43 replies to this topic

[albedo]

niner, on 08 May 2012 - 01:39 PM, said:

...  My HDL particle size distribution was "the good kind", skewed toward the larger end.  (Figuring that out was the main reason I wanted to get the VAP test in the first place.)  That might be due to my relatively low carb diet.  I just got back the results from a heart scan, and I had a Calcium score of ZERO!  That's pretty good news, and does tend to validate my current diet.  The odds that I'll be adopting my doctor's "heart healthy" high carb, high PUFA, low SAFA diet are now precisely zero.  

I'm still taking 500mg of extended-release niacin twice a day, and am tolerating it reasonably well.  I just dropped the NSAID I was taking with it to suppress flushing, and things seem ok, but I probably need to double the dose of the niacin yet.  I dropped the 10mg Lipitor due to muscle pain.  I have a bottle of a newer hydrophilic statin called Livalo (pitavastatin) that is supposed to be a lot better with respect to side effects, but I haven't started it yet.  I think that given the state of my coronary arteries, I might nuke the whole statin idea.

I still have some concern that the atherogenicity of lp(a) is more of a problem for cerebral arteries than coronary, and have a couple pieces of family history that back that up:  My younger, healthier brother had some carotid plaque show up on ultrasound, and there's a history of stroke and TIA's on my mother's side.  I'd like to get a carotid ultrasound to see what's going on there.

Thank you Niner to share your experience on this. I have few questions:

• Wasn't particle side relevant to LDL rather than HDL in the VAP test? I assume I also succeed to skew LDL toward pattern A (large) with a low carb diet. I think that was the most important change I made as also reflected in my low TG level.
  
• Is it the first time you test your calcium score? I also have it low (3, not zero unfortunately) but I am happy at least to have it maintained so after 5 years. It is recommended to always test the calcium score on the same machine.
  
• Have you checked any change in your homocysteine and liver enzymes after supplementing with high doses of niacin? I am also considering this. I am giving a try with RYR before possibly use niacin (or a statin). Fortunately my lp(a) seems in check.

[revenant]

niner, get tested for Factor 5 Leiden too. Coupled with high Lp(a), the Factor 5  Leiden mutation can be highly atherogenic.

[niner]

albedo, on 12 May 2012 - 02:03 PM, said:

I have few questions:

• Wasn't particle side relevant to LDL rather than HDL in the VAP test? I assume I also succeed to skew LDL toward pattern A (large) with a low carb diet. I think that was the most important change I made as also reflected in my low TG level.
• Is it the first time you test your calcium score? I also have it low (3, not zero unfortunately) but I am happy at least to have it maintained so after 5 years. It is recommended to always test the calcium score on the same machine.
• Have you checked any change in your homocysteine and liver enzymes after supplementing with high doses of niacin? I am also considering this. I am giving a try with RYR before possibly use niacin (or a statin). Fortunately my lp(a) seems in check.

You're right, that should be LDL.  (oops)   Your low carb diet probably did give you the "A" (large) pattern, or at least helped.  This was my first heart scan.  I was a little bit worried when I first looked at the results, because of my lp(a) and also many years of sub-optimal eating until about 4-5 years ago.  I was happy to see a low number.   I'm going to get a set of blood tests, including a repeat of the VAP test within a couple weeks, so I can see what if anything might be going wrong with the niacin.

revenant, on 12 May 2012 - 05:46 PM, said:

niner, get tested for Factor 5 Leiden too. Coupled with high Lp(a), the Factor 5 Leiden mutation can be highly atherogenic.

Thanks.  I wonder if 23andMe would cover this?  I have 23andMe results, although they're with the V2 chip, which doesn't tell you ApoE, stupidly enough.  (V3 does, but they want another 200 bucks to rerun my sample on V3, at least last time I checked.)

[maxwatt]

23andme runs specials for new tests with the V3 chip.  $100, or even free if one subscribes to updates at $10 a month.  Check the website for specials if you want to know your ApoE4.  They list it under Alzheimer's risk.

