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Finding new drugs – called "drug discovery" – is an expensive and time-consuming task. But a type of artificial intelligence called machine learning can massively accelerate the process and do the job for a fraction of the price. My colleagues and I recently used this technology to find three promising candidates for senolytic drugs – drugs that slow ageing and prevent age-related diseases. Senolytics work by killing senescent cells. These are cells that are "alive" (metabolically active), but which can no longer replicate, hence their nickname: zombie cells. The inability to replicate is not necessarily a bad thing. These cells...

A group of researchers have revealed that adding Vitamin B2 to cells that have been exposed to aging stress increases the mitochondria's ability to produce energy and prevents cell aging. It has previously been shown that the accumulation of old (i.e. senescent) cells in the body causes age-related disorders and whole-body aging. Therefore, there is the potential to prevent and ameliorate age-related disorders and extend people's healthy lifespans using supplements and medicines containing Vitamin B2 to suppress cell senescence. This research group discovered an anti-aging phenomenon whereby the cell's ability to absorb Vitamin B2 is increased in response to stress....

A study in mice has found that stress and tissue damage initiated by angiotensin II, a molecule that is known to increase blood pressure and stiffening in the linings of blood vessels, leads to cellular senescence, a process by which a cell ages and permanently stops dividing but does not die. Importantly, when the researchers eliminated senescent cells from the mice, tissues returned to a normal state in spite of a continued infusion of angiotensin II. We've known that angiotensin II can lead to hypertension and cellular damage, but our findings show that chronic, stress-induced damage due to slightly elevated...

Eliminating old, dysfunctional cells in human fat also alleviates signs of diabetes. The discovery could lead to new treatments for Type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases. The cells in your body are constantly renewing themselves, with older cells aging and dying as new ones are being born. But sometimes that process goes awry. Occasionally damaged cells linger. Called senescent cells, they hang around, acting as a bad influence on other cells nearby. Their bad influence changes how the neighboring cells handle sugars or proteins and so causes metabolic problems. Type 2 diabetes is the most common metabolic disease in...

Chronic back pain affects upwards of 15 million adults in the US, racking up billions in healthcare costs and lost work days. Degeneration of the discs that cushion and support vertebrae, a common occurrence of aging, is a major contributor to low back pain. Although a widespread condition, few treatments are available. The findings show how a novel approach to preventing age-related disc degeneration may pave the way for treating chronic back pain. "Once intervertebral discs start to degenerate, there is very little regeneration that happens," says Dr. Risbud. "But our results show that it is possible to mitigate the...

There has been considerable interest in fisetin recently, especially for its potential as a senolytic, which clears away dysfunctional senescent cells that accumulate with aging. Researchers believe that fisetin may be useful in increasing the healthy period of life known as healthspan. What is Fisetin? Fisetin is a part of the flavonoid family of polyphenols. Fisetin acts as a pigment and influences the color of various fruits and vegetables. Senescent cells and senolytics As we grow older, we accumulate more and more damaged cells which cease dividing and enter a state known as senescence. Once they enter this state, they...