HHMI.org - Mianserin (Tolvon) - an antidepressant medication used in Australia and the U.K. to treat depression - can extend the lifespan of adult roundworms, finds a team of scientists led by Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator Linda B. Buck.
Buck and colleagues Michael Petrascheck and Xiaolan Ye report in the November 22, 2007 issue [...]

Journal of Biological Chemistry - Adiponectin - a little known cytokine hormone secreted by fat cells - is again making health news, this time for its beneficial effects on glucose and fat metabolism and longevity.
Both humans and mice that manage to live to a ripe, old age show a clear change in their glucose metabolism, [...]

Rush.edu - Individuals who are more conscientious—in other words, those with a tendency to be self-disciplined, scrupulous and purposeful—appear less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, according to study by researchers at the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center. The report is in the October 2007 issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Conscientiousness refers [...]

Vitamin E supplements significantly lower the risk of heart attacks and deaths from cardiovascular causes for the forty percent of diabetics who carry a particular version of the haptoglobin gene.
ATS.org - After 18 months of treatment, people with the haptoglobin (Hp) 2-2 gene who took 400 International Units (IU) of vitamin E daily had more [...]

Newswise — For the first time in a large-scale study, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been shown to be an effective, non-drug alternative treatment for major depression. Current antidepressant therapies are not beneficial for at least a third of depressed individuals, leaving many with a lack of adequate treatment options. This study will be published [...]

Cornell - Even very small amounts of lead in children’s blood — amounts well below the current federal standard of lead levels — are associated with reduced IQ scores, finds a new, six-year Cornell study.
The study examined the effect of lead exposure on cognitive function in children whose blood-lead levels (BLLs) were below the Centers [...]