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Pittsburgh, PA and Shiga, Japan - The low rate of atherosclerosis and heart disease in Japanese people may be related to their very high levels of marine-derived omega-3 fatty acids rather than genetic factors, a new study suggests [1].

The study, published in the August 5, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (available online July 28), was conducted by a group led by Dr Akira Sekikawa (University of Pittsburgh, PA, and Shiga University of Medical Science, Japan).

They found that compared with white or Japanese American men living in the US, Japanese men living in Japan had twice the blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids—a finding that was independently linked to low levels of atherosclerosis.

"The death rate from coronary heart disease in Japan has always been puzzlingly low. Our study suggests that the very low rates of coronary heart disease among Japanese living in Japan may be due to their lifelong high consumption of fish," Sekikawa said."

Results showed that the Japanese men had the lowest levels of atherosclerosis, whereas whites and Japanese Americans had similar higher levels. The Japanese men also had twofold higher levels of marine-derived omega-3 fatty acids than white and Japanese Americans.

In addition, the significant differences between Japanese and American men in multivariable-adjusted IMT and CAC prevalence became nonsignificant after adjustment further for marine-derived omega-3 fatty acids.

www.theheart.org/...884341.do - Preview

2008 July theheart.org news ERA JUMP Japan USA Japanese whites CVD CHD carotid IMT CIMT omega-3 EPA DHA epidemiological atherosclerosis nutrition coronary artery calcification CAC

July 29, 2008 — The low rate of atherosclerosis and heart disease in Japanese people may be related to their very high levels of marine-derived omega-3 fatty acids rather than genetic factors, a new study suggests [1].

The study, known as Electron-Beam Tomography, Risk Factor Assessment Among Japanese and US Men in the Post-World War II Birth Cohort (ERA JUMP) included 868 randomly selected men aged 40 to 49. Of these, 281 were Japanese men living in Japan; 306 were white men living in the US, and 281 were third- or fourth-generation Japanese American men from Hawaii. All study participants had a physical examination, completed a lifestyle questionnaire, and had blood tests to measure cholesterol levels and levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Atherosclerosis was assessed by measuring carotid intima-medial thickness (IMT) and coronary artery calcification (CAC).

Results showed that the Japanese men had the lowest levels of atherosclerosis, whereas whites and Japanese Americans had similar higher levels. The Japanese men also had twofold higher levels of marine-derived omega-3 fatty acids than white and Japanese Americans.

The study, published in the August 5, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (available online July 28), was conducted by a group led by Dr Akira Sekikawa (University of Pittsburgh, PA, and Shiga University of Medical Science, Japan).

They found that compared with white or Japanese American men living in the US, Japanese men living in Japan had twice the blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids — a finding that was independently linked to low levels of atherosclerosis.

cme.medscape.com/...578221 - Preview

2008 July Medscape CME news ERA JUMP Japan USA Japanese whites CVD CHD carotid IMT CIMT omega-3 EPA DHA epidemiological atherosclerosis nutrition coronary artery calcification CAC

Intima-media thickness of the carotid artery and the distribution of lipoprotein subclasses in men aged 40 to 49 years between whites in the United States and the Japanese in Japan for the ERA JUMP study.
Sekikawa A, Ueshima H, Sutton-Tyrrell K, Kadowaki T, El-Saed A, Okamura T, Takamiya T, Ueno Y, Evans RW, Nakamura Y, Edmundowicz D, Kashiwagi A, Maegawa H, Kuller LH.
Metabolism. 2008 Feb;57(2):177-82.
PMID: 18191046
doi: 10.1016/j.metabol.2007.08.022.

In men in the post World War II birth cohort, i.e., men aged 40–49, whites in the United States (U.S.) had significantly higher levels of intima-media thickness of the carotid arteries (IMT) than the Japanese in Japan.

The whites had significantly higher levels of large very-low-density-lipoprotein particles and significantly lower levels of large high-density-lipoprotein particles than the Japanese, whereas the two populations had similar levels of small low-density-lipoprotein particles. The two populations had similar associations of IMT with NMR lipoproteins. Adjusting for NMR lipoproteins did not attenuate the significant difference in IMT between the two populations (0.671 ± 0.006 for the whites and 0.618 ± 0.006 mm for the Japanese, P=0.01, mean (standard error)). Differences in the distributions of NMR lipoproteins between the two populations did not explain the higher IMT in the whites.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/...PMC2245878 - Preview

2008 February study research epidemiological humans Japan USA Japanese whites ERA JUMP CIMT carotid IMT CVD CHD VLDL HDL nutrition LDL NMR lipoproteins particle sizes particle_sizes

