Calorie restriction may be able to protect from Alzheimer's disease

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A new study in non-human primates shows that calorie restriction may be able to ward off Alzheimer's disease.
Previous research has suggested that calorie restriction may increase the lifespan of humans and other animals. Now a team at Mount Sinai School of Medicine reveals that calorie restriction could also play a role in preventing Alzheimer's disease pathology.

The researchers carried out a study with squirrel monkeys, maintaining them on either 30 per cent calorie restricted or normal diets until they died of natural causes. The calorie restriction was linked to a reduction of Alzheimer's type pathology in the temporal cortex of the brain. There was also increased activity of a protein called SIRT1, which has been linked to longevity. It is not known whether calorie restriction would actually stop humans getting Alzheimer's disease and if so, how. But these new findings suggest that calorie restriction is certainly worth investigating as a way of improving the health of the brain.

Source
Journal of Alzheimer's Disease November 2006

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