Fountain of youth drugs are 'in the
pipeline': Anti-ageing pills that increase the life of mice by 35% provide hope
for human trials
A fountain of youth drug is within reach, scientists have
revealed, after a series of successful trials in mice.
They claim a pill that extends life and keeps old bodies
youthful is no longer 'far-fetched' and anti-ageing medicines are on their way.
They made the
tantalising prediction after they extended the life of mice by as much as 35
per cent and delayed the onset of cancer, heart and kidney damage and even
cataracts.
What is more, the creatures
were more active and inquisitive in old age and even looked healthier, the
journal Nature reports.
The remarkable effects were achieved by giving the creatures
a drug that cleared away old and worn out cells.
Known as senescent cells, they no longer divide and
multiply, making the new cells needed to help keep the body and its organs
young.
Instead, they pump out chemicals and hormones that damage
neighbouring cells and while the immune system regularly clears them out, it is
thought it finds this harder to do as we age
The researchers from the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota, used a
drug to kill off the senescent cells in lab mice.
The drug was injected fortnightly from when they were 12
months old, or middle-aged in mouse terms.
The benefits were dramatic and remarkably, there weren't any
side-effects.
Both males and females benefited, as did mice from different
strains and creatures on different diets.
Researcher Darren Baker said it shouldn't be necessary to
eliminate all senescent cells for people to feel the benefits.
He said: 'Senescent cells that accumulate with ageing are
largely bad, do bad things to your organs and tissues and therefore shorten
your life and also the healthy phase of your life.
'The advantage of targeting senescent cells is that clearance
of just 60 to 70 per cent can have significant therapeutic effects.
'A drug could quickly eliminate enough of them to have
profound effects on healthspan and lifespan.'
The drug he used wouldn't be suitable for people because the
mice had to be genetically modified for it work.
However, other medicines are within reach.
Dr Baker said: 'There are a variety of groups specifically
looking for compounds that can selectively eliminate these senescent cells, so
it is not a far-fetched idea to think that these things are coming through the
pipeline.'
In an accompanying commentary piece, British experts in the
biology of ageing cautioned that senescent cells have important functions,
including helping with wound healing and protecting against cancer.
They also pointed out that removing senescent cells didn't
ease all the ills of old age.
For instance, the treatment didn't affect memory or muscle
strength.
But, despite this, the approach holds promise.
Professor Dominic Withers, of Imperial College London,
commented: 'The ability to fight the ageing process has been a long-held human
desire.
'Although this quest often seems to be driven by vanity,
ageing is the major risk factor for many of the disease that plague modern
society.
'A search for compounds that can selectively eliminate
senescent cells is underway and could be an important step in translating the
findings to combating diseases of ageing in humans.'
Professor Withers said the research suggests senescence is
one of the root causes of ageing.
He said: 'It is a pretty important study. Of course, it's a
mouse study but there is evidence that senescence occurs in humans.'
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