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Category Archives: Life Extension
No limit to how long we could extend our lives, say researchers – Eyewitness News
Posted: February 20, 2017 at 7:15 pm
More & more scientists are coming to the conclusion that aging is a disease and, as such, could be treated.
Picture: Freeimages.com
THE STREHLER-MILDVAN CORRELATRION
The scientific team of biotech company Gero recently published a study in the Journal of Theoretical Biology that debunks a long-held misconception regarding two parameters of the Gompertz mortality law - a mortality model that represents human death as the sum of two components that exponentially increases with age. The Gero team studied whats called the Strehler-Mildvan (SM) correlation and found no real biological reasoning behind it, despite having been held true for more than a half a century now.
The SM correlation, derived from the Strehler-Mildvan general theory of aging and mortality, is a mechanism-based explanation of Gompertz law. Specifically, the SM correlation uses two Gompertz coefficients called the Mortality Rate Doubling Time (MRDT) and Initial Mortality Rate (IMR). Popularised in the 1960s in a paper published in Science, the SM correlation suggests that reducing mortality rate through any intervention at a young age could lower the MRDT, thus accelerating aging. As such, the hypothesis disrupts the development of any anti-aging therapy, effectively making optimal aging treatments impossible.
The Gero team, however, realised that the SM correlation is a flawed assumption. Instead of using machine learning techniques for anti-aging therapy design, the researchers relied on an evidence-based science approach. Peter Fedichev and his team tried to determine the physical processes behind the SM correlation. In doing so, they realised the fundamental discrepancy between analytical considerations and the possibility of SM correlation.
We worked through the entire life histories of thousands of C. elegans that were genetically identical, and the results showed that this correlation was indeed a pure fitting artifact, Fedichev said in a press release.
HUMAN LIFE EXTENSION
Other studies have questioned the validity of the SM correlation, but in their published study, Fedichev and his team were able to show how the SM correlation arises naturally as a degenerate manifold of Gompertz fit. This suggests that, instead of understanding SM correlation as a biological fact, it is really an artifactual property of the fit.
This discovery is particularly relevant now as more and more scientists are coming to the conclusion that aging is a disease and, as such, could be treated. They are working hard to find ways to extend human life, and many of these anti-aging studies are yielding curious developments.
Elimination of SM correlation from theories of aging is good news, because if it was not just negative correlation between Gompertz parameters, but the real dependence, it would have banned optimal anti-aging interventions and limited human possibilities to life extension, Fedichev explained. In order words, human life extension has no definitive limit.
This article was republished courtesy of World Economic Forum.
Written by Dom Galeon, writer, Futurism.
Kristin Houser, writer, Futurism.
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No limit to how long we could extend our lives, say researchers - Eyewitness News
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When Screening for Disease, Risk is as Important to Consider as … – University of Virginia
Posted: at 7:15 pm
Physicians and patients like to believe that early detection of cancer extends life, and quality of life. If a cancer is present, you want to know early, right?
Not so fast.
An analysis of cancer screenings by a University of Virginia statistician and a researcher at the National Cancer Institute indicates that early diagnosis of a cancer does not necessarily result in a longer life than without an early diagnosis. And screenings such as mammograms for breast cancer and prostate-specific antigen tests for prostate cancer come with built-in risks, such as results mistakenly indicating the presence of cancer (false positives), as well as missed diagnoses (false negatives). Patients may undergo harsh treatments that diminish quality of life while not necessarily extending it.
Yet the benefits of early diagnosis through screening often are touted over the risks.
It is difficult to estimate the effect of over-diagnosis, but the risk of over-diagnosis is a factor that should be considered, said Karen Kafadar, a UVA statistics professor and co-author of a study being presented Sunday at a session of the 2017 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. How many diagnosed cases would never have materialized in a persons lifetime, and gone successfully untreated? Treatments sometimes can cause harm, and can shorten life or reduce quality of life.
Kafadar is not advocating against screening, but her findings show that frequent screening comes with its own risks.
As a metric for evaluation, reduction in mortality is considered the standard. So if a disease results in 10 deaths per 100,000 people in a year, and screening reduces the deaths to six per 100,000 people, then there seems to be an impressive 40 percent reduction in mortality.
