EurekAlert reports that SIRT1, a protein linked to the mechanism by which calorie restriction extends healthy life span, can also delay degeneration of neural tissue. This presents a range of future options: "Scientists report in the Aug. 13 issue of Science that their findings might open the door to new ways to treat a wide range of neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease), various kinds of neuropathy, and multiple sclerosis ... Scientists previously found evidence that this process of axonal degeneration may be an active self-destructive process that the neuron activates under certain conditions. Increased activation of SIRT1 appears to block some or all of those self-destructive processes."
Link: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-08/wuso-lpm081104.php