Long-term caloric restriction was associated with improved diastolic function and significantly lower blood pressure (102/61 vs 131/83 mm Hg) and CRP (0.3 vs 1.9 mg/l) compared to a Western diet.
Observational (n=50)
Does long-term caloric restriction improve aging-associated impairments in diastolic function in humans?
Long-term caloric restriction is associated with attenuated aging-related decline in diastolic function, lower blood pressure, and reduced systemic inflammation compared to a Western diet.
OBJECTIVES: We determined whether caloric restriction (CR) has cardiac-specific effects that attenuate the established aging-associated impairments in diastolic function (DF). BACKGROUND: Caloric restriction retards the aging process in small mammals; however, no information is available on the effects of long-term CR on human aging. In healthy individuals, Doppler echocardiography has established the pattern of aging-associated DF impairment, whereas little change is observed in systolic function (SF). METHODS: Diastolic function was assessed in 25 subjects (age 53 +/- 12 years) practicing CR for 6.5 +/- 4.6 years and 25 age- and gender-matched control subjects consuming Western diets. Diastolic function was quantified by transmitral flow, Doppler tissue imaging, and model-based image processing (MBIP) of E waves. C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) were also measured. RESULTS: No difference in SF was observed between groups; however, standard transmitral Doppler flow DF indexes of the CR group were similar to those of younger individuals, and MBIP-based, flow-derived DF indexes, reflecting chamber viscoelasticity and stiffness, were significantly lower than in control subjects. Blood pressure, serum CRP, TNF-alpha, and TGF-beta(1) levels were significantly lower in the CR group (102 +/- 10/61 +/- 7 mm Hg, 0.3 +/- 0.3 mg/l, 0.8 +/- 0.5 pg/ml, 29.4 +/- 6.9 ng/ml, respectively) compared with the Western diet group (131 +/- 11/83 +/- 6 mm Hg, 1.9 +/- 2.8 mg/l, 1.5 +/- 1.0 pg/ml, 35.4 +/- 7.1 ng/ml, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Caloric restriction has cardiac-specific effects that ameliorate aging-associated changes in DF. These beneficial effects on cardiac function might be mediated by the effect of CR on blood pressure, systemic inflammation, and myocardial fibrosis.
“This is the first study to demonstrate that long-term calorie restriction with optimal nutrition has cardiac-specific effects that ameliorate age-associated declines in heart function.”
Meyer et al. (2006) conducted an observational in Healthy aging (n=50). Caloric restriction vs. Western diet was evaluated on Diastolic function quantified by transmitral flow, Doppler tissue imaging, and model-based image processing of E waves. Long-term caloric restriction was associated with improved diastolic function and significantly lower blood pressure (102/61 vs 131/83 mm Hg) and CRP (0.3 vs 1.9 mg/l) compared to a Western diet.