Three scientists from Keck Medicine of USC have won grants exceeding $4.3 million from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) for research that includes creating a temporary liver for patients, finding novel ways to treat immune disorders and blood diseases, and developing new animal models for heart failure, diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases. The grants, …
While many diets have been studied for effectiveness in preventing obesity and heart disease in both mice and humans, research on the effects and benefits of short, periodic cycles of fasting on obesity and heart health are lacking. In a new USC study on the health effects of a low-calorie diet that mimics fasting in the body, researchers found regular five-day cycles of the diet in mice seemed to counteract the detrimental effects of their usual high-fat, high-calorie diet. The study, published today in Nature Metabolism, analyzed the diet, health and lifespan …
A USC-led team of scientists has found that a fasting-mimicking diet combined with hormone therapy has the potential to help treat breast cancer, according to newly published animal studies and small clinical trials in humans. In studies on mice and in two small breast cancer clinical trials, researchers at USC and the IFOM Cancer Institute …
Scientists from USC and the IFOM Cancer Institute in Milan have found that a fasting-mimicking diet could be more effective at treating some types of cancer when combined with vitamin C. In multiple studies on mice, researchers found that the combination delayed tumor progression in multiple mouse models of colorectal cancer; in some mice, it caused …
Professor Valter Longo, director of the USC Longevity Institute, is investigating how fasting and diets that mimic fasting’s effects can help immune function, including vaccine efficacy and the body’s response to infection by viruses such as influenza and eventually COVID-19. Fasting and fasting mimicking diets appear to “get rid of damaged or misguided cells and …
When it comes to what, when and how we eat, fasting — voluntarily abstaining from food for varying periods of time — is having a moment. It was the most popular diet of 2018, according to a survey from the International Food Information Council Foundation (IFICF), and forms of fasting rank among Google’s top-trending diet …
What if a special diet could reduce inflammation and repair your gut? USC researchers provided evidence that a low-calorie “fasting-mimicking” diet has the potential to do just that. Published in the March 5 edition of Cell Reports, the study reports on the health benefits of periodic cycles of the diet for people with inflammation and …
“The field of stem cell biology is one of our great convergence opportunities,” said USC Provost Michael Quick, addressing an audience of biologists, chemists, physicists, engineers, clinicians and many others. This diverse group came together for the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Symposium, hosted by USC Stem Cell and the USC Medicine, Engineering, Science and Humanities (MESH) …
USC Leonard Davis School Professor Valter Longo, director of the USC Longevity Institute and USC Stem Cell principal investigator, has been named one of TIME’s the 50 Most Influential People in Health Care for his research on fasting-mimicking diets as a way to improve health and prevent disease. To read more, visit time.com/collection/health-care-50/5425015/valter-longo.
Retain a sharp, healthy brain and reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease by following five simple rules. Some of the tips are scientifically proven, while others show promise but require further investigation.
Biochemist Valter Longo has devoted decades to discovering connections between nutrition and successful aging. He runs the Longevity Institute at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, which aims to extend healthy life spans and finding ways to prevent and treat aging-related conditions. (Think cancer and cardiovascular disease.) Longo is also a professor of biological …
A short-term fast appears to counteract increases in blood sugar caused by common cancer drugs and protect healthy cells in mice from becoming too vulnerable to chemotherapy, according to new research by Valter Longo, professor at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology professor, director of the USC Longevity Institute and principal investigator with USC …
By Beth Newcomb A diet designed to imitate the effects of fasting appears to reverse diabetes, a new USC-led study shows. The fasting-like diet promotes the growth of new insulin-producing pancreatic cells that reduce symptoms of type 1 and type 2 diabetes in mice, according to the study on mice and human cells led by …
What if you could lose weight and reduce your risk of life-threatening disease without any changes in what you eat—other than a five-day special diet once every few months? That’s what happened for 71 adults who were placed on three cycles of a low-calorie, “fasting-mimicking” diet. The phase II trial, conducted by researchers at the …
Evidence is mounting that a diet mimicking the effects of fasting has health benefits beyond weight loss, with a new USC-led study indicating that it may reduce symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Scientists discovered that the diet triggers a death-and-life process for cells that appears critical for the body’s repair.
Want to lose abdominal fat, get smarter and live longer? New research led by USC Stem Cell principal investigator Valter Longo shows that periodically adopting a diet that mimics the effects of fasting may yield a wide range of health benefits. In a new study, Longo and his colleagues show that cycles of a four-day …
Provost Michael Quick convened the inaugural USC Stem Cell Symposium with a straightforward truth about the future of regenerative medicine: “it will take a dedicated community of scholars across the disciplines to have maximum impact.” The January 16 symposium brought together precisely such a community, with speakers hailing from USC’s schools of medicine, dentistry, gerontology …
Few 10 year olds have brought 10 potential medical treatments into clinical trials. The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), however, is a truly exceptional 10 year old. In 2004, the people of California created CIRM to dispense $3 billion in voter-approved dollars to fund stem cell research in the state. Progress has been impressive. …
In the first evidence of a natural intervention triggering stem cell-based regeneration of an organ or system, a study in the June 5 issue of Cell Stem Cell shows that cycles of prolonged fasting not only protect against immune system damage — a major side effect of chemotherapy — but also induce immune system regeneration, …
What do former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and singer Will.i.am have in common? They both attended this year’s Milken Institute Global Conference, where USC Stem Cell researchers offered an exciting glimpse into the future of regenerative medicine.
Video by the USC Davis School of Gerontology Valter Longo, PhD, principal investigator with USC Stem Cell, is out to prove that gerontology is a young man’s game — just like rock and roll. The 46-year-old USC professor of gerontology and biological sciences has dedicated his career to slowing the implacable process of getting older. …
