Can scientists halt the signs of ageing?

Researchers have delayed and even removed the signs of ageing in mice, including the onset of wrinkles, muscle wasting and cataracts. The scientists achieved the treatment by ‘flushing out’ retired cells naturally collected through ageing that no longer divide.

These cells are known as ‘senescent cells’ and are cleared out by the immune system, but as people grow older they accumulate. In elderly people they make up 10% of cells. The US scientists at the Mayo Clinic in the US gave genetically engineered mice a drug that killed senescent cells. The symptoms of ageing were ‘dramatically delayed’, and in mice that were already elderly there was an improvement in muscle function.

However, the scientists have cautioned against overemphasising the significance of the results – although there is tremendous potential to investigate, the process of killing senescent cells in humans is a lot more complicated, making it likely that much more research will be needed to transfer these results to humans. The experiment also made no difference to the lifespan of the mice.

Read the full study here.

Published: Monday, 7th November 2011 by Ellen Haggan