in news coverage of the recall blather?

Recall of elective officers. SECTION 12. [As created Nov. 1926 and amended April 1981] The qualified electors of the state, of any congressional, judicial or legislative district or of any county may petition for the recall of any incumbent elective officer after the first year of the term for which the incumbent was elected, by filing a petition with the filing officer with whom the nomination petition to the office in the primary is filed, demanding the recall of the incumbent.

(1) The recall petition shall be signed by electors equaling
at least twenty−five percent of the vote cast for the office of governor at the last preceding election, in the state, county or district which the incumbent represents.

If I understand those items correctly, then the Senators to be recalled would have to be from the Class of '08 and that 25% number would be pretty hard to achieve in a majority Republican district..

[MarkO]

Charlie, while our team is turning the ball over and over and over, I would like to know how you got metformin. It can be attorney-client.

[Henry]

Rick, frequently mentioned on talk radio but not MSM. All 6-7 targets are in swing districts. Most should survive a recall, as would Walker if (who am I kidding, when) he is targeted in January. Wirch is the best bet for an R pickup.

[Henry]

Oh yeah, Walker will be in Kenosha tomorrow morning at 9:00. I got a Tea Party call about it (can't go) and would guess they will be collecting signatures near Walker's event. : )

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Charlie, while our team is turning the ball over and over and over, I would like to know how you got metformin. It can be attorney-client.

I cheated. I asked my MD for a prescription. a1c of 6.7% is over the threshold to be officially pre-diabetic.

The bad side of that is that if my hypothesis is correct, it wouldn't have the same effect on someone who wasn't already exhibiting insulin resistance.