Beth Newcomb

STAT published a profile on Valter Longo of the USC Leonard Davis School and his research on the benefits of fasting and fasting-mimicking diets, and how the body ages. Fasting “is at the foundation of the body’s ability to protect, repair, and rejuvenate itself. We started to wonder: What can we use it for?” Longo said. Longo spoke about how his initial research on aging met some pushback from the scientific community. STAT also published a review of Longo’s fasting-mimicking diet.

The Sacramento Bee (in a California Healthline story) highlighted the USC Leonard Davis School’s Family Caregiver Support Center, which provides resources for caregivers who are responsible for caring for someone 18 or older. “This was designed to help everyone, including middle-income families,” said Donna Benton of the USC Family Caregiver Support Center. The services are offered at low-cost or no-cost, regardless of income and include stress-reduction workshops, legal and financial consultations, how to manage medical care and other resources and breaks from caregiving.

New York Times quoted USC Leonard Davis Distinguished Scholar in Residence Paul Irving about the best cities for retirees. Irving, also the chairman of Milken’s Center for the Future of Aging, acknowledges that the selections may strike some as a little odd. “We’re not suggesting anyone move to a different place,” he said. “Aging Americans increasingly are inclined to continue to work, stay engaged and active, and live lives driven by purpose. We’re evaluating a series of characteristics that are likely to help enable that kind of life.”

CBS News Detroit affiliate WWJ-TV noted Valter Longo of the USC Leonard Davis School developed a fasting-mimicking diet that is sold commercially.