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Caloric Restriction and Cardiovascular Aging in Cynomolgus Monkeys (Macaca fascicularis): Metabolic, Physiologic, and Atherosclerotic Measures From a 4-Year Intervention Trial

¹ Division of Nutrition and Chronic Diseases, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge.
² Department of Internal Medicine
³ Department of Pathology
⁴ Department of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Address correspondence to William T. Cefalu, MD, Division of Nutrition and Chronic Diseases, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, 6400 Perkins Rd., Baton Rouge, LA 70808. E-mail: cefaluwt{at}pbrc.edu

Caloric restriction (CR) retards aging processes, extends maximal life span, and consistently improves insulin resistance in lower species. Insulin resistance is associated with cardiovascular disease, but data is lacking demonstrating that increased insulin sensitivity reduces atherosclerosis progression. We initiated a study in 32 adult cynomolgus monkeys to evaluate increased insulin sensitivity secondary to CR on atherosclerosis extent. Following pretrial determinations, animals were randomized to a moderately atherogenic (0.25 mg cholesterol/Cal containing 30% of calories from fat)-fed control group or CR group (30% reduction) with equivalent dietary cholesterol intake. CR significantly improved insulin sensitivity and reduced intraabdominal fat over the 4-year intervention, while no significant differences were seen for the lipid profile between groups. Despite improved insulin sensitivity with CR, atherosclerosis extent did not differ between the ad libitum-fed or CR groups. These studies demonstrate that CR significantly improves insulin sensitivity, but when elevated plasma cholesterol concentrations were held similar, there was no effect on atherosclerosis extent. However, the composition of these lesions and changes in endothelial function may have been improved but were not evaluated in this study. Thus, further studies are needed to determine if improved insulin sensitivity might decrease arterial inflammation and improve endothelial function, despite no changes in atherosclerosis extent.