However, a more meaningful metric, Kafadar said, may be: How much longer can a person whose case was screen-detected be expected to live, versus a case that was diagnosed only after clinical symptoms appeared? This issue becomes harder to discern how long a patient survives after a diagnosis versus how long the patient might have lived anyway. Some cancer cases might never become apparent during a persons lifetime without screening, but with screening might be treated unnecessarily, such as for a possibly non-aggressive cancer. And some aggressive forms of disease may shorten life even when caught early through screening.
Kafadar and her collaborator, National Cancer Institute statistician Philip Prorok, gathered long-term data from several study sources, including health insurance plans and the National Cancer Institutes recently completed long-term randomized control trial on prostate, lung, colorectal and ovarian cancer, to consider several factors affecting the value of screening over-diagnosis, lead time on a diagnosis and other statistical distortions to look at not just how many people die, but also life extension.
People die anyway of various causes, Kafadar said, but most individuals likely are more interested in, How much longer will I live? Unfortunately, screening tests are not always accurate, but we like to believe they are.
Because the paper considers together the factors that affect statistical understanding of the effectiveness of screening, rather than looking at each of these factors in isolation as previous studies have done, it offers a new statistical methodology for teasing out the relative effects of cancer screenings benefits and risks.
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Campbell Co. Extension Service: Who are we? – Cincinnati.com
Posted: February 19, 2017 at 11:13 am
Don Sorrell, Community Recorder Contributor 11:36 p.m. ET Feb. 18, 2017
Kentucky Cooperative Extension is the educational resource that serves as a catalyst to build better communities and improve quality of life for all Kentuckians. Kentucky Cooperative Extension serves as a link between every county of the commonwealth and Kentuckys two land-grant Universities, the University of Kentucky and Kentucky State University.
The mission of the Campbell County Cooperative Extension Service is to make a difference in the lives of Campbell County citizens through an educational process focusing on local issues and needs. We provide educational programs for the public through meetings and workshops, field days, personal communications, publications, newsletters, computer and web-based programs, videos, and other educational materials. Extension personnel include agents and program assistants who have responsibilities in the following program areas: 4-H Youth Development, Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Family and Consumer Sciences.
4-H is a youth organization committed to building our youth into outstanding leaders with the skills needed to succeed in todays global society. 4-H empowers youth to reach their full potential, working and learning in partnership with caring adults. This is accomplished through school based clubs and individual focus groups. There are approximately 1,500 youth (ages 9 to 18) involved in Campbell County 4-H programs.
The Agriculture and Natural Resources program area includes agriculture, horticulture and environmental management. We provide informal education in the areas of plant and animal production (commercial and homeowner), natural resources management and environmental stewardship. It is important to know that educational programs in this area address the needs of all Campbell County citizens and not just the farming community.
Family and Consumer Sciences Extension improves the quality of life of individuals and families through educational programs focusing on the basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter. Special emphasis is placed on human development, parenting, resource management, nutrition, health, and aesthetics.
The Campbell County Cooperative Extension Service is also an excellent resource to get your day-to-day questions answered in all of the above-mentioned areas. How can you reach us and get connected to our programs? We are located at 3500 Alexandria Pike in Highland Heights. Our phone number is 859-572-2600.
Another easy way to connect to our educational programs is to visit our website at http://campbell.ca.uky.edu/. In early February, the Whats Happening in Campbell County publication will be mailed to all Campbell County households. This publication will have a list of spring and summer programs of the Campbell County Cooperative Extension Service.
Don Sorrell is the Campbell County agriculture agent.
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Major South African coal extension project on cards South32 – Creamer Media’s Mining Weekly
Posted: February 17, 2017 at 1:19 am
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) A decision will be taken in the June quarter on go-ahead for the Klipspruit Life Extension coal project in Mpumalanga, which is said to have robust economics.
The original BHP Billiton capital expenditure (capex) of more than $500-million for the two-year development has been more than halved under South32 to under $250-million, South32 CEO Graham Kerr told Creamer Medias Mining Weekly Online during a media conference call.
While the Klipspruit Life Extension coal project is export orientated and earmarked to make use of existing rail access, its location in relation to Eskoms new coal-fired Kusile power station, which is under construction, could see it playing a role in domestic supply.
All the key environmental approvals have been obtained and the go-ahead decision will be made at the end of South32s current financial year on June 30.
Certainly, as Ive been watching the project go through, its had very robust economics, said Kerr.
During the last 18 months of project study, the South32 team under president and COO Africa Mike Fraser has maximised optionalities, given the long-term uncertainty in the arbitrage between domestic and export.
