Eat Less To Prevent Alzheimer's Disease?

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

08 Oct 2006 12:58 PM

A new lifelong study of the diet of squirrel monkeys has shown that a reduced-calorie diet may help slow the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Researchers from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City will be publishing their results this November in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

The researchers studied a group of squirrel monkeys for their whole lives. Some were kept on a restricted calorie diet; the rest were allowed a normal diet. The squirrel monkeys that were on the reduced calorie diet were less likely to experience changes in their brains like those that signify Alzheimer's disease -- like the development of abnormal plaques and bundles, the breakdown of brain cells and nerve pathways.

As an added benefit, the squirrel monkeys on the reduced calorie diet had a protein called SIRT1 last longer in their brains. SIRT1 influences a variety of brain functions, and may slow the progression of age-related diseases. Longevity of that protein in the brain is a very good thing.

The lead researcher on the study is very excited about the results on the squirrel monkeys, and looks forward to the results of human studies. Professor Giulio Maria Pasinetti had this to say: "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 is a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, and director of the school's Neuroinflammation Research Center.

A study of the reduced calorie diet on humans and its connection to Alzheimer's disease may not be in the works for a while just yet... but there are other clinical trials and studies you can participate in if you are interested in being a part of the search for treatments and a cure.

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Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover...

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