Marine-derived n-3 fatty acids and atherosclerosis in Japanese, Japanese-American, and white men: a cross-sectional study.
Sekikawa A, Curb JD, Ueshima H, El-Saed A, Kadowaki T, Abbott RD, Evans RW, Rodriguez BL, Okamura T, Sutton-Tyrrell K, Nakamura Y, Masaki K, Edmundowicz D, Kashiwagi A, Willcox BJ, Takamiya T, Mitsunami K, Seto TB, Murata K, White RL, Kuller LH; ERA JUMP (Electron-Beam Tomography, Risk Factor Assessment Among Japanese and U.S. Men in the Post-World War II Birth Cohort) Study Group.
J Am Coll Cardiol. 2008 Aug 5;52(6):417-24.
PMID: 18672160

Conclusions
Very high levels of marine-derived n-3 FAs have anti-atherogenic properties independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors and may contribute to lower burden of atherosclerosis in Japanese in Japan, which is unlikely due to genetic factors.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/...PMC2736602 - Preview

2008 August jacc bstudy research epidemiological humans Japan USA ERA JUMP omega-3 Japanese EPA DHA IMT CIMT CAC CVD CHD nutrition coronary artery calcification carotid calcium score heart_scan

"The results of the uniquely-constructed ERA JUMP Study were just released, a fascinating study of the relationship of omega-3 fatty acids to coronary and carotid plaque.

The study adds insight into why the Japanese experience only one third of the heart attacks of Americans, and why Japan occupies the bottom of the list for least heart attacks among all developed countries.

The Electron-Beam Tomography, Risk Factor Assessment Among Japanese and U.S. Men in the Post-World War II Birth Cohort Study (ERA JUMP), a collaborative U.S.-Japanese effort, compared three groups of men:

-- 281 Japanese men living in Japan
-- 306 non-Japanese men living in the U.S. (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
-- 303 Japanese Americans (having both parents Japanese without “ethnic admixture”) living in Hawaii.

The last group represents a group that is genetically similar to the group in Japan, but exposed to an American diet and lifestyle.

Three main measures were compared:

-- Blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA)
-- Carotid intimal-medial thickness (CIMT, the thickness of the carotid artery lining that can serve as an index of body-wide atherosclerosis)
-- Coronary calcium (heart scan) scores."

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2008 July heartscanblog Davis blog_article ERA JUMP Japan Japanese Americans USA CIMT IMT carotid CVD CHD omega-3 EPA DHA blod levels nutrition coronary calcium scores heart_scan

"Lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), is a problem area in coronary plaque reversal.

While our current Track Your Plaque record holder for largest percentage reduction in heart scan score has Lp(a), it remains among the more troublesome lipoprotein patterns.

One unique treatment for Lp(a) is high-dose omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil. While the data are relatively meager, there is one solid study from Lp(a) expert, Dr. Santica Marcovina of the University of Washington, called "The Lugalawa Study."

In this unique set of observations, 1300 members of a Bantu tribe living in Tanzania were studied. What made this population unusual is the fact that two groups of Bantus lived under different circumstances. One group lived on Nyasa Lake (3rd largest lake in Africa and reputed to have the greatest number of species of fish of any lake in the world) and ate large quantities of freshwater fish providing up to 500 mg of omega-3s, EPA and DHA, per day. Another Bantu group lived away from the lake as farmers, eating a pure vegetarian diet without fish. "

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2008 January heartscanblog Davis blog_article Lipoprotein(a) CVD CHD high-dose fish_oil Tanzania Africa two tribes fish-eating fish omega-3 fish-eaters vegetarians lake farmers nutrition groups risk_factors

"The Japan eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) Lipid Intervention Study (JELIS) is a clinical trial that all Track Your Plaquers should know about.

This enormous trial followed a simple design:

Japanese men, between 40-75 years, and Japanese postmenopausal women aged <75 years with total cholesterol 250 mg/dl or greater were enrolled. A total of 18,645 subjects (mean age, 61 years; 31% male) participated: 36% had hypertension, 15% had diabetes, and 20% had coronary disease (history of heart attack or heart procedure). Average starting total cholesterol 275 mg/dl; LDL 180 mg/dl. All participants were treated with pravastatin 10 mg/day or simvastatin 5 mg/day; approximately half also received the omega-3, EPA, 1800 mg/day, in addition to one of the statin drugs.

Treatment resulted in an average LDL reduction of 26% in all participants; the group taking EPA experienced an additional 10% reduction in triglycerides. All major cardiovascular events were tracked and tabulated, including sudden cardiac death, fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI), unstable angina pectoris, coronary artery bypass surgery, and coronary angioplasty. "

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2008 March heartscanblog Dr. William Davis blog_article JELIS Trial Japan omega-3 EPA statin statins CVD CHD prevention fish_oil nutrition

"Lisa is one of early success stories: a heart scan score of 447 in her early 40's, modest reduction of CT heart scan score three years ago.

