We’ve heard it before Age is just a number.
But this number often comes with unwanted side effects: crooked appearance, brittle legs and increased risk of contracting a wide range of diseases.
Is this something we just have to live with? Maybe and maybe not.
In a new study from the USA, researchers are said to have been able to reverse the aging course in experimental mice. One form of gene therapy is said to make older animals look younger.
The technique is safe and effective in mice, says researcher and developmental biologist Carlos Izpisua Belmonte.
But can the treatment be transmitted to humans?
studying It was published in the famous journal Nature.
Help from a Nobel laureate
The experiment is based on previous research from the Japanese Professor Shinya Yamanaka.
he is Received the Nobel Prize in 2012 for discovering the possibility of reprogramming mature cells into them Stem Cells. These cells can form almost any tissue in the body.
Accordingly, experimental mice were treated in the United States over a period of several months. According to the researchers, the animals began to look progressively younger.
Cell therapy should have a particularly good effect on the skin and kidneys.
But as we know, it’s a far cry from mice for humans, so researchers are keen to conclude. However, they believe this discovery will spark interest.
Shinya Yamanaka is Professor and Department Chair at Kyoto University and Senior Research Fellow at the Gladstone Institutes of the University of California, San Francisco.
Photo: TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA / Scanpix / Afp
Cancer risk
There is also another reason for researchers to be concerned about using the Yamanaka method on humans.
according to Watchman Previous studies have shown that cells that have been reprogrammed in similar ways may be at greater risk of turning into clumps of cancerous tissue.
However, the new study shows that partial reprogramming can regenerate tissue without such risks in mice, the researchers believe.
They believe that new drugs may be a solution to making this process safer in humans.
Dr. Tamir Chandra is an expert in the biology of aging and works at the University of Edinburgh. He thinks there is still a long way to go.
In theory, a reversal of age might be possible. But he told the British newspaper we need to understand more of the basic science behind it.
So there are no negative effects
The American study showed that the effect was greater in mice that were treated for a long time – for 10 to 15 months.
Although it is not certain that the same findings will apply to humans, the researchers behind the study hope that the new findings can help stimulate interest in different academic settings.
The ability to reverse the course of aging in humans could mean a lot for age-related diseases. Here they refer to both cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.
Pradeep Reddy is one of the researchers behind the study, and says the results are encouraging.
– What we really wanted to prove is that it is safe to use this approach over time. We haven’t actually observed any negative effects on the animals’ health, behavior, or body size, he tells the website science daily.
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