Researchers at Harvard University have just announced a major scientific breakthrough. They have successfully demonstrated the ability to slow down and reverse the aging process in mice. This technique, if refined, could be very beneficial in humans if the process can be employed to regenerate human organs.
The researchers were able to rejuvenate worn out organs in elderly mice by reactivating the enzyme telomerase. This reactivation of the enzyme led to the repair of damaged tissues and reversed the signs of aging. Scientists believe that in general, this anti-aging therapy could have a significant impact on public health by reducing the burden associated with many age-related health issues, such as strokes and heart disease.
The study, which was just published in Journal Nature, was led by Ronald DePinho of the Belfer Institute for Applied Cancer Science and the departments of medical oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School in Boston.
There is very little known about the aging process. However, what is understood is that very reactive particles called free radicals are made naturally in the body and cause damage to cells that greatly contribute to the aging process. The Harvard scientists examined a process called the telomere shortening. Cells in the body contain 23 pairs of chromosomes. At the ends of each chromosome is a protective cap called a telomere. A telomere becomes shorter and shorter each time a cell divides until the cell eventually stops working or dies.
The scientists bred genetically manipulated mice that lacked an enzyme called telomerase, which stopped the telomeres from becoming shorter. Without the enzyme, the mice aged earlier and suffered ailments, including infertility and damaged spleens. When they were given injections to reactivate the enzyme, it repaired the damaged tissues and reversed the signs of aging.
The researchers acknowledge that this will be a difficult task in humans since unlike mice, who make telomerase throughout their lives, the enzyme is switched off in adult humans.
–torrance stephens, ph.d.
