Table 1.
Characteristics of relevant preclinical and clinical studies on Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, ischemic stroke, epilepsy, autism spectrum disorder, and mood- and anxiety disorders (see note below).
| Brain-Related Disorder | Species | Type of IF | Duration | Reference | Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Humans | Fasting | 12–16 h | Reger et al. [73] | Injected ketones leads to improved cognitive functioning while fasting in patients with AD or MCI | |
| Humans | TRF | 30 days | Mindikoglu et al. [74] | Reduced amyloid precursor protein in healthy subjects | |
| Humans | PF | 3 years | Ooi et al. [75] | Enhanced cognitive functioning in MCI patients | |
| Parkinson’s disease | Rodents | FMD | 3 cycles | Zhou et al. [76] | Greater retention of motor skills and less dopaminergic neuronal loss in the substantia nigra (MPTP PD model) |
| Macaques | TRF | 6–10 months | Maswood et al. [77] | Reduced motor deficiencies and attenuated dopamine depletion (MPTP PD model) | |
| Multiple sclerosis | Rodents | FMD | 3 cycles | Choi et al. [70] | Reversed disease progression (EAE model) |
| Rodents | ADF | 4 weeks | Cignarella et al. [64] | Increased gut microbiota richness and lowered levels of T-lymphocytes (EAE model) | |
| Humans | FMD | 7/30 days | Choi et al. [70] | Lowered self-reports of multiple sclerosis disability | |
| Humans | ADF | 15 days | Cignarella et al. [64] | Reduced inflammation and enhanced protective changes of the gut microbiota | |
| Ischaemic stroke | Rodents | ADF | 3 months | Arumugam et al. [78] | Reduced cortical neuronal loss and reduced cognitive decline (stroke induced using cerebral artery occlusion) |
| Rodents | ADF | 3 months | Roberge et al. [79] | Recovery of spatial memory deficits (stroke induced using cerebral artery occlusion) | |
| Rodents | fasting | 24 h | Davis et al. [72] | Reduced neuronal loss when fasting is initiated after moderate injury and maintained for 24 h | |
| Humans | Ramadan IF | 13 years | Bener et al. [80] | No differences in the number of hospitalisations for stroke between Ramadan and non-fasting months assessed in an observational study | |
| Epilepsy | Rodents | ADF | 2–4 months | Bruce-Keller et al. [81] | Less neuronal hippocampal damage and improved spatial navigation (using excitotoxin kainate epilepsy model) |
| Humans | PF | 2 months | Hartman et al. [82] | Improved seizure control in children | |
| Autism spectrum disorder | Rodents | ADF | 60 days | Cabral-Costa et al. [83] | Rescued fear conditioning in ASD mice (PTEN haploinsufficiency ASD model) |
| Mood- and anxiety disorders | Rodents | fasting | 9 h | Cui et al. [84] | Increased serotonin receptor dependent prefrontal BDNF and c-Fos levels and antidepressant effects (reduced immobility during forced swimming) |
| Humans | TRF | 8 weeks | Moro et al. [85] | Lowered inflammatory markers | |
| Humans | Ramadan IF | 30 days | Farooq et al. [86] | Lowered subjective feelings of depression and mania | |
| Humans | Ramadan IF | 30 days | Eddahby et al. [87] | Relapse in bipolar disorder | |
| Humans | Ramadan IF | 30 days | Fawzi et al. [88] | Worsened schizophrenia symptoms |
Note: The species on which the study is conducted, the type of IF, and the duration of the diet are shown in columns two to four. The references of the studies are shown in the fifth column. Main findings of each study are reported in the last column. ADF, alternate day fasting; PF, periodic fasting; TRF, time-restricted feeding; FMD, fasting-mimicking diet; AD, Alzheimer’s disease; MCI, mild cognitive impairment, MPTP; 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrathydropyridine; EAE, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis; PTEN, phosphatase and tensin homolog; ASD, autism spectrum disorder; BDNF, brain derived neurotropic factor.