Since the beginning of time, people and animals have aged, and with aging came illness and disease. As it happens, people always have a higher chance of illness when they get older. So, when a group of scientists said that they could reverse aging in rats, people naturally wondered if this medical science could be used on humans too.
On July 12, a collaborative research paper was released from Harvard medical school, University of Maine and the Massachusetts institute of technology, titled “Chemical induced Reprogramming to Reverse Cellular Aging.” The paper discusses how scientists figured out how to reverse or speed up the aging process by experimenting on mice.
So, how did they do it? Well, the research is based on a theory by lead scientist Dr. David A. Sinclair. His theory states that the cells in the body eventually forget how to keep themselves functioning properly, but these cells can be retrained.
To test this theory, geneticist Dr. Yuancheng Lu made a mixture of four Yamanaka factors. Yamanaka factors are a group of proteins that play a vital role in the creation of stem cells.
The mixture was placed behind the eyes of mice which were blind. The mixture was then activated via antibiotics, and the mice miraculously regained most of their eyesight.
The fact rats were able to regain their eyesight through this process was seen as an important discovery because of what it meant for medicine as a whole. If scientists can reverse cell age to a younger state, then they could conceivably use this advancement in medical science to help in cancer treatment.
However, it was determined that this method can only be used when working with specific cells in the brain, muscles and kidneys. The research team is still looking at how this new-found medical advancement can be used to reverse the age of all types of cells in the future.
While there is a possibility of reversed-age cells becoming cancerous, the team has already found a way to reverse the cells age without them becoming cancerous. The group hopes that through their research they can develop a pill to reverse the aging process and help people suffering from age-related diseases. But, the possibility of human trials to reverse-age cells is still far off in the future.
It is a distinct possibility that illnesses such as strokes, high blood pressure, type 1 diabetes, dementia and arthritis may be treatable using this medical science in years to come. Alzheimer’s disease, which is caused by tangles and plaques in the brain, such disease is one disease. Since this disease develops over time, this new medical technology could possibly treat or cure it.
David A. Sinclair has reported that the reversing of the aging process can be done multiple times. This means that people with illnesses can get their cells reset multiple times without having to worry that the illness they once had could return.
It leaves one to wonder if in the future this medical science could even be used to regrow limbs or rejuvenate the body all at once.
