Fountain of youth from the tap

Scientists demonstrate that environmental lithium uptake promotes longevity

2011-02-20

(Press-News.org) (Jena, Germany) Professor Dr. Michael Ristow's team along with Japanese colleagues from universities in Oita and Hiroshima have demonstrated by two independent approaches that even a low concentration of lithium leads to an increased life expectancy in humans as well as in a model organism, the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans. The research team presents its results in the online edition of the scientific publication European Journal of Nutrition which is now online (see hyperlink below).

Lithium is one of many nutritional trace elements and is ingested mainly through vegetables and drinking water. "The scientific community doesn't know much about the physiological function of lithium", project manager Ristow says. According to an earlier study from the US, highly concentrated lithium showed to be life-prolonging in C. elegans, the Professor of Nutrition in Jena continues. "The dosage that has been analyzed back then, however, is clearly beyond the physiologically relevant range and may be poisonous for human beings", explains Ristow. To find out if lithium has a life-prolonging impact at much lower concentrations, the scientists then examined the impact of lithium in a concentration that is regularly found in ordinary tap water.

In a collaborative effort with Japanese colleagues, the Jena scientists analyzed the mortality rate in 18 adjacent Japanese municipalities in relation to the amount of lithium contained in tap water from the respective regions. "We found that the mortality rate was considerably lower in those municipalities with more lithium in the drinking water", Ristow explains the key finding. In a second experiment, the Jena scientists examined exactly this range of concentration in the model organism C. elegans. The result was confirmed: "The average longevity of the worms is higher after they have been treated with lithium at this dosage", Ristow says.

Even though the underlying mechanisms still remain to be clarified, the scientists assume that the higher longevity they observed in humans as well as in nematodes C. elegans can be induced by the trace element lithium.

Moreover, the scientists speculate about using low-dose lithium as a potential dietary supplement in the future. "From previous studies we know already that a higher uptake of lithium through drinking water is associated with an improvement of psychological well-being and with decreased suicide rates", Professor Ristow explains. While low-dose lithium uptake on the basis of the new data is clearly thought to be beneficial, more studies will be necessary to thoroughly recommend such a supplementation, the scientists conclude.

INFORMATION:

Original Publication: Zarse K., Terao T., Tian J., Iwata N., Ishii N., Ristow M. Low-dose lithium uptake promotes longevity in humans and metazoans. Eur J Nutr 2011, DOI: 10.1007/s00394-011-0171-x

Article download through: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00394-011-0171-x

Contact:
Prof. Dr. Michael Ristow
Institute of Nutrition
Friedrich Schiller University Jena
29, Dornburger Str
Jena, D-07743, Germany
Phone: ++49 3641 949630
Email: mristow@mristow.org

[Attachments] See images for this press release:

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Experts question aspects of prescribed burning

2011-02-20

From The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, The University of Western Australia, and the, Kings Park and Botanic Garden, the scientists argue that deliberately increasing the frequency of fires may lead to ecosystem degradation and loss of biodiversity. In a paper published this month in Trends in Plant Science they acknowledge that as climate change increases the combustibility of vegetation, human lives and property are more at risk. However, they suggest that prescribed burning – a key practice by most environmental managers – may cause more problems because, they say, ...

Back to the roots of the solar system

2011-02-20

Planets form in disks of dust and gas that surround young stars. A look at the birth places means a journey into the past of the earth and its siblings. Now, astronomers have been able to obtain detailed images of the protoplanetary disks of two stars using the Subaru telescope in Hawaii. This is the first time that disk structures comparable in size to our own solar system have been resolved this clearly, revealing features such as rings and gaps that are associated with the formation of giant planets. The observations are part of a systematic survey to search for planets ...

CeBIT 2011: Preparing for the unexpected

2011-02-20

Extreme weather, major accidents, forest fires or attacks: Citizens, rescue services and the authorities need to receive as much advance warning as possible to be able to react as quickly as possible. "Independent warning systems for each of these catastrophes and for every situation that may affect people are not feasible financially, though," observes project manager Ulrich Meissen of the Fraunhofer Institute for Software and System Technology ISST in Berlin. "In addition, that would lead to a large collection of parallel items of information that can even prove a mutual ...

