GENOVA – Short courses of a diet that mimics fasting appear to reduce the signs of Alzheimer’s. This is the result of a study published in the scientific journal Cell Reports. The researchers, led by the Genoese Valter Longo with professors Christian Pike and Pinchas Cohen of the University of Southern California “Leonard Davis School of Gerontology” they worked in collaboration with the universities of Genoa and Perugia.
Precisely because of his studies on the fasting-mimicking diet, Professor Longo was defined by Time as “the guru of longevity”. It is a calorie restriction regimen concentrated in a few days with the aim of strengthening the body’s defenses and slowing down the aging processes, but also to contribute to the effectiveness of anti-cancer therapies.
Longo, born in Genoa with studies in the United States, is professor of biogerontology and director of the institute on longevity at USC (University of Southern California) – Davis School of Gerontology in Los Angeles, one of the most important centers for research in the field of aging and age related diseases. In addition he is the director of the longevity and cancer research program at the IFOM Institute of Molecular Oncology in Milan, Italy.
“The study was divided in two – explains Professor Longo to Primocanale – one part in the US on mice that are genetically modified to have a cognitive decline and the other part with Genoa and Perugia and among others with professors Nencioni and Odetti and is a clinical study concluded with 40 patients “.
On the animal side we know that the mimicking-fasting diet done once a month for 5 days works very well and cognitively helps mice to have reduced effects, in humans we do not know yet but the company was already making these patients do it once. per month for 5 days on this diet.
Mice that followed several cycles of a fasting-mimicking diet, therefore, showed lower levels of two main hallmarks of the disease: beta amyloid and hyperphosphorylated tau protein, which are responsible for the typical brain manifestations of Alzheimer’s. The researchers also found that brain inflammation decreased and that the feeding protocol improved performance on cognitive tests compared to mice fed a standard diet. A diet high in unsaturated fat and low in calories, protein and complex carbohydrates was used and designed to mimic the effects of a water-only fast while providing the necessary nutrients. The study specifically pointed to free radical “superoxide” as the main cause of the damage that occurs with Alzheimer’s disease.
To validate the results of the basic research, a clinical study was started with 40 patients, which involved Italian researchers from the Geriatrics Unit of the San Martino Polyclinic in Genoa and the Perugia Hospital. This is a phase 1 clinical trial of diet mimicking fasting in patients diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment or mild Alzheimer’s disease.
“The clinical study is currently active and not yet concluded – says Angelica Persia, nutrition biologist and head of the nutritional part of the clinical studies on the fasting-mimicking diet active at the San Martino Hospital in Genoa – but, analyzing the data available to date, we can say that the adverse events recorded are of mild or moderate intensity and that adherence to the diet is quite satisfactory. It must be borne in mind that these are elderly patients with deep-rooted eating habits in which the introduction of new foods or dietary protocols it is not always well accepted; moreover, the pathology in question is in itself difficult to manage by caregivers and participation in a clinical trial requires a lot of commitment not only from patients, but also from those who take care of them. Still, our patients have been quite faithful to the protocol. In fact, early data suggests that 5 days of fasting-mimicking diet, once a month. , in this small group of patients, it is feasible and safe. These data clearly will then have to be confirmed upon completion of the study, when data relating to markers of inflammation, oxidative stress and neuronal damage will also be available “.
To date, cognitive impairment is estimated to be around 2.4% between the ages of 60 and 65, 4.8% between the ages of 65 and 69 and 8.4% between the ages of 70 and 76. This is a common condition and is estimated to be on the rise over the next few decades as a result of increased life expectancy. At the moment there is no definitive cure for Alzheimer’s disease and therefore it is essential to invest in research to study how to delay the onset of the disease and slow down its course.