However, Lisa had a difficult time locating oil-based vitamin D. There has, in fact, been a national run on vitamin D and I'm told that even manufacturers are scrambling to keep up with the booming demand. So, she bought tablets instead and was taking 3000 units per day.

She came in for a routine check. Lisa's 25-OH-vitamin D3: 17 ng/ml, signifying severe deficiency, the same as if she were taking nothing at all. (Recall that we aim for 50 ng/ml.)

In other words, vitamin D tablets do not work. It is shameful. I see numerous women taking calcium tablets with D--the vitamin D does not work. I've actually seen blood levels of zero on these preparations. "

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2007 March heartscanblog Dr. William Davis blog_article vitamin_D must be an oil-based capsule a gel-cap nutrition

Hypercalcemia due to excess 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D in Crohn's disease.
Tuohy KA, Steinman TI.
Am J Kidney Dis. 2005 Jan;45(1):e3-6.
PMID: 15696436
doi:10.1053/j.ajkd.2004.09.008

www.sciencedirect.com/science - Preview

2005 January case report cae_report hypercalcemia Crohn's disease Crohn's_disease IBD calcitriol 1.25-dihydroxyvitamin_D granuloma granulomatous diseases granulomatous_diseases

Multiple Sclerosis Blog
By Julie Stachowiak, Ph.D.,

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Julie Stachowiak ms.about.com about.com about blog multiple sclerosis multiple_sclerosis MS diagnosis symptoms treatment therapies conventional CAM alternative complementary altmed nutrition vitamin_D vitamin_B12 selenium supplements supplementation info

"Powerful new evidence about the ability of vitamin D to stem a wide range of diseases has brought the prospect of a nationwide programme to prescribe it in Scotland as a dietary supplement significantly closer.

Reports at the weekend suggested that experts were increasingly convinced that the so-called sunshine drug — whose significance was first revealed in detail by The Times last year — could make a difference to the country’s appalling health record.

New research suggests that high doses of vitamin D could dramatically cut the relapse rate in people with multiple sclerosis. According to scientists in Canada, more than a third of sufferers taking high levels of supplement

www.timesonline.co.uk/...article6408801.ece - Preview

2009 June timesonline uk news vitamin_D high dose doses multiple sclerosis multiple_sclerosis MS treatment relapse rate nutrition high_dose high_doses high-dose calcium supplementation relapses safety safe dose-escalation trial humans Burton

"Käytössäsi TV-ohjelmatallenteet 2 viikon ajalta

TVkaistalla voit tallentaa 11 kanavalta (YLE TV1, TV2, Teema, FST5, MTV3, Nelonen, Sub, Jim, The Voice / TV Viisi, Urheilujanava ja Liv) kaikki TV-ohjelmat miettimättä, mitä milloinkin lähetetään. Tallenteiden katsominen onnistuu laajakaistan kautta silloin kun haluat.

Katso mitä haluat, milloin haluat – vihdoinkin televisiosta tulee hyvää ohjelmaa silloin kun Sinä haluat! Voit tallentaa kotimaiset TV-kanavat kahdeksi viikoksi omaan käyttöösi.

Sinä määräät ohjelmien katseluajan, lähetysajat eivät enää määrää sinua!

TVkaista toimii...

* tietokoneella, PS3:lla, iPodilla, iPhonella...
* Windows-, Mac- ja Linux-käyttöjärjestelmillä
* myös Suomen ulkopuolella!"

www.tvkaista.fi - Preview

TVkaista Telkkari netissä TV kaista TV-kaista netti internet verkko tallennus tallennin online PC tietokone windows Mac Linux maksullinen

Safety of vitamin D3 in adults with multiple sclerosis.
Kimball SM, Ursell MR, O'Connor P, Vieth R.
Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Sep;86(3):645-51.
PMID: 17823429

Conclusions: Patients' serum 25(OH)D concentrations reached twice the top of the physiologic range without eliciting hypercalcemia or hypercalciuria. The data support the feasibility of pharmacologic doses of vitamin D3 for clinical research, and they provide objective evidence that vitamin D intake beyond the current upper limit is safe by a large margin.

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2007 September ajcn study research Vieth vitamin_D clinical_trial humans patients high dose doses multiple sclerosis multiple_sclerosis MS nutrition high_dose high_doses high-dose calcium supplementation dose-escalation safety safe 25ohd pharmacological

"(WebMD) Eating a low-fat vegan diet may be better at managing type 2 diabetes than traditional diets, according to a new study.

