Re: Roy Walford, CR and ALS

[Guest guest]

The article below is from 2003, but it has an interesting implication

about dietary choices and CR. Since creatine is found in meats and

fish, I wonder if vegans on CR would be more prone to develop ALS.

Tony

Researchers Combine a Common Dietary Supplement with an Antibiotic to

Treat Lou Gehrig's Disease

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/news_article_als_combinat\

ion_treatment.htm

Creatine is an amino acid that is found naturally in meats and fish,

and is also marketed as a dietary supplement. In 1999, researchers

showed that creatine was better at prolonging survival in a mouse

model for ALS than the prescription drug riluzole, which is already

used to treat people with ALS. Diets supplemented with creatine

extended the lives of ALS mice by about 18 percent compared to

unsupplemented diets, while riluzole extended survival in mice by

about 9 percent.

>

> Mattson MP, Cutler RG, Camandola S.

> Energy intake and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

> Neuromolecular Med. 2007;9(1):17-20.

> PMID: 17114821

>

> Roy Walford, a physician and scientist who pioneered research on the

> anti-aging effects of caloric restriction and subjected himself to a

> low-energy diet, recently died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

> Information from his case, epidemiological findings, and recent

controlled

> studies in mouse models of ALS suggest that low-energy diets might

render

> motor neurons vulnerable to degeneration, whereas high-energy diets are

> ameliorative. This contrasts with the effects of low-energy diets on

various

> neuronal populations in the brain that respond adaptively, activating

> pathways that promote plasticity and resistance to disease. One

reason that

> motor neurons might be selectively vulnerable to low-energy diets is

that

> they are unable to engage neuroprotective responses to energetic stress

> response involving the protein chaperones, such as, heat-shock

protein-70.

>

> Al

>

[Guest guest]

To be clear, does the below study pertain to the

treatment of *existing* ALS, or to risk factors for

the development of ALS where it does not currently

exist (i.e. being prone to it)?

> >

> > Mattson MP, Cutler RG, Camandola S.

> > Energy intake and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

> > Neuromolecular Med. 2007;9(1):17-20.

> > PMID: 17114821

> >

> > Roy Walford, a physician and scientist who pioneered research on

the

> > anti-aging effects of caloric restriction and subjected himself

to a

> > low-energy diet, recently died from amyotrophic lateral

sclerosis (ALS).

> > Information from his case, epidemiological findings, and recent

> controlled

> > studies in mouse models of ALS suggest that low-energy diets

might

> render

> > motor neurons vulnerable to degeneration, whereas high-energy

diets are

> > ameliorative. This contrasts with the effects of low-energy

diets on

> various

> > neuronal populations in the brain that respond adaptively,

activating

> > pathways that promote plasticity and resistance to disease. One

> reason that

> > motor neurons might be selectively vulnerable to low-energy

diets is

> that

> > they are unable to engage neuroprotective responses to energetic

stress

> > response involving the protein chaperones, such as, heat-shock

> protein-70.

> >

> > Al

> >

>