What weve been able to introduce into this project is a lot of flexibility, which has enabled us to reduce capital but also to give us optionality should the market strengthen out of our current prediction range. There is certainly potential for a long life out of this resource Fraser told Mining Weekly Online.
Project capital expenditure (capex) of $30-million is expected in this financial year to June 30, to fund study costs and the acquisition of land in preparation for the Klipspruit Life Extension project.
After a turnaround from loss to profit in the half-year to December 31, cash-rich South32 has resolved to pay an interim dividend of $0.036 a share for the half-year ended December 31, which means a dishing out of $192-million to shareholders from the pile of cash it generated in the period, compared with the corresponding period's loss, which was impacted by the recognition of impairment charges totalling $1.7-billion.
The company came away with 197%-higher free cash of $626-million to boost its net cash position to $859-million on operational optimisation and leverage.
The rise in profit came as revenue climbed 8% to $3.2-billion.
Compared with the first half of 2016, controllable costs were cut by $239-million and capex by $116-million.
Capex guidance for this financial year remains unchanged at $450-million.
Exploration expenditure of $16-million is expected within the companys existing footprint, with exploration already started on high-grade manganese within the southern areas of Groote Eylandt, in Australia.
Continued pursuit of additional greenfield exploration opportunities could lead to an increase in expenditure.
The corporate tax rates applicable to the group include Australia at 30%, South Africa at 28%, Colombia at 40% and Brazil at 34%.
Better prices for metallurgical coal, energy coal, manganese ore and manganese alloy were the main contributors to increasing revenue by $661-million.
Higher average realised silver, lead and zinc prices increased sales revenue and chipped in an additional $93-million, but lower average realised prices for alumina cut revenue by $39-million.
Price-linked costs fell by $47-million on lower raw material prices at the alumina and aluminium operations and a reduction in treatment and refining charges for Cannington silver concentrates.
An increase in controllable costs is anticipated in the six months to June 30 as working capital unwinds.
The Sydney-, Johannesburg- and London-listed BHP Billiton spinoffs swing to profit included its restarting of 22 pots at Aluminium South Africa, which were taken offline in September 2015, as well as the opportunistic increase of manganese ore production in the wake of manganeses price surge.
ALUMINIUM
With 22 pots that were suspended in September 2015 back on stream, South32s Hillside aluminium smelter is back at full tilt.
Saleable production from Hillside, which sources power from State utility Eskom under long-term contracts, increased by 1% to 356 000 t in the six months to December 31, on fewer load-shedding events.
We continue to identify opportunities for further energy efficiency but we are very happy at the current level of efficiency, said Fraser.
Operating unit costs fell by 8% to $1 380/t on lower raw material prices and a weaker South African rand offsetting higher aluminium price-linked power costs.
Some 72 pots are scheduled to be relined this year.
The price of electricity supplied to potlines 1 and 2 is linked to the London Metal Exchange (LME) aluminium price and the rand/dollar exchange rate. The price of electricity supplied to potline 3 is rand based and linked to South African and US producer price indices.
Saleable production from Mozal Aluminium, in Mozambique, increased by 2% to 136 000 t in the six months to December 31, with an 11% increase in sales reflecting the timing of shipments between periods.
Operating unit costs decreased by 12% to $1 448/t in the first half of the 2017 financial year, reflecting stronger sales and lower raw materials prices.
A total of 39 Mozal pots were relined in the period at $193 000 a pot, compared with 69 pots at $212 000 a pot in the corresponding period of the previous financial year.
A total of 106 pots are now scheduled to be relined in this financial year.
Mozal Aluminium uses hydroelectric power generated by Hidroelctrica de Cahora Bassa, which delivers power into the South African grid to Eskom, with Mozal sourcing the power through the Mozambique transmission company, Motraco.
We get some protection in terms of the cost of the Hillside business when the LME price goes down and foreign exchange doesnt work in our favour. So, it provides a bit of a natural hedge, whereas we dont get that same benefit at Mozal. But likewise, as the exchange goes the other way and we actually see aluminium prices increase, we get more out of Mozal than we do out of Hillside, Kerr said in response to Mining Weekly Online.
MANGANESE
The block development project at the Wessels underground manganese mine in South Africas Northern Cape will reduce cycle times by allowing mining activity to relocate closer to critical infrastructure. Commissioning is expected in the March 2017 quarter.
