A role for leptin in the antiaging action of dietary restriction: a hypothesis.

A neuroendocrine signal may play an important role in the antiaging action of dietary restriction (DR). Recent studies have suggested that falling leptin levels by starvation activate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and suppress gonadal, somatotropic, and thyroid axes as a response for adaptation. Accumulated evidence indicates that similar hormonal changes also occur in DR rodents. In this article, we advance that a reduction in plasma leptin levels in DR rodents might be a critical neuroendocrine modulator in the antiaging action of dietary restriction.