Restricted diet may help prevent Alzheimer's
(HealthDay News)
Updated: 2006-09-25 09:58 SUNDAY - Cutting calories may
halt or even reverse the symptoms of Alzheimer's, according to a new animal
study.
For the study, expected to be published in the November issue of the Journal
of Alzheimer's Disease, a team of researchers from the Mount Sinai School of
Medicine in New York City maintained a group of squirrel monkeys on either
calorie-restrictive or normal diets throughout their lifespans.
Compared to those on a normal diet, the monkeys that were fed the
reduced-calorie diet were less likely to have Alzheimer's disease-type changes
in their brain.
The reduced-calorie diet was also associated with increased longevity of a
protein known as SIRT1, which influences a variety of functions, including
age-related diseases.
"The new breakthrough brings great anticipation for further human study of
caloric restriction, for Alzheimer's disease investigators and for those
physicians who treat millions of people suffering with this disease," study
author Giulio Maria Pasinetti, a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience and
director of the Neuroinflammation Research Center at the school, said in a
prepared statement.
"The findings offer a glimmer of hope that there may someday be a way to
prevent and stop this devastating disease in its tracks," Pasinetti
said.
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