UMass Amherst biologists use GPS to 'map' bats teeth to explore evolutionary adaptations to diet

2011-02-20

Using a method based on geographic positioning systems that allowed them to characterize the topography of the bats' molars in a way similar to how geographers characterize mountain surfaces, the researchers calculated a measure of dental complexity that reflects how "rugged" the surface of the tooth is. They illustrate a trend from relative simplicity of the shearing molars in insect eaters and omnivores to high complexity of the crushing molars in fruit eaters. Working with field-collected bat skulls, researchers Sharlene Santana and Betsy Dumont of UMass Amherst, with ...

Brain function linked to birth size in groundbreaking new study

2011-02-20

Scientists have discovered the first evidence linking brain function variations between the left and right sides of the brain to size at birth and the weight of the placenta. The finding could shed new light on the causes of mental health problems in later life. The research, conducted at the University of Southampton and the Medical Research Council (MRC) Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit at Southampton General Hospital, reveals that children who were born small, with relatively large placentas, showed more activity on the right side of their brains than the left. It is this ...

Efficacy of tuberculosis vaccine enhanced

2011-02-20

Nele Festjens and Nico Callewaert of VIB and Ghent University have improved the efficacy of the vaccine for tuberculosis. The new vaccine affords - as already proven in mice - better protection against the disease. The development of a new tuberculosis vaccine is a priority in the fight against the disease which claims the lives of 1.7 million people each year. The current vaccine provides only partial protection. Nico Callewaert: "Our vaccine is more effective because it is more quickly recognized by the immune system of the vaccinated person. We have, as it were, ...

New study finds 9,500 ED visits related to cribs, playpens and bassinets each year in US

2011-02-20

Parents and caregivers have traditionally relied on cribs, playpens and bassinets to protect children while they sleep. The massive crib recalls followed by the announcement in December 2010 by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to ban drop-side cribs have caused many families to question the safety of these products. A new study conducted by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital examined injuries associated with cribs, playpens and bassinets among children younger than ...

Scheduled deliveries raise risks for mothers, do not benefit newborns

2011-02-20

Inducing labor without a medical reason is associated with negative outcomes for the mother, including increased rates of cesarean delivery, greater blood loss and an extended length of stay in the hospital, and does not provide any benefit for the newborn. As the number of scheduled deliveries continues to climb, it is important for physicians and mothers-to-be to understand the risks associated with elective induction. The new findings, published in the February issue of the Journal of Reproductive Medicine, only apply to women having their first child, and may not ...

High-caffeine-consuming boys get greater rush from caffeine than girls

2011-02-20

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Among the many differences between girls and boys, add the effects from caffeine -- physiological, behavioral and subjective -- to the list. Results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-response study of the response of youth to caffeine found that, in general, boys get a greater rush and more energy from caffeine than girls. Boys also reported they felt that caffeine had a positive effect on their athletic performance. Girls didn't report on this issue. The study, conducted by Jennifer L. Temple, PhD, a neurobiologist and assistant professor ...

Depression symptoms increase over time for addiction-prone women

2011-02-20

Unlike alcohol problems and antisocial behavior, depression doesn’t decline with age in addiction-prone women in their 30s and 40s – it continues to increase, a new study led by University of Michigan Health System researchers found. The longitudinal analysis examined the influences of the women’s histories, family life and neighborhood instability on their alcoholism symptoms, antisocial behavior and depression over a 12-year period covering the earlier years of marriage and motherhood. The research, published in Development and Psychopathology, is part of an ...

Adolescent boys who experience violence have up to 8 times the odds of perpetrating physical and sexual intimate partner violence that same day, per South African study collecting real-time data over

[Press-News.org] Fountain of youth from the tap
Scientists demonstrate that environmental lithium uptake promotes longevity

Fountain of youth from the tap

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: