Study Finds Low-Calorie Diet Extends Lifespan of Monkeys - WSJ.com

[Guest guest]

for the monkey in you... read about fasting monkeys and how it can help you

too!

Study Finds Low-Calorie Diet Extends Lifespan of Monkeys -

WSJ.com<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124718227356220229.html?ru=MKTW#articleT\

abs%3Darticle>

Study Finds Low-Calorie Diet Extends Lifespan of Monkeys

By KEITH J.

WINSTEIN<http://online.wsj.com/search/search_center.html?KEYWORDS=KEITH+J.+WINST\

EIN & ARTICLESEARCHQUERY_PARSER=bylineAND>

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

GlaxoKline<http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn & symbol=GS\

K>PLC,

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 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 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 said.

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.