Intermittent Fasting and Caloric Restriction as an Adjunctive Treatment in Alzheimer's Disease and Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis are neurodegenerative disorders with expensive and complex treatments aimed at reducing the progression of symptoms. However, due to the lack of adequate therapies and the possible adverse effects caused by first-line treatments, it’s necessary to implement better complementary therapeutic approaches that do not produce major side effects and improve symptoms. Caloric restriction and intermittent fasting have been shown to be novel and beneficial strategies in neurodegenerative diseases, through immune, metabolic, and physiological mechanisms. To determine the use of intermittent fasting and caloric restriction as a new treatment in multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease, a narrative review of original articles in both national and international scientific journals, in English and Spanish languages with no greater obsolescence than five years. The use of caloric restriction and intermittent fasting have generated positive changes, producing a decrease in pro-inflammatory states, oxidative stress, and aging. Approaches that modulate disease progression and improve cognitive function of adenosine monophosphate kinase, insulin-like growth factor, and sirtuin enzyme pathways are considered, generating a neuroprotective effect.