September 2002 issue

Only abstracts. Another relatively thin issue, with only three papers, none of them very interesting.

"α-Lipoic Acid Enhances Reduced Glutathione, Ascorbic Acid, and α-Tocopherol in Aged Rats". Shoved lipoic acid into rats, levels of lipid peroxidation went down, and levels of vitamins C and E, and of reduced glutathione went up.

"Telomere Dynamics, Aging, and Cancer: Study of Human Syndromes Characteristic of Premature Aging". Looks at telomere length and endoreduplication (DNA replication outside cell replication) in Fanconi's anaemia, ataxia-telangiectasia, Bloom syndrome and xeroderma pigmentosum syndrome, all predisposing for cancer. Telomeres mostly shorter (not in xeroderma pigmentosum).

"Age-Related Susceptibility of Chemical Carcinogenesis in BALB/c Mice". They inject carcinogens into young, middle and old aged mice, count the number that get cancer (4/10, 10/10, and 1/10 respectively).

Literature review section again looks at an old paper, but one I hadn't heard of before, that analyses how much telomerase is active in young, middle and old aged rainbow trouts. Lots of telomerase activity everywhere at all ages, even compared to human tumour cells. Levels in muscle and brain cells down to human tumour cell levels. The title of the paper is 'Telomerase activity in "immortal" fish'.  Do rainbow trouts not age? Couldn't find anything on a brief search.