Manganese alloy saleable production fell 20% to 37 000 t on furnace instability at Metalloys in South Africas Gauteng province, where only one of the four manganese furnaces is operating, compared with all four of the manganese furnaces at Temco, in Australia, being expected to return to full capacity once scheduled maintenance is completed in the March quarter.
Saleable ore production from South32s 44.4%-owned South Africa manganese mines increased by 23% to 934 000 wet metric tons (wmt) with market conditions supporting a drawdown of Wessels concentrate stockpiles and the use of higher cost trucking to access export opportunities.
Wessels concentrate accounted for 15% of external sales in the six months to December 31, compared with 4% in the prior corresponding period.
Manganese ore production from South Africa will remain configured for an optimised rate of 2.9-million wmt a year, with opportunistic action when market fundamentals are supportive.
Tragically, the company lost an employee in the half-year, which has prompted it to invest time, energy and leadership in make a lasting change to its safety performance.
The fatality at Metalloys has hit very hard and new practice to avoid a recurrence has been shared across the group.
Permanent processes have been embarked upon following the internal investigation, supplemented by external engagements.
COAL
At South Africa Energy Coal, coal production guidance is 30.9-million tonnes, 17-million tonnes of it for the domestic market and 13.9-million tonnes for export.
The $103-million impact in the period of the lower production at South Africa Energy Coal followed the suspension of the North plant at the Wolvekrans Middelburg Complex, scheduled maintenance and the repositioning of draglines.
Saleable production from the 92%-owned South Africa Energy Coal decreased by 9% to 14.8-million tonnes in the six months to December 31, reflecting the prior suspension of the North plant at the Wolvekrans Middelburg Complex, and export sales were also impacted by Transnet's yearly rail maintenance cycle.
Future production will benefit from additional capital investment at the Wolvekrans Middelburg Complex that will open up new mining areas.
In Australia, steps to acquire Metropolitan Colliery, to realise synergies with Illawarra Metallurgical Coal in Australia, are well advanced and the access agreement for Worsley Alumina in the West Marradong mining area is being completed.
In South America, unlocking more value at Cerro Matosos La Esmeralda nickel prospect is envisaged. In Canada, exploration for copper, nickel and platinum group element mineralisation at Huckleberry is being started.
Underlying earnings before taxes, depreciation and amortisation increased by $522-million to $1.1-billion in the six months to December 31, as higher prices for most of its commodities offset lower volumes, giving rise to an increase in sales revenue of $240-million and a rise in operating margin from 20% to 37%.
Our strong balance sheet and simple capital management framework is designed to reward shareholders as financial performance improves.
We have declared our first interim dividend and will continue to manage our financial position to ensure we retain the right balance of flexibility and efficiency, Kerr told journalists.
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Major South African coal extension project on cards South32 - Creamer Media's Mining Weekly
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Why Do People Want to Live So Long, Anyway? – TIME
Posted: at 1:19 am
Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel is famous for a lot of reasons. He's an acclaimed bioethicist and oncologist who advised President Obama on health care and has two very well known brothers, but another thing people always seem to remember about him is that article he wrote in 2014: "Why I Hope to Die at 75."
More than 1,000 people have sent him letters and emails--some saying he's insane and ungrateful, others thanking him for voicing the same thoughts for which they'd been ridiculed. One 75-year-old man who died in upstate New York requested that his mourners, instead of making a donation, sit down and read the piece.
Emanuel's embrace of an early end--one that's only a few years shy of the U.S. life expectancy of 78.8--is the exact opposite of how most people in America feel about dying. In a survey from the Pew Research Center, nearly 70% of American adults said they wanted to live to be up to 100 years old. But why?
"The quest to live forever, or to live for great expanses of time, has always been part of the human spirit," says Paul Root Wolpe, director of the Emory Center for Ethics. People now seem to have particular reason to be optimistic: in the past century, science and medicine have extended life expectancy, and longevity researchers (not to mention Silicon Valley types) are pushing for a life that lasts at least a couple decades more.
Of course, people want to juice their life spans for reasons beyond their pioneering spirits. "The thing that is most difficult and inscrutable to us as mortal beings is the fact of our own death," Wolpe says. "We don't understand it, we don't get it, and as meaning-laden beings, we can't fathom what it means to not exist." In other words, thinking about the infinite desert of death can trigger the worst kind of FOMO.
At the same time, the odds of living a long life that's also a good, healthy one are slim. Almost all people complete their most meaningful years before age 75, Emanuel writes in his essay, so living past that age is rarely as good as it may sound. Physical function crumbles for about half of Americans at around age 80, and aging makes all of us mentally slower and less creative. We may die later, but we don't age slower.
