[rose of his heart]

Knowing almost nil on the subject, I recently wondered whether my 40+lb accidental weight loss (due to PD) might possibly be my body's attempt to protect my dopamine-producing cells.

Like many of us, swallowing difficulties, loss of sense of smell or taste, fatigue and other PD symptoms, I am on a de facto (as opposed to intentional) CRD. The newly released results of this 20-year primate study speak to the longevity benefit of CRD.

If CRD slows down aging, does it stand to reason that it might slow down PD disease progression? Who here can enlighten me?

http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi...ull/2009/709/1

Calorie-Counting Monkeys Live Longer

From Science:

Monkeys Rodents, yeast, and roundworms all have something in common: They live longer when they consume less. Now a primate has joined the calorie-restriction club. After 20 long years of waiting, scientists have concluded that rhesus monkeys that eat nearly a third less food than normal monkeys age more slowly. The results come as close as any can to proving that calorie restriction could significantly slow aging in humans--even if such a lean diet would not appeal to most of us. Researchers first discovered the connection between lean diets and extended life spans in a 1935 study of calorie-restricted rats. In the past decade, studies in yeast and worms have pinpointed some genes that may be responsible. Scientists believe the genes somehow ramp up systems to protect an organism from environmental stress and may have evolved to help organisms survive in environments where food was scarce. In rodent studies, calorie restriction can extend life span by 20% to 80%. Whether calorie restriction also slows aging in primates wasn't known, however.