Have they found the elixir of eternal youth? Scientists reverse the ageing process in landmark trial
By Fiona Macrae
Last updated at 9:03 AM on 29th November 2010
The secret of eternal youth has been unlocked by scientists in remarkable research that paves the way for a ‘forever young’ drug.
Lives could be longer and healthier, free from illnesses such as Alzheimer’s and heart disease, with skin and hair retaining its youthful lustre.
Such a drug might allow men and women to have children naturally until they are a ripe old age.
Life imitating art: In the 2008 film The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button Brad Pitt was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of a man who ages backwards, getting younger as those around him get older
Increasing the number of years of healthy life would greatly ease health service costs and reduce the burden on families of caring for frail relatives.
The experiments mirror the plot of the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, where the lead character played by Brad Pitt ages in reverse.
They were carried out by cancer doctor Ronald DePinho of Harvard University in the U.S. and detailed in the prestigious journal Nature.
He reversed the effects of ageing in animals for the first time in experiments on mice.
Before treatment, their skin, brains, guts and other organs resembled those of an 80-year-old person.
Within just two months of being given a drug that switches on a key enzyme, the creatures had grown so many new cells that they had almost completely rejuvenated.
Remarkably, the male mice went from being infertile to fathering large litters.
Dr DePinho said: ‘In human terms, it would be like having a 40-year-old person who looked 80-plus and reversing the effects to the levels of a 50-year-old.
‘By 2025 we are going to have 1.2billion people aged over 60, which is when you start to see cancer, Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular disease.
‘We are on a collision course for a significant amount of burden to society.
‘This is the first time that ageing has been reversed.
‘This suggests that there is a point of return for ageing organs that we had not previously appreciated.’
The breakthrough centres on structures called telomeres. These are tiny biological clocks that cap the ends of chromosomes, protecting them from damage.
With time, the telomeres get shorter and shorter, raising the odds of age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Eventually they become so short that the cells die. An enzyme called telomerase can rebuild the telomere caps but is normally switched off in the body.
Dr DePinho succeeded in shocking the enzyme back to life in mice that had prematurely aged in a way designed to mimic the human ageing process.
He expected the technique to halt or slow the ageing process and so was stunned to find it reversed it.
He believes it should be possible to make a pill that does the same in people.
Given in middle age, it could delay or prevent the development of Alzheimer’s, heart disease and diabetes. It might even extend life.
But there are important caveats. High levels of telomerase can fuel the growth of cancers, and one drug is unlikely to smooth away all the problems of ageing.
Dr DePinho told the Daily Mail: ‘There are multiple mechanisms that conspire to lead to ageing.
‘So, although we think that telomeres are important, there are other factors that come into play.’
Dr Steven Artandi, a telomere expert at Stanford University in the U.S., described the study as ‘beautiful’ but cautioned that an anti-ageing drug is still more than ten years away.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1333925/Elixir-eternal-youth-Scientists-reverse-ageing-process-landmark-trial.html#ixzz16fzbNY9F
Replies
Perhaps the best thing about old age is to realize that it happens to everybody , at least on this phase of existence.
I don´t want to live forever in the same body. It´d be a nightmare. Put yourself into a vibrational prison that´s destined to forever and you get my point - it takes a very long time to escape from that kind of prison.
So what happens when the cells lose their ability to divide and multiply naturally is that they probably become even more cancerous than they had been before.
I mean after all I saw I Am Legend. So let´s stop treating old age as a disease and just embrace it for what it is.
And when you get to learn it´s largely to do with the atmosphere , you´ll look to the air in realization all over the planet , that if there is anything that unites us at all , it is our ability to grow older as the atmosphere keeps becoming more stable.
Namaste
although some definitely like the ritual. It means they will permanently reflect there
beauty from within to without. I'm reminded of the film "Shangrila" where the princess
who's lived in shelter of the valley for 600 years travels away to the outside and
away from the frequency of the love vibration she collapses as an old lady and dies.
It actually is timely and beneficial for we will be able to join "Star Fleet Command
and boldly go where no man has gone" Gene Roddenberry/Star Trek. I am a trekkie. Kingjeff
I definitely see myself on a Star Ship someday travelling the Universe.... I think it's going to be more real than we can currently understand :)
I do feel like the aging process has changed over the last 20 years, but this kind of invention is really powerful....
I would love to live as long as I can on Planet Earth :)
I know the Spirit is Immortal, however Immortality in the flesh is something that has always appealed to me!
Another way is to connect with the Arcturians as their Motherships containing Healing Chambers are here now to help us....again you have to ask for their help as they will not go against your will. A simple meditation ....again just before you go to rest say Lord Arcturas please take me to your Healing Chambers in your Mothership to heal my Mind, Body and Soul..... and in your sleep you light body will transported to their Healing Chambers...again you can do this for a few days till you find you are rejuvenating. Both these treatments are without using Drugs and are free treatments...so who needs drugs
I AM A BEING OF SILVER VIOLET FIRE...
I AM THE PURITY GOD DESIRES
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