Each person has that one day in their lives when they envy the immortality and vitality of fictional creatures such as the vampires. At one point in life, one will wish to be free of the wrinkles and the constant fatigue that comes with aging. Scientists with results from two different studies have given hope for the future of anti-ageing as of yet.
Study 1: The DNA Anti-Ageing Test
The primary aim of the DNA anti-ageing study conducted on mice was to find a way to reverse DNA aging and protect existing cells from future damage while protecting cells from radiation and aging effects, commented David Sinclair. Sinclair headed the study conducted by researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia and Harvard School of Medicine in Boston.
Sinclair and his team of researchers based their research model on a study that had been conducted in 2013. In that previous study, the researchers had discovered that there was a peptide called NAD+ which reversed the effects of aging in mice. Old rats injected with an NAD+ precursor called NMN behaved like their younger counterparts physically a week after the administration of the NMN. The study was, however, unable to outline how the NMN worked, though, and this is what Sinclair’s team explained. By conducting tests of the own, the researchers discovered that the NMN worked symbiotically with a DNA-repairing compound called PARP1 to reverse the effects of aging, the team wrote in the Science Journal.
Sinclair hopes that the process can be replicated in humans in a safe and effective way in human trials he hopes to conduct this year. If so, astronauts can go to space with less fear of getting cancer.“The NMN may even be available in the next three to five years,” he said.
Study 2: The Anti-ageing Test
When the cells in our bodies are damaged, one of three things happens to them. They either die, become cancerous or become senescent, what is more commonly called dormant. Hearing the word dormant might make one assume that these cells have no effect on the body. However, they do, and while one of the effects is healing, the rest is not positive. Senescent cells, upon accumulation, produce toxic chemicals that kill off other cells and this mass cell destruction leads to aging. Scientists from the Erasmus University Medical Center have created a new drug that can prevent this process.
“Our peptide compound kills off senescent cells while having no effect on healthy cells,” one the team members conducting the study called Peter de Keizer remarked. The study that the team carried out to hypothesize the aforementioned statement was carried out on mice as their bodily reactions are similar to that of men. Mice that were injected with the protein compound called FOXO4 displayed better organ function, faster fur re-growth, and superior speed compared to their counterparts of a similar age, but equal to those of rats a bit younger.
Should these results be the same in humans, scientists can now hope to save lives lost due to cancer and accelerated aging by issuing anti-ageing drugs.
