Scientists have developed ways to reverse or temporarily stop the ageing process.
Professor David Sinclair, lead author of the study and a molecular biologist from the University of Wales and Harvard University, with his colleagues believed that they have found the key to stop people from ageing.
The researchers conducted their experiment on mice. They reported that aside from its positive results with the ageing process, their findings could also help improve the existing treatments of age-related diseases like diabetes type II and cancer.
During youth, the communication between the mitochondrion, the cell’s powerhouse, and the nucleus in each cell is fast and regular. However, when as person ages, it slows down thus resulting to what we call ageing. The researchers said they have discovered a key mechanism that enables the body’s cells to communicate continuously even if the ageing process has already began.
Sinclair told SMH: “The ageing process we discovered is like a married couple – when they are young, they communicate well. But over time, living in close quarters for many years, communication breaks down. And just like a couple, restoring communication solved the problem.”
The mice used were injected with chemical composition containing the naturally-occurring compound called NMN, or nicotinamide mononucleotide, which increases the levels of the molecule called NAD, or Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide that improves and hastens communication inside the cells.
The mice age is said to be equivalent to a 60-year old man and older. They were given a calorie-restricted diet – a diet previously considered to slow the drop off in NAD in old age.
The outcome revealed that the treatment was better for younger mice, which were able to reverse the ageing process in a week. The treatment transformed a “60-year old” mouse into a “20-year old” on some measures, like the degree of muscle wear and tear, inflammation, and insulin resistance.
The older mice, on the other hand, showed some improvement also, but not sudden and striking.
Sinclair said, “It may be in the future that your age in years isn't going to matter as much as your biological age.
“What we've shown here is that you can turn back your biological age, or at least we think we have found a way to do that.”
He added that seeing quick results came as “a complete shock.”
This study was published in the December 19 issue of Cell.
