Mice can remain fabulous as scientists uncover the way to reverse aging

The secret to being able to reverse aging has been sought for centuries. It sounds impossible, but some researchers recently may have found part of the answer. It only works on mice so far, so people ought to not get their hopes up.

Mice age reverse found

It was discovered at the Harvard Medical School that gene therapy, reports ABC, could be used to reverse the age of laboratory mice. The research team was headed by Dr. Ronald A. DePinho of Harvard Medical School and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Nature was the journal the findings were published in. After researchers were able to genetically engineer mice that aged faster, gene therapy was used to reverse the effects of getting older, and it was successful. For instance, mice whose fur had turned gray grew darker fur. In Alzheimer’s, the brain shrinks just as it did in some of these rats. Their brain tissue would grow back though. Some of the mice had failed organ functions. This was restored easily though. Some mice were infertile. That was reversed though. The implication is that there may be a way to stop aging, or at least stop or diminish the effects of getting older.

How it worked

Gene therapy is used to make the process operate. There are caps on pairs of chromosomes called telomeres with the DNA. There is a compound produced by telomeres that is focused on within the study. Telomerase is the name of this compound. There is less production of telomerase when organisms age. The DNA ends up getting damaged as the telomeres breaks down. The reversal of the telomere breakdown was the gene therapy given to the mice. The study was not out to reverse the getting older process totally, it was simply to see if the process could possibly be slowed.

What the issue is

Gene therapy is not even close to being something that humans can use. There will be the advantage for humans. Telomere growth might be stimulated by drug regimens. It may become accessible to humans. If that is the case, the only thing affected can be the breakdown of the body because of aging. Individuals won't be able to live forever with telomerase therapy.

Citations

ABC News

abcnews.go.com/Health/Alzheimers/aging-reversed-mice/story?id=12269125&page=1