Researchers found 43 percent of people with type 2 diabetes who followed a low-fat vegan diet for 22 weeks reduced their need to take medications to manage their disease compared with 26 percent of those who followed the diet recommended by the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

In addition, participants who followed the vegan diet experienced greater reductions in cholesterol levels and weight loss than those on the other diet."

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2006 July cbsnews cbs news vegan diet vegan_diet vegetarian nutrition type_2 diabetes treat treatment vitamin_B12 low-fat low-fat_diet weight loss weight_loss cholesterol level levels

"In 1995 my son received the devastating diagnosis of MS. Having been a research scientist for 30 years, I decided to plunge into the scientific literature for MS to determine the most likely factors which cause MS and to use this information to develop an effective therapy for my son.

Notably, many people are having great success in halting or greatly slowing MS with nutritional strategies; many Testimonials are available. I am most pleased to report that my son remains in excellent health with no MS symptoms.

I discovered abundant scientific evidence that indicates that various nutritional factors potentially play major roles in the onset and progression of MS. Strangely, this information was not being made available to persons with MS by doctors nor by established MS charities."

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DIRECT-MS multiple sclerosis multiple_sclerosis MS vitamin_D Vieth presentation video videos presentations portal directory studies research audio audios silde slides nutrition info reference dietary supplements supplementation science booklets

vitamind.ucr.edu - Preview

vitamins health sun sunshine nutrition vitamin_D University of California Riverside edu about portal directory info

Professor Departments of Nutritional Sciences, Laboratory Medicine, and Pathobiology, Bone and Mineral Laboratory, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine,
University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada M5S 3E2
Mount Sinai Hospital, 600 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

www.vitamindandms.org/...vieth.html - Preview

vitamindandm vitamin_D multiple sclerosis multiple_sclerosis MS Reinhold Vieth professor researcher biography nutrition studies current research Reinhold_Vieth

"This website is about Vitamin D and MS

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease of the central nervous system (CNS), with an uncertain cause. Colleen Hayes and Donald Achaeson have suggested that insufficient sunlight exposure and chronic viral infections might be unrelated environmental risk factors for MS. These risk factors may act synergistically to enable the pathogenic autoimmune response.

The prevalence of MS is highest where environmental supplies of vitamin D are lowest. Sunshine enables the production of vitamin D3 (VD3) in the skin. Epidemiological studies have shown that higher vitamin D blood levels are associated with lower risk, less relapses and a slower progression of multiple sclerosis. Higher vitamin D levels can be achieved in part by increased oral intake of VD3.

Optimal health requires serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D levels higher than 20 ng/ml (50 nmol/L) P Lips, 40 ng/ml (100 nmol/L) P Heaney or at least 40 ng/ml (100 nmol/L) R Vieth. "

www.vitamindandms.org/index.html - Preview

vitamin_D multiple sclerosis multiple_sclerosis MS info reference portal directory studies nutrition news_service news service research 25ohd Lips Heaney Vieth optimal health researchers

"Dr. Jodie Burton is the acting principal investigator (PI) of the dose-escalation trial of oral vitamin D3 with calcium supplementation in patients with multiple sclerosis with Dr. O'Connor. She started the trial as his fellow, while doing an additional 2 years of training in MS specifically after she received her neurology certification. She completed her fellowship training in 2007. Now she is staff doing clinical research and continuing with the vitamin D trial. As of August 2009, she will be Assistant Professor in Neurology in the Department of Clinical Neuroscience in Calgary and at the University of Calgary. She will be part of the MS team there with Dr. Luanne Metz and the MS group.

Please scroll down for an abstract of the trial:
A Phase I/II dose-escalation trial of oral vitamin D3 with calcium supplementation in patients with multiple sclerosis."

Conclusions:
High-dose VD3 (~10 000 IU/day, possibly higher) in MS is safe and tolerable, with evidence of clinical improvement.

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2009 April vitamindandms Jodie Burton vitamin_D clinical_trial high dose doses multiple sclerosis multiple_sclerosis MS treatment relapse rate nutrition high_dose high_doses high-dose calcium supplementation relapses dose-escalation trial safety safe

Effectiveness and safety of vitamin D in relation to bone health.
Cranney A, Horsley T, O'Donnell S, Weiler H, Puil L, Ooi D, Atkinson S, Ward L, Moher D, Hanley D, Fang M, Yazdi F, Garritty C, Sampson M, Barrowman N, Tsertsvadze A, Mamaladze V.
Evid Rep Technol Assess (Full Rep). 2007 Aug;(158):1-235. Review.
PMID: 18088161

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2007 August study review vitamin_D effectiveness efficacy safety bone health bone_health osteoporosis nutrition medline evidence report reports technology assessessment