Older folks understand this better than younger people. "What you see when you actually look at people at the end of life, to a large degree, is a sense of a life well lived and a time for that life to transition itself," says Wolpe. "Younger people have a harder time with that, but older people don't."
When people are asked how long they hope to live, however, attitude seems to make a greater difference than how old they are. A study of young and middle-aged people ages 18 to 64 found that 1 in 6 preferred to die before age 80. Those who did tended to hold more negative beliefs about what old age would be like. Still, the vast majority of people surveyed wanted to live a good long life and had sunnier expectations for their own old age.
That's why Emanuel isn't trying to persuade many people to drop the quest for a longer life: evidence, he knows, is no match for the human ego. "One of the things I don't understand is why the Silicon Valley types want to live forever," Emanuel says. "Obviously they believe the world can't possibly survive without their existence, and so they think their immortality is so critical to the survival of the world."
There is, however, an ethical way to chase life extension in a way that benefits everyone. "The proportion of the population that dies before 75, that's the number we ought to be looking at and tracking," Emanuel says. "We want to get everyone to 75."
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Universal Life project gets loan extension – Memphis Business Journal
Posted: February 15, 2017 at 9:15 pm
Memphis Business Journal | Universal Life project gets loan extension Memphis Business Journal The Center City Development Corporation (CCDC) approved a request from Self Tucker Properties LLC to extend the development loan closing date for the former Universal Life Building. The deadline will be extended until June 30, and the company will ... |
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Universal Life redevelopment gets PILOT extension – Memphis Business Journal
Posted: at 12:12 am
Memphis Business Journal | Universal Life redevelopment gets PILOT extension Memphis Business Journal Nearly two years after officially breaking ground, Self Tucker Architects are expected to close on financing for the redevelopment of the historic Universal Life building. The Center City Revenue Finance Corp. (CCRFC) board today approved an extension ... Rehab of historic Universal Life building set to begin |
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Gov’t Sued For Taking US Company’s Business Plan And Giving It To Foreigners – Daily Caller
Posted: at 12:12 am
5481367
A private space company is suing the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for allegedly taking an idea and giving it to a foreign-owned competitor.
Orbital ATK accused DARPA, which develops military technology, of giving its business plan to repair satellites to Space Systems Loral (SSL), a company-based in California but registered as foreign-owned. Orbital ATK says handing business plans to SSL violates U.S. policy.
DARPA entered into a commercial partnership with Space Systems Loral (SSL) to take advantage of its Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) program to capture, re-position, and repair satellites in orbit. DARPA plans to buy future RSGS services from SSL, despite it being a Bermuda-based company.
Orbital ATK has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in response to DARPAs apparent decision to continue pursuing a program that violates long-standing principles of the U.S. National Space Policy, wastes taxpayer funds, and benefits a foreign-owned corporation, VickiCox, a spokesperson for Orbital ATK, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. Orbital ATK is already investing its own private capital to develop in-space satellite servicing that includes satellite life extension, to be followed by robotic in-space repair and assembly capabilities.
Last year, Orbital ATK unveiled a similar satellite servicing business which will have to compete directly with the DARPA initiative. The U.S. company says it already has its first private customer and that this makes DARPAs actions unabashedly unfair and anti-competitive.
This could be a violation of the US National Space Policywhich requiresthat the government not build or buy systems that preclude, discourage or compete with commercial systems. The U.S. company claims that they have already invested in the satellite repair and refueling business. Orbital ATKs lawsuit says this means that DARPA interfered in a developing market in defiance of stated U.S. policy.
The U.S. National Space Policy explicitly directs government agencies to avoid funding activities that are already in development in the commercial marketplace, Cox continued. Orbital ATK will continue to pursue all available options to oppose DARPA from moving forward with this illegal and wasteful use of U.S. taxpayer dollars.
SSLclaims it has also already made asubstantial investment in the RSGS program and that DARPA deliberately chose them to ensure the services would be available far into the future. SSL will take over DARPAs RSGS satellite after a nine-month demonstration mission.
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SRS’s Melter 2 to be replaced – The Star
Posted: at 12:12 am
Savannah River Sites Melter 2, a key component in the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF), will be replaced after nearly 14 years of record-breaking operational performance. A heater inside Melter 2 failed on Feb. 1 and is deemed not repairable.
