Dieting 'could keep brain young'

Restricting the number of calories you eat activates genes linked to longevity and keeps the brain functioning properly for longer, according to research on mice.

Low calorie diets have previously been shown by several animal studies to extend life, reduce the risk of dementia and disease and boost the memory but experts were unsure exactly how this happened.


Now a team of Italian scientists claims that eating fewer calories triggers a protein called CREB1, which turns on genes which are linked to a longer and healthier life.

The researchers, from the Catholic University of Sacred Heart in Rome, said their discovery could lead to new drugs which could keep the brain in a healthy, youthful state without the need for a restrictive diet.

Mice which are only permitted 70 per cent of the calories they would normally eat typically live a third longer than normal and demonstrate better memory and mental function.

They are also less likely to suffer from obesity or diabetes, slower to develop dementia and show less aggression.

In contrast having too rich a diet is thought to bring forward the brain ageing process and raise the risk of age-related diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

According to the new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, eating fewer calories stimulates activates the CREB1 protein which in turn switches on sirtuins, molecules which are associated with longevity.

The finding backs up previous studies on CREB1, which is known to play a key role in a variety of processes in the brain including memory and learning.

Because CREB1 is weakened as we grow older, triggering it by eating less could help slow down the mental ageing process, scientists believe.

Researchers demonstrated that by limiting the amount of calories mice were able to eat, they could significantly boost the activity of CREB1 in the brain and reduce signs of ageing in the brain.

Genetically engineered mice in whom the molecule had been permanently deactivated did not get the same benefit from dieting, however.

Dr Giovambattista Pani, who led the research, said: "This discovery has important implications to develop future therapies to keep our brain young and prevent brain degeneration and the ageing process.

"Our hope is to find a way to activate CREB1, for example through new drugs, so to keep the brain young without the need of a strict diet."

The Telegraph