In the News

Alternet cited research by Valter Longo of the USC Leonard Davis School about the benefits for the immune system when following a fasting-mimicking diet.

Daily Mail (UK) highlighted research by Christian Pike of the USC Leonard Davis School on how individuals that carry a gene that may be related to Alzheimer’s disease might increase their risk of cognitive decline if they have an unhealthy diet. The study found eating foods high in sugar and fat increased the risk for both Alzheimer’s disease and obesity with the inherited gene of APOE4 is present. City News Service also reported on the study.

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.

Real Simple quoted USC Leonard Davis School Dean Pinchas Cohen on why daily, moderate exercise is a proven preventative measure against diseases, including Alzheimer’s.

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.

Fox 11 LA quoted USC Leonard Davis School Professor Valter Longo about using fasting-mimicking diets to defy aging. “The job of diet is to kill off damaged cells and a lot of cellular components that are damaged, and then turn on stem cells and replace damaged components with new components,” Longo said. “If you can live 10 years longer, but you can now eliminate diseases, whether it’s Alzheimer’s or cancer or cardiovascular disease, that’s really the goal.”

Next Avenue quoted USC Leonard Davis School Distinguished Scholar in Residence and Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging Chair Paul Irving on what lies ahead for older workers. “Older people have so much to offer as workers, colleagues and mentors. It is in the business community’s self-interest to recruit, train, promote and retain them,” Irving said.

Entrepreneur featured a column by Kevin Xu, who mentioned a gift by to the USC Leonard Davis School to fund the Brighten Award for Entrepreneurial Gerontology.