英ロンドン大学ユニバーシティカレッジによると 食物摂取を40%減らすと寿命が約20年延びる事を研究者達が発見したという 研究チームリーダーPiper博士はライフスタイルと遺伝子が老化にどのように関わりを持つか長年研究してきた
ラットを使用した実験では食物摂取量を40%減らすと寿命が20%~30%延長され 他の多くの動物例えばラブラドール犬などでも同様の結果が見出されたという これは人間で云う所の20年に値するとか ヒトと遺伝子が60%同じで老化の仕方も似ているハエやマウスについても同様の結果が得られた この発見により老化の進行を遅らせ 心臓血管病など老化に関わるあらゆる疾病の治療に役立つ可能性があると期待されている
・Eating 40% less food could extend your life by 20 years, claim scientists developing treatment for 'disease' of ageing
UCL scientists studying how genetics and lifestyle can be adapted to offset the effects of ageing
Eating 40 per cent less food could extend a person's life by 20 years, according to scientists.
Researchers at the Institute of Health Ageing at University College London are developing a treatment they hope will combat the 'disease' of getting older. They are looking into how genetics and lifestyle can be adapted to offset the effects of ageing and add years, possibly decades, to a person's life.
Age-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and neurodegeneration can also be combated, it is claimed. One line of inquiry that the team is developing is how the life of a rat can be increased by up to 30 per cent simply by reducing its food intake. Lead researcher Dr Piper told the Independent: 'If you reduce the diet of a rat by 40 per cent it will live for 20 or 30 per cent longer. So we would be talking 20 years of human life. This has shown on all sorts of organisms, even labradors.'
The scientists are also studying fruit flies, which share 60 per cent of human genes and age in a similar manner, and mice. They have already prolonged the healthy lifespan in both flies and mice by using drug treatments and a modified diet. It is hoped that this combination will also work to extend human life.
Dr Piper said:'If we discover the genes involved with ageing, we should be able to delay ageing itself. This is what we've found.'He added that his team has extended the life of organisms by mutating single genes. The researchers have also lessen the effects of a mutation which can cause Alzheimer's.
However, Dr Piper cautioned that the field of research into extending life is only a decade old, so remains 'theoretical'. It is their unique approach to treating all age-related diseases as being caused by the 'disease' of ageing itself that sets their research apart, he said. The research is being displayed at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition in London.