This isn't a "new" story per se, but there's a blip at the beginning of the most recent National Geographic mentioning this that got me digging through journal articles and such. There have been several scientific studies indicating that a reduced calorie diet can lead to greatly increased longevity in mice and there's some evidence as well that this phenomenon may extend to humans as well.
One recent study: "Gene Expression Profile of Aging and Its Retardation by Caloric Restriction"
The gene expression profile of the aging process was analyzed in skeletal muscle of mice. Use of high-density oligonucleotide arrays representing 6347 genes revealed that aging resulted in a differential gene expression pattern indicative of a marked stress response and lower expression of metabolic and biosynthetic genes. Most alterations were either completely or partially prevented by caloric restriction, the only intervention known to retard aging in mammals. Transcriptional patterns of calorie-restricted animals suggest that caloric restriction retards the aging process by causing a metabolic shift toward increased protein turnover and decreased macromolecular damage.
A synopsis of the study's findings by CBS.
In the Wisconsin laboratory study, the researchers fed one group of mice a regular diet while restricting by 24 percent the calories in the food given to another group. The diets all contained healthful levels of vitamins, minerals and proteins. Only the calories were reduced. This creates a condition of undernutrition, but not malnutrition, Weindruch said.
After 30 months, muscles were taken from the animals and the activity of 6,347 genes was analyzed.
``We chose muscle for analysis because it is an important target for the effects of aging,'' said Weindruch. ``Muscle is lost routinely with old age and contributes to physical frailty.''
The researchers found that more than 100 genes either increased or decreased their activity with age.
``At the molecular level, normal aging looks like a state of chronic injury in muscle,'' said Prolla.
However, for mice fed the restricted diet, about 84 percent of the genetic alterations associated with aging were completely or partially suppressed.
Another relevant tidbit:
Roth said the men whose biomarkers were similar to those of the calorie-restricted, long-lived rodents were dying at a much slower rate than were men with other biomarker measurements. Roth said none of the Baltimore study's men are known to be on restricted diets, but clearly some are enjoying the same lifespan benefit that calorie restriction gave the laboratory animals and researchers are not sure why.
Anywho, just thought this was interesting. 🙂
One recent study: "Gene Expression Profile of Aging and Its Retardation by Caloric Restriction"
The gene expression profile of the aging process was analyzed in skeletal muscle of mice. Use of high-density oligonucleotide arrays representing 6347 genes revealed that aging resulted in a differential gene expression pattern indicative of a marked stress response and lower expression of metabolic and biosynthetic genes. Most alterations were either completely or partially prevented by caloric restriction, the only intervention known to retard aging in mammals. Transcriptional patterns of calorie-restricted animals suggest that caloric restriction retards the aging process by causing a metabolic shift toward increased protein turnover and decreased macromolecular damage.
A synopsis of the study's findings by CBS.
In the Wisconsin laboratory study, the researchers fed one group of mice a regular diet while restricting by 24 percent the calories in the food given to another group. The diets all contained healthful levels of vitamins, minerals and proteins. Only the calories were reduced. This creates a condition of undernutrition, but not malnutrition, Weindruch said.
After 30 months, muscles were taken from the animals and the activity of 6,347 genes was analyzed.
``We chose muscle for analysis because it is an important target for the effects of aging,'' said Weindruch. ``Muscle is lost routinely with old age and contributes to physical frailty.''
The researchers found that more than 100 genes either increased or decreased their activity with age.
``At the molecular level, normal aging looks like a state of chronic injury in muscle,'' said Prolla.
However, for mice fed the restricted diet, about 84 percent of the genetic alterations associated with aging were completely or partially suppressed.
Another relevant tidbit:
Roth said the men whose biomarkers were similar to those of the calorie-restricted, long-lived rodents were dying at a much slower rate than were men with other biomarker measurements. Roth said none of the Baltimore study's men are known to be on restricted diets, but clearly some are enjoying the same lifespan benefit that calorie restriction gave the laboratory animals and researchers are not sure why.
Anywho, just thought this was interesting. 🙂