Melter 2 is only the second melter in the 20-year history of DWPF. It has been operating nearly 14 years, approximately 12 years beyond its design life expectancy. Melter 1 ran for about six years of radioactive service and another two years of non-radioactive simulant processing.
The operational concept for DWPF is to use a melter until it is no longer operational and then replace it with a new melter. There are no risks to the public, workers or the environment during melter replacement. The replacement melter, the third melter to be installed in DWPF, known as Melter 3, has been ready for years. Work to install it will begin shortly, and will require approximately six months.
Melter 2 has poured 2,819 canisters during its life, more than double what Melter 1 produced in its life span, which was 1,339 canisters. Melter 1 was placed into radioactive operation in March 1996, following approximately two years of non-radioactive simulant operations. Melter 2 began operating in 2003. Together, Melters 1 and 2 have poured 4,158 canisters through January 31, 2017. The predicted number of canisters needed to dispose of SRS high-level tank waste is 8,170, according to the SRS Liquid Waste System Plan Rev. 20.
Since beginning operations, DWPF has poured more than 16 million pounds of glass and has immobilized about 61 million curies of radioactivity.
Savannah River Remediation (SRR) operates DWPF, as well as other liquid waste facilities at SRS, as part of its contract with DOE. Operations are expected to continue at DWPF for approximately 20 more years.
SRR keeps one melter in storage in case the working melter needs to be replaced.
Melter life extension is the product of work by engineers and scientists. The increased Melter 2 operational life resulted from the following:
Incorporating an improved insert in the melter, used from the beginning of this melters operation, ensures glass waste doesnt cause the melters pour spout to erode;
Heating the internal area where the glass flows into a canister to ensure it does not stick;
Adjusting electrical current to the electrode heaters inside the melter to increase its heating capacity; and
Installing agitation bubblers that are used to improve the heat distribution in the waste glass pool in the melter to achieve a better pour rate.
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Double-blind, randomized crossover study of intravenous infusion of … – PR Newswire (press release)
Posted: at 12:12 am
Studies have shown that 30-50 percent of patients diagnosed with MDD do not respond to an initial anti-depressant trial, while 15 percent will continue to suffer from depression. Treatment-resistant depression commonly refers to major depressive episodes that have not responded to two adequate trials of antidepressant monotherapy.
In a recent study conducted at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and published in Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences (2016), 12 subjects with mild or moderate TRD were randomized into a double-blind crossover trial to receive an intravenous (IV) infusion of 4 g of magnesium sulfate in five percent dextrose or an IV infusion of five percent dextrose (placebo) with a one week washout period in between.
Subjects were assessed before and after the intervention for serum and urine magnesium. Assessment tools included the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D), which is a clinician-used questionnaire to assess severity of depressive symptoms related to mood, feelings of guilt, suicidal ideation, insomnia, agitation or retardation, anxiety, weight loss, and somatic symptoms. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was also utilized and is a brief self-report tool that can be rapidly used by clinicians to determine the response to treatment.
Study results indicated a significant increase in the serum magnesium level in response to the magnesium sulfate IV infusion and as the serum magnesium increased from baseline to day seven, the PHQ-9 score significantly decreased during the same timeframe suggesting an improvement in depression symptoms. The change in the score for the HAM-D scale from day two to eight was also positively correlated with the PHQ-9 score change during the same time period. It was also noted that the 24-hour post-infusion scores on the HAM-D and PHQ-9 did not change. The treatment was well tolerated, and no serious adverse events were noted.
Researchers concluded that IV infusion of magnesium sulfate increased the serum level of magnesium, which was correlated with improved depression symptoms according to the PHQ-9. Improvements in the PHQ-9 and HAM-D were positively correlated. This is in alignment with current literature noting that the administration of magnesium may be beneficial for patients with TRD. Additional research is needed to assess the use of the various forms of magnesium as an alternative to the current standard of care for TRD. Funding for this investigation was provided by a grant from the Life Extension Foundation, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
For more information contact John E. Lewis, Ph.D., the principal investigator of the study at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine at jelewis@miami.edu or Dr. Steven Hirsh, director of clinical research, Life Extension Clinical Research, Inc. at shirsh@lifeextension.com.
Mehdi S, Atlas S, Qadir S et al. Double-blind, randomized crossover study of intravenous infusion of magnesium sulfate versus 5% dextrose on depressive symptoms in adults with treatment-resistant depression. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2016 Nov 10 doi: 10.1111/pcn.12480.
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