Calorie Restriction, Free Radicals
EurekAlert reports on a study of calorie restriction that focuses on the aging brain. "Since there is evidence that both antioxidants and calorie restriction increase lifespan and reduce aging-related diseases, Dugan and her colleagues hypothesized that calorie restriction, like antioxidants, helps protect the brain against free radical damage. ... Old mice fed normal diets had significantly more superoxide in several regions of the brain than their young counterparts, particularly in one region implicated in Parkinson's disease, called the substantia nigra. But calorie-restricted old mice did not." Interestingly, calorie restriction did not appear to protect against general cognitive decline in this study. We need better medical technology!
Link: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-10/wuso-crl102204.php