Judith...
BAH! Humbug!!! Betcha the author has carried a grudge against
Sara Lee since childhood, and THIS is her way of getting back at
poor Sara! <grin>
Barb (bring on the Haagan Daz) Mallut
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-----Original Message-----
From: Judith Richards <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Sunday, July 02, 2000 5:26 AM
Subject: Skip the Calories And Save Your Brain
Skip the Calories And Save Your Brain
by Amy Norton
NEW YORK, June 30, 2000 (Reuters Health) - While low-calorie diets
have
been linked to a longer lifespan in both animals and humans, the
reason
for the association has been unclear. Now researchers have
evidence from
studies in mice that cutting calories shields brain cells from the
decline that comes with aging.
According to investigators at the University of Wisconsin-Madison,
the
study suggests that calorie intake may help determine a person's
risk
for degenerative brain diseases like Alzheimer's and PARKINSON'S
disease.
Cheol-Koo Lee and his colleagues report their findings in the July
issue
of Nature Genetics.
In experiments with mice, Lee's team used a gene chip, a new type
of
gene-scanning technology, to rapidly determine the activity of
more than
6,000 genes in the animals' brain
tissue.
The researchers found that aging boosted the activity of some
genes and
decreased it in others. As the mice aged, activity increased in
genes
responsible for inflammation and the stress response--two key
factors
related to cell damage. In addition, activity declined in genes
involved
in repairing cell damage. Co-investigator Dr. Richard Weindruch
told
Reuters Health that inflammation in the brain isbelieved to be
related
to certain diseases such as Alzheimer's.
Since it is known that animals live longer on restricted diets,
Weindruch said, his team expected that brain tissue from mice
raised on
low-calorie diets would show fewer aging-related gene shifts. The
researchers had previously shown this to be true in mouse skeletal
muscle.
Indeed, when Weindruch and his colleagues compared elderly mice
raised
on a low-calorie diet with those on a standard diet, they found
the
calorie-deprived mice had maintained a more youthful balance of
gene
activity.
Exactly how calorie intake affects genes over a lifetime is
unknown,
according to Weindruch. He said it is possible that restricting
energy
intake results in basic changes in energy metabolism, which in
turn
helps regulate gene activity.
Weindruch also noted that a study in Parkinson's patients has
suggested
that high calorie intake contributes to the risk for the disease.
"These
findings," he said, "provide a link at the molecular level."
SOURCE: Nature Genetics 2000;25:294-297.
Copyright © 2000 Reuters Limited.
--
Judith Richards, London, Ontario, Canada
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