Posted on 03/09/2015 8:51:50 PM PDT by LibWhacker
A research team from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), Mayo Clinic and other institutions has identified a new class of drugs that in animal models dramatically slows the aging process—alleviating symptoms of frailty, improving cardiac function and extending a healthy lifespan.
The new research was published March 9 online ahead of print by the journal Aging Cell.
The scientists coined the term "senolytics" for the new class of drugs. "We view this study as a big, first step toward developing treatments that can be given safely to patients to extend healthspan or to treat age-related diseases and disorders," said TSRI Professor Paul Robbins, PhD, who with Associate Professor Laura Niedernhofer, MD, PhD, led the research efforts for the paper at Scripps Florida. "When senolytic agents, like the combination we identified, are used clinically, the results could be transformative."
"The prototypes of these senolytic agents have more than proven their ability to alleviate multiple characteristics associated with aging," said Mayo Clinic Professor James Kirkland, MD, PhD, senior author of the new study. "It may eventually become feasible to delay, prevent, alleviate or even reverse multiple chronic diseases and disabilities as a group, instead of just one at a time."
Finding the Target
Senescent cells—cells that have stopped dividing—accumulate with age and accelerate the aging process. Since the "healthspan" (time free of disease) in mice is enhanced by killing off these cells, the scientists reasoned that finding treatments that accomplish this in humans could have tremendous potential.
The scientists were faced with the question, though, of how to identify and target senescent cells without damaging other cells.
The team suspected that senescent cells' resistance to death by stress and damage could provide a clue. Indeed, using transcript analysis, the researchers found that, like cancer cells, senescent cells have increased expression of "pro-survival networks" that help them resist apoptosis or programmed cell death. This finding provided key criteria to search for potential drug candidates.
Using these criteria, the team homed in on two available compounds—the cancer drug dasatinib (sold under the trade name Sprycel) and quercetin, a natural compound sold as a supplement that acts as an antihistamine and anti-inflammatory.
Further testing in cell culture showed these compounds do indeed selectively induce death of senescent cells. The two compounds had different strong points. Dasatinib eliminated senescent human fat cell progenitors, while quercetin was more effective against senescent human endothelial cells and mouse bone marrow stem cells. A combination of the two was most effective overall.
Remarkable Results
Next, the team looked at how these drugs affected health and aging in mice.
"In animal models, the compounds improved cardiovascular function and exercise endurance, reduced osteoporosis and frailty, and extended healthspan," said Niedernhofer, whose animal models of accelerated aging were used extensively in the study. "Remarkably, in some cases, these drugs did so with only a single course of treatment."
In old mice, cardiovascular function was improved within five days of a single dose of the drugs. A single dose of a combination of the drugs led to improved exercise capacity in animals weakened by radiation therapy used for cancer. The effect lasted for at least seven months following treatment with the drugs. Periodic drug administration of mice with accelerated aging extended the healthspan in the animals, delaying age-related symptoms, spine degeneration and osteoporosis.
The authors caution that more testing is needed before use in humans. They also note both drugs in the study have possible side effects, at least with long-term treatment.
The researchers, however, remain upbeat about their findings' potential. "Senescence is involved in a number of diseases and pathologies so there could be any number of applications for these and similar compounds," Robbins said. "Also, we anticipate that treatment with senolytic drugs to clear damaged cells would be infrequent, reducing the chance of side effects."
Sounds like they’re trying for a super-soldier formula.
You can get Quercetin at GNC plus if you eat a lot of fruits and vegetables you can get it that way. I picked up some Quercetin tonight just to see if its any good. I read its not very bioavailable via the pill route. If anyone is going to try this they do need to take more than than the one caplet daily of else it would probably be worthless but its that way with most supplements. I’ve been taking ALA and ALCAR for a long time on and off and I do notice a benefit the biggest thing I notice is my vision acuity here’s one study pertaining to that.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24665163
The key to staying young is exercise. We are already blessed with abundance of healthy foods readily available at affordable prices. Exercise will strengthen heart and blood circulation, burn up excessive sugar and fats in your blood and body, enhance your metabolism so calories are burned more efficiently, reduce degeneration of joints especially knee and hip.
Find some form of exercise which does not bore you to death. I tried exercise clubs, but they were boring. Chlorine on Swimming pools are hard on my skin and hair. Only exercise which lasts 4 hours without boring me is golf.
I nominate Peyton Manning for a trial run. This is IMPORTANT people!
They’re called, “Placebos.”
They pay me to keep fit.
I take a lot of vitamin sex .... works for me.
4 am...
If you want your eyes to get better, try a small amount of DMSO daily.
You may be entitled to a cash award.
These guys are way behind naturopathic doctors. This stuff has been widely known - about senescent cells, aging, and quercetin for a long time. Especially about naturopath doctors dealing with cancer treatment.
Because in many aspects treating cancer and treating anti-aging overlap. Lots of the same problems that cause cancer to arise are the same conditions that cause cellular aging and aptosis.
I agree. I’ll stick to healthy foods and exercise. Not one cell in the human body is made up of a drug.
Hearing some very good things about this stuff from a friend who has been taking it. Finally broke down and ordered it myself but it hasn’t arrived yet so I am not making any claims.
http://www.elysiumhealth.com/product-plan
If it works the way it’s claimed, it does what they talk about in this article. Diet and exercise remain important, but metabolic repair might just be the ticket to slowing things down to give other areas of science time to catch up.
I’ve also read about telomeres. From Swanson Vitamins site...”Shortening may be responsible for cellular senescence. Each time a cell divides, telomeres are shortened. The telomerase enzyme appears to help offset this phenomenon, keeping telomeres long even as cells divide and replicate.”
http://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson-ultra-telomere-advantage-60-veg-caps
Exactly. And it’s not surprising that progress is being made when you think about it. Everyone gets old, most people are unhappy with that. People with significant amounts of money are unhappier than most and they can’t take it with them — so there is a lot of dough being thrown at the problem.
Whenever you get that much research money, that much brain power, that much motivation — results will be forthcoming.
Later.
No natural penicillin in the body either - or other manufactured antibiotics for the most part....
I agree with the healthy foods and exercise bit though - at 62 I can stretch the capabilities of my BowFlex and run over 10 miles because I spent most of my life in active exercise. I will fess up to occasionally tapping some of the GNC products though.
later
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