DRS. OZ AND ROIZEN Age, heart health, Alzheimer’s

Just in time for a holiday bonus, we are delighted to bring you a bouquet of breakthroughs.

Biological aging reversed! A three-month study has found that if folks 64 and older inhale pure oxygen through a mask while in a hyperbaric chamber for 90 minutes, five days a week, they lengthen their telomeres by an astounding 20%. That makes the telomeres — the ends of chromosomes that protect them from deterioration or fusion with neighboring genes — as long as they were when the study participants were 25 years younger.

Although some shortening of telomeres is a natural part of aging, it can signal disease and diminished lifespan. They are shortened by obesity, smoking, lack of physical activity, vitamin deficiency and inflammation.

Take heart! A recent study on a polypill that combines several heart-helpful meds offers folks at high risk for heart disease — but who do not yet have a diagnosable condition — a lot of hope that they can dodge that bullet. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, followed more than 5,700 participants for more than four years. Those taking the polypill received 40 mg of the statin simvastatin, as well as blood pressure medicine, including a beta blocker, an ACE inhibitor and a diuretic, and some also got aspirin. Those getting the polypill plus aspirin saw a substantial decrease in their lousy LDL cholesterol and systolic blood pressure.

Alzheimer’s and albumin — an A+. Recently researchers reported promising insights in a follow-up to a 2007 study. In this follow-up study, the researchers were interested in how albumin appears to attach to and carry away the amyloid tangles in the brain that characterize AD, slowing the spread and effects. The researchers, writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that folks with moderate AD had 61% and 66% less decline in cognitive function over 14 months when evaluated by two AD tests.

Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune into “The Dr. Oz Show” or visit www.sharecare. com.