Toxicological Sciences, Vol 52, 61-65, Copyright © 1999 by Society of Toxicology
R Walford, D Mock, T MacCallum and J Laseter
Biosphere 2 is a closed ecological space of 7-million cubic feet near
Tucson, AZ, containing 7 biomes: rain forest, Savannah, ocean, marsh,
desert, agricultural station, and habitat for humans and domestic animals.
Sealed inside, 4 men and 4 women maintained themselves and the various
systems for 2 years. All organic material, all water, and nearly all air
was recycled, and virtually all food was grown inside. On the low calorie
but nutrient-dense diet available, the men sustained 18% and the women 10%
weight loss, mostly within the first 6 to 9 months. The nature of the diet
duplicated rodent diets that had been shown to enhance health, lower
disease incidence, and retard aging. Using blood specimens frozen at
different points during and after the 2 years, determinations were made of
a number of biochemical parameters judged to be pertinent based on past
studies of rodents and monkeys on similar diets. These included blood
lipids, glucose, insulin, glycosylated hemoglobin, renin, and others. The
results clearly suggest that humans react to such a nutritional regime
similarly to other vertebrates. In addition to these studies, and because
this was a tightly closed, isolated environment, the levels of insecticides
or pollutants or their derivatives were determined in the sera of 2 crew
members. It was found that levels of the lipophilic toxicant DDE and the
'total PCB' load increased with the loss of body fat during the first 12-18
months inside Biosphere 2, then decreased.Keywords:
Biosphere-2; calorie restriction; dietary restriction; primates;
humans; DDE; PCB
ARTICLES
Physiologic changes in humans subjected to severe, selective calorie restriction for two years in biosphere 2: health, aging and toxicological perspectives
Department of Pathology and Department of Surgery/Neurology, UCLA School of Medicine, 10833 Le Conte Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Paragon Development Corp., Tucson, AZ 85713, USA; ACCU-CHEM Laboratories, Richardson, TX 75081, USA; Corresponding author; Fax: (310) 396 9115; E-mail: roy@walford.com
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