Department of Neurobiology, Institute for Biological Research "Sinisa Stankovic," University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2018 Jul 9;73(8):1036-1044. doi: 10.1093/gerona/gly015.
Dietary restriction (DR) is an important experimental paradigm for lifespan and healthspan extension, but its specific contribution regarding the type, onset, and duration are still debatable. This study was designed to examine the impact of different dietary protocols by assessing the behavioral changes during aging. We exposed male Wistar rats of various age to ad libitum (AL) or DR (60 per cent of AL daily intake) feeding regimens with different onsets. The impact of DR on locomotor activity, memory, and learning was examined in 12-, 18-, and 24-month-old treated animals and controls using open field and Y-maze tests. We have also evaluated the effects of different DR's through the quantification of animal frailty, using behavioral data to create the frailty score. Our results indicated that DR improves general animal activity and spatial memory and decreases frailty with the effect being highly dependent on DR duration and onset. Notably, life-long restriction started at young age had the most profound effect. In contrast, shorter duration and later onset of restricted diet had significantly lower or no impact on animal's behavior and frailty. This study signifies the importance of DR starting point and duration as critical determinants of DR effects on healthspan.
饮食限制（DR）是延长寿命和健康寿命的重要实验范式，但关于其类型、开始时间和持续时间的具体贡献仍存在争议。本研究旨在通过评估衰老过程中的行为变化来研究不同饮食方案的影响。我们将不同年龄的雄性 Wistar 大鼠暴露于自由进食（AL）或 DR（每日摄入 AL 的 60%）喂养方案中，这些方案具有不同的开始时间。我们使用旷场和 Y 迷宫测试，在 12、18 和 24 个月龄的治疗动物和对照动物中检查 DR 对运动活动、记忆和学习的影响。我们还通过量化动物脆弱性，使用行为数据创建脆弱性评分来评估不同 DR 的影响。我们的结果表明，DR 可改善动物的一般活动和空间记忆，并降低脆弱性，其效果高度依赖于 DR 的持续时间和开始时间。值得注意的是，从年轻时开始的终身限制具有最深远的影响。相比之下，限制饮食的持续时间较短和开始时间较晚对动物的行为和脆弱性几乎没有影响或没有影响。这项研究表明，DR 的开始时间和持续时间是 DR 对健康寿命影响的关键决定因素。
