By Otto Rodriguez
Miami-Dade Health
Anti-aging drugs could be a thing of the present after scientists successfully reversed the degeneration process in lab-grown human cells.
According to the study, published recently in the scientific magazine The Conversation, the researchers were able to deliver to the mitochondria a molecule that is found naturally in our bodies that has been shown to improve several features of age-related disease in animals.
Aging is the progressive decline in bodily functions and it’s usually linked to chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, dementia, and coronary diseases.
The scientists say that a new focus of why human’s cells and tissues degenerate has now turned to the accumulation of what they call “senescent” cells in our bodies.
Senescent cells are older deteriorated cells that do not function as they should and also compromise the function of cells around them.
Researchers highlight that the removal of this type of senescent cells has been shown to improve many features of aging in animals such as the delayed onset of cataracts.
Damage to DNA in general, exposure to inflammation due to illnesses and damage to molecules in the chromosomes are believed to cause cells to become senescent.
As aging progresses, a process called “splicing factors” that involves around 300 different types of proteins declines. This means that aged cells are less capable of switching genes on and off to respond to changes in their environment.
By treating those proteins with a chemical that releases a small amount of hydrogen sulfide researchers were able to rejuvenate old human cells.
This study paves the way for new and effective anti-aging treatments and drugs.
