Breakthrough: Scientists may have found the key to slowing the ageing process
Scientists may have found a way to reverse the ageing process - turning a 60-yearold into a 20-year-old.
Treatment for age-related diseases such as cancer and diabetes could also be affected, it was revealed last night. Researchers at Harvard University
found that in young mice, communication inside individual cells is fast and frequent. But when they get older, this slows and ageing accelerates.
To
improve that communication, researchers gave the creatures jabs
containing the compound NMN, which raised the levels of a molecule
called NAD. This repaired the cells' communication network.
Molecular biologist Prof David Sinclair said: "The ageing process we
found is like a married couple - when they are young, they communicate
well. But over time, that breaks down. Restoring communication solved
things."
The study, published in the journal Cell last night,
found mice could rewind the ageing process within a week, transforming a
60-year-old into a 20-year-old on some measures, including muscle
wastage. Human trials may start in 2014.
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