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Study Finds Low-Calorie Diet Extends Lifespan of Monkeys -
WSJ.com<http://online.
Study Finds Low-Calorie Diet Extends Lifespan of Monkeys
By KEITH J. WINSTEIN<http://online.
Sharply cutting calories in the diets of rhesus monkeys was found to reduce
aging-related deaths, according to a study that followed 76 monkeys for two
decades.
The findings, published Thursday in Science magazine by researchers at the
University of Wisconsin, give new impetus to researchers and companies,
including GlaxoSmithKline<http://online.
that are searching for a drug to mimic the beneficial effects of a
meager diet in humans without the feeling of near-starvation.
For thousands of people who already attempt to sharply restrict their food
intake -- by as much as 30% below a normal diet of roughly 2,200 calories a
day -- in an effort to live longer, the findings appear to validate a
technique called calorie restriction as a way to live longer.
Scientists have known since the 1930s that the technique lengthens the lives
of mice. But until now, no study had shown the technique worked in monkeys,
which are more genetically similar to humans. One difficulty: Monkeys live
almost 30 years on average, meaning any study to measure a difference in
death rates would need to wait a long time.
The Wisconsin study, which began in 1989 with 30 rhesus monkeys and added 46
more in 1994, is the first to yield a definitive finding. Researchers began
restricting half the monkeys' diets, reducing their calories by 30%, when
the monkeys were fully grown, or about 10 years old.
Thursday's findings are "all consistent with what human practitioners of
calorie restriction have always believed," said Brian Delaney, president of
the Calorie Restriction Society, which claims about 3,000 members. "Any
degree of restriction beyond what you're currently eating will confer health
benefits and will slow the aging process," he said.
After almost 20 years, 14 of 38 monkeys in the control group had died of
what were considered age-related causes, such as heart disease and cancer.
That compares with only five of 38 monkeys in the restricted-diet group, a
significant decrease. However, the difference wasn't statistically
significant when considering all causes of death, including monkeys who died
from injuries and complications from anesthesia.
Calorie restriction also appeared to slow the loss of gray matter in the
brain.
"It's a pretty simply story, really," said Richard Weindruch, a Wisconsin
professor who led the study. "We've been waiting all these years for the
monkeys to become old enough to get meaningful data on lifespan and brain
aging and diseases."
Dr. Weindruch described himself as an imperfect adherent to calorie
restriction. "I found it difficult to adhere to such a diet, despite
studying it for so many years," he said, adding he had been able to cut his
calories by about 20% for only a few months. "I'm not the poster child for
human application,
He is the co-founder of a Wisconsin company, LifeGen Technologies LLC, that
works with drug makers to quantify the effect of possible life-extending
drugs.
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