EFFECTS OF AGING AND CALORIE RESTRICTION ON NEURAL STEM CELLS.
Mark P. Mattson
Laboratory of Neurosciences, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD 21224.
Recent studies have shown that the brain contains small numbers of so called "stem cells" that are capable of dividing and forming new neurons and glial cells. As described by G. Kempermann (this meeting) the ability of the neural stem cells to generate new brain cells may be compromised during aging. We have discovered that dietary restriction can increase the numbers of new cells in the hippocampus (a brain region involved in learning and memory) of rats and mice. Dietary restriction increased the survival of the newly-generated cells. The mechanism underlying this striking effect of dietary restriction may involve stimulation of neurotrophic factor production because levels of BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) were increased in several different brain regions of rodents that had been maintained on the dietary restriction feeding regimen. the rats that ate less. These findings provide the first evidence that diet can influence the production of nerve growth factors and the formation of new cells in the brain. This suggests that a reduced calorie diet may enhance the ability of the brain to produce new neural cells in response to the demands of aging.
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