KLOSI News - KLOSI: Fight age, go on a diet

Fight age, go on a diet
================================================================================
klosi on 10 August, 2010 12:27:00
 
How does going on a diet help fight ageing? Scientists have found some
anti-ageing molecules that get activated by a low calorie diet.
Charles Mobbs, professor of neuro-science and geriatrics at Mount Sinai School
of Medicine (MSSM), and colleagues unravelled a molecular conundrum to determine
that in certain conditions, a lower-calorie diet slows the development of some
age-related conditions such as Alzheimer's disease.
How the diet is restricted -- whether fats, proteins or carbohydrates are cut --
does not seem to matter.
Dietary restriction induces a transcription factor (DNA binding protein that
turns genes on or off) called CREB-binding protein (CBP), which controls the
activity of genes that regulate cellular function.
By developing drugs that mimic the protective effects of CBP -- those usually
caused by dietary restriction -- scientists may be able to extend lifespan and
reduce vulnerability to age-related illnesses, says an MSSM release.
The team found an optimal dietary restriction, estimated to be equivalent to a
30 percent caloric reduction in mammals, increased lifespan over 50 percent even
as it slows the development of an age-related pathology similar to Alzheimer's.
These findings were published in the Nov 17 edition of Public Library of Science
Biology. IANS