The Rs5882 snp is protective against Alzheimer's and coronary disease. It encodes a variation in the Cholesteryl Ester Transfer Protein (CETP) gene which which results in larger lipid particle size, both for LDL,  VLDS and HDL.  It appears to be protective against coronary disease and dementia. http://jama.ama-assn...150.short?home/

There are medications that mimic this effect, though they have side effects; not ready for prime time:

• Torcetrapib, failed in 2006 - excess deaths in phase III.
  
• Anacetrapib, encouraging phase IIb interim results in 2010. Two phase III trials are running in 2012.
  
• Dalcetrapib, development halted in May 2012 when Phase III trials failed to show clinically meaningful efficacy. ^[5]
  
• Evacetrapib, phase II study results published in November 2011 ^[6]

[albedo]

Edit (in italic) of my previous post:

3. Have you checked any change in your homocysteine and liver enzymes and uric acid and fasting glucose after supplementing with high doses of niacin? I am also considering this. I am giving a try with RYR before possibly use niacin (or a statin). Fortunately my lp(a) seems in check.

[Brett Black]

steampoweredgod, on 23 April 2012 - 10:17 AM, said:

the little people of somewhere, don't recall exact place, have low metabolism because of pituitary mutation(which drastically knocks down thyroid and insulin pathway), iirc.   Their lifespan due to low metabolism is about 90ish higher than those not affected by low metabolic mutation.

I think you might be mistaken about the lifespan figure. It sounds to me like you're referring to Laron Syndrome dwarfs:
http://en.wikipedia..../Laron_syndrome

The studies I've seen most commonly circulating in life-extension circles relate to a population of Laron syndrome subjects living in Ecuador, and this group actually has a very short lifespan by developed Western standards.

The survival curve from [1] shows that the majority were dead before age 60, and this is even after compensating for (the high) childhood mortality. They attempt to explain this as follows:

Quote

"Unlike model organisms with similar mutations, human GHRD subjects did not live
longer lives. The lack of life-span extension in GHRD subjects may be explained
in large part by the high proportion of deaths (70%) caused by convulsive
disorders, alcohol toxicity, accidents, liver cirrhosis, and other non-age-related causes."[1]

REFERENCES:
1: Guevara-Aguirre J, Balasubramanian P, Guevara-Aguirre M, Wei M, Madia F, Cheng
CW, Hwang D, Martin-Montalvo A, Saavedra J, Ingles S, de Cabo R, Cohen P, Longo
VD. Growth hormone receptor deficiency is associated with a major reduction in
pro-aging signaling, cancer, and diabetes in humans. Sci Transl Med. 2011 Feb
16;3(70):70ra13. PubMed PMID: 21325617.
http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/21325617

[tham]

From a very old brochure.

Tocopherol nicotinate -  " Microcirculation Activator ".  

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[Snoopy]

Hi Niner

In addition, I think mentally it's important to keep a wider perspective, to reduce any potential onslaught of anxiety which can then become a causative risk factor in itself.

I remember a book which identifies 12 main risk factors coined 'the dirty dozen'... this factor I don't believe even features in it strangely. So if you are doing well in all the other factors that you do have control over - this should give you that extra peace of mind...

[niner]

Thanks Snoopy.  At this point I'm pretty chill about it.  Getting a perfect calcium score on a heart scan certainly helps, and now I'm aware of it and doing something about it.  I know the sorts of things to watch for, and will be doing some more diagnostic work to make sure all bases are covered.

Tham, tocopherol nicotinate sounds pretty good.  I wish I could get it in the States.

[steampoweredgod]

Quote

I think you might be mistaken about the lifespan figure. It sounds to me like you're referring to Laron Syndrome dwarfs:

Not sure if they're laron too, but with further research I found it, it is the little people of the island of krk.

[Snoopy]

Has anyone heard of "polymethoxylated flavones" ?

A new potential weapon in our arsenal...?!

[tham]

Found a source for tocopherol nicotinate. Taiwan-based online pharmacy.

"Juvela-N" is the brand name marketed by Eisai in Japan, Taiwan and elsewhere.


http://www.drugexp.c...00mg-p-257.html

[tham]

Soft Plaque - The Hidden Killer.


http://www.time.com/...,219792,00.html

http://www.time.com/...,219792,00.html

[albedo]

RYR test (1800mg/d in the mid of evening supper) seemed to work well for me on LDL (-32%). Also TC went down (-26%). Intend to continue.