The question behind how scientists can cure ageing - it’s not a matter of biology
Updated: Jun 29, 2020
Anti-ageing strategies are at their highest as scientists believe they have found new ways to rejuvenate organisms.
Our bodies, just like cars, get worn out due to a matter of physics, not biology. Things like oxygen, solar radiation and even our metabolism weaken our bodies causing what we call: ageing.
We don’t die because of old age, we die because one of our biological mechanisms stop working.
Scientists are researching ways to increase our health-span, meaning increasing our resilience to diseases thus allowing us to grow old healthier.
‘Don’t get old’ my grandfather used to say before grunting and sitting down, and that’s a good tip. Getting old seems like something very few would want.
Unnoticed by many, biological resilience research is doing great progress in understanding our biological mechanisms; and is beginning to understand how to manipulate them.
Research to extend healthspan via cellular and coenzyme manipulation is already in its final stages and some will soon start with human trials.
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How do we 'cure' old age?
It’s important to bear in mind, these studies seek to extend healthspan, not to increase lifespan. The most researched work are studies on the NAD+ coenzyme and on Senescent Cells.
Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD+) is a vital molecule that produces metabolism energy.
The decay of this is linked to heart failure, skin cancer, Alzheimer’s as well as other diseases.
This molecule has been deemed important because it is thought to reverse mitochondrial decay, meaning, as we age, the organised structures in cells that help us breathe and produce energy deteriorate.
Dr Charles Brenner, lead researcher from the University of Iowa says: “Cells allow sensations and generate ideas to convert inputs from our diet into all things we need to function. [In terms of] metabolism, without NAD+, these processes can’t occur”.
NAD+ essentially tells our cells to take care of themselves.
In 2016, multiple mouse trials showed that mice were able to boost their multiplication of skin, brain and muscle stem cells – cells that can make other cells of the same type. They were rejuvenated and had a higher ability to repair their DNA.
“Our mechanical system requires it, everything requires it” says Dr Brenner – “In animal’s systems, Nicotinamide Riboside” – a vitamin that boosts NAD+ - “allows to resist hearing loss, preserves function and reduces type 2 diabetes”.
Advances in NAD+ research has allowed scientists like Dr Brenner to find ways to increase the levels of this molecule.
Human trials are being planned right now, but it’s still too soon to know if this will increase our heath-span.
Ageing cell: “Old human fibroblasts showing their mitochondria in large branched networks (in red), their nuclear DNA (in blue) and sites of DNA damage (in green)” - Glyn Nelson - Flickr.
Another strong candidate is the use of stem cells to kill senescent cells.
Our cells reproduce by splitting themselves into two; dividing their chromosomes. To avoid catastrophic consequences, these chromosomes are protected by telomere – a nucleotide sequence that acts like an aglet (the plastic on each end of a shoelace) - but with every split, the telomere get weaker.
Most of our cells in our body have a chemical line of code that tells them when to die, but with senescent cells, this code either isn’t there or malfunctions, making the cell live for more than it should. These cells can also transmit this malfunction onto other cells, worsening the physical effect they cause.
Lluc Mosteiro Carretero, a former researcher specialising in stem cell research says: “The accumulation of persistent senescence is detrimental in many pathological diseases like sarcopenia, obesity and also during ageing”.
These cells grow in number as we age; increasing the chance of getting these diseases.
“In these specific situations killing senescent cells may present some therapeutic effects and it is now considered one of the current anti-ageing strategies,” says Mosteiro.
To kill off these ‘zombie cells’, scientists are looking into reprogramming cells into pluripotent stem cells – cells that can produce almost any cell in a body – from existing non-pluripotent cells.
This was achieved in 2013 in the Spanish laboratory CNIO in Madrid (Spain) on adult living mice.
Mosteiro says: “In the […] we discovered that the generated pluripotent cells are more plastic, that is, they present increased developmental potential”.
Overall, mice that were treated lived 30% longer and in better health than average mice.
Mice Trials; a bit of background:
You may have noticed that all these results are with mice trials.
While human trials are planned for this year, there is no guarantee these therapies would work to the same extent on a human body, but they are proof of concepts that could become a reality in a near future.
Should we trust the results we are provided with? In this case, we can. Scientists like Lluc Mosteiro say that using these methods to cure certain diseases is based on previous knowledge on these diseases that are known to be linked to the molecules that are being studied (in this case NAD+).
Mosteiro says: “We understand the scholar’s concerns, however, unfortunately, there is no other way of understanding the biological processes and find new therapeutical strategies for humans than animal experimentation”.
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But, should we cure ageing?
Most of us will die in a hospital bed, after having seen our loved ones do the same.
Tales and tales have been made about those who seek eternal youth and, while we won’t achieve immortality, progress is being made to keep us physically young.
These scientists aren’t trying to cure us from death or allow us to live without taking care of ourselves.
“We pass things that are reasonable, and we test it,” says Dr Brenner – “Exercise, clean water and air. Those are logical. NR is not a substitute to all of these. We are talking about ageing better”.
These promising advances don’t mean we will be able to have fast food for lunch every day. These studies provide a new approach to how we cure diseases. Instead of curing them, we would be able to stop them from happening in the first place, and with that, we would live a more comfortable, healthier life.
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