There is a body of literature in animal models that has suggested the development of emphysema following severe calorie restriction. This has led to the notion of "nutritional emphysema" that might have relevance in COPD patients. There have been few studies, however, that have looked closely at both the mechanics and lung structure in the same animals. In the present work, we examined lung mec...

To investigate the inhibitory effect of dietary calorie restriction on experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU) in rats, and its mechanism. Lewis rats were maintained on a 50% calorie-restricted diet for 2 months or 6 months. The control group was maintained on a 90% ad libitum intake for the same length of time. Experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis was elicited in both groups by immunizati...

BACKGROUND Diet-induced weight reduction promotes a decrease in resting energy expenditure that could partly explain the difficulty in maintaining reduced body mass. Whether this reduction remains after stabilized weight loss is still controversial, and the molecular mechanisms are unknown. OBJECTIVE The objective was to investigate the effect of a stabilized 10% weight loss on body compositi...

OBJECTIVE To assess the effect of restricting calories with or without daidzein on weight, serum levels of glucose, and inflammatory markers in obese rats. METHODS This experimental study was carried out in Jundishapur University, Ahvaz, Iran, from September 2010 to January 2011. Obesity was induced in 30 male Wistar rats (140-160, 6-8 weeks age) after 6 weeks by feeding them a high-fat diet...

This study examined the effects of caloric restriction on structural and material properties of tibiae and sixth lumbar vertebrae in F344BN male rats. Rats were divided into two dietary groups, ad libitum or calorie restricted. Caloric restriction commenced at 14 weeks of age, with 40% restriction and micronutrient supplementation by 16 weeks maintained until death. Rats were studied at 100% (8...

Enhancement of mammary tumor formation by dietary fat may be mediated via increased caloric intake. Three experiments were performed to study this relationship in 7,12-dimethyl-benz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-treated female Sprague-Dawley rats: (a) high- or low-fat isocaloric diets were fed in a crossover design; (b) low-fat, high-calorie and high-fat, low-calorie diets were fed in a crossover design;...

Background and Objectives: Calorie restriction (CR) is one of the proven methods of extending lifespan and slowing aging. Leptin is a nutritionally regulated adipokine that has been proposed as a possible key signal in the adaptive responses relevant to CR. Under CR, plasma leptin levels decrease, thus it was hypothesized that leptin administration may counteract CR-induced weight loss. Therefo...

The aim of the study was to investigate the efficacy of 6 week Mediterranean diet or 30% calorie restriction on the fatty acid profile and eicosanoids (hydroxyoctadecadienoi acids and hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids) concentration. Furthermore, basic biochemical variables such as insulin, glucose, HOMA-IR, and a lipid profile were estimated. The study enrolled 94 Caucasian former athletes aged 20...

BACKGROUND Childhood obesity has been recognized as the new epidemic in developed countries. Caloric restriction with physical activity is the main therapeutic treatment available for these children. We compared two different dietary protocols to assess treatment efficacy. METHODS Obese children from the Pediatric Endocrinology clinic were prospectively recruited for the study. Children and t...

A ketogenic diet suppresses seizure activity in children and in juvenile rats. To investigate whether alteration in brain IGF activity could be involved in the beneficial effects of the ketogenic diet, we examined the effects of this diet on IGF system gene expression in the rat brain. Juvenile rats were fed one of three different diets for 7 d: ad libitum standard rat chow (AL-Std), calorie-re...