Fasting-mimicking diet may improve renoprotection in CKD patients: Study

A new study published in the journal of Science Translational Medicine showed that by lowering proteinuria and enhancing endothelial function, a fasting-mimicking diet (FMD) improved kidney function in a mouse model and encouraged renoprotection in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

While many organs benefit from fasting-mimicking diets, it is unclear how FMDs directly impact podocyte function and CKD. Despite their impact on renal illness is uncertain, cycles of a fasting-mimicking diet encourage regeneration and lessen damage in the mice's pancreases, blood, stomachs, and neurological systems.

Furthermore, rats have not been used to test for an FMD. In contrast to animals with renal injury that did not receive the dietary intervention, this study demonstrated here that cycles of a recently designed low-salt FMD (LS-FMD) restored normal proteinuria and nephron structure and function in rats with puromycin-induced nephrosis.

This study created and fed CKD animal models a low-salt FMD that is comparable to what stage-III CKD patients in humans should consume each day. For 5 days a month for 3 months, the 13 clinical study participants had a plant-based meal that included unique vegetable-based soup, energy bar, energy drink, chip snack, tea, and important fatty acid and mineral-rich supplement formulations.

The composition of the body, serum level of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), cardiovascular and endothelial risk factors, inflammation and oxidative stress markers, renal function markers, regenerative markers (circulating stem cells), and psychocognitive evaluation were among the physiological markers that the study assessed before, during, and, for some parameters, a year after the end of the intervention. 

The degradation of kidney structures and function in rodents was slowed by 6 cycles of the proprietary low-salt FMD. This resulted in a significant decrease in glomerular and tubular injury, as well as a significant decrease in the albumin-to-creatine ratio and blood urea nitrogen at 4 and 6 weeks following the diet cycles.

The FMD improved proteinuria, decreased inflammation, and alleviated renal impairment in the clinical study. When combined, these early findings provide credence to the viability of FMD and the necessity of conducting extensive randomized studies to determine whether the diet's disease-reversing and regenerative benefits would also apply to people. Overall, the findings of the pilot clinical trial demonstrated that in individuals with stage-III CKD, the FMD is well tolerated and preserves lean muscle mass.

Reference:

Villani, V., Frank, C. N., Cravedi, P., Hou, X., Bin, S., Kamitakahara, A., Barbati, C., Buono, R., Da Sacco, S., Lemley, K. V., De Filippo, R. E., Lai, S., Laviano, A., Longo, V. D., & Perin, L. (2024). A kidney-specific fasting-mimicking diet induces podocyte reprogramming and restores renal function in glomerulopathy. In Science Translational Medicine (Vol. 16, Issue 771). American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.adl5514