http://time.com/4711023/how-to-keep-your-dna-from-aging/
Researchers have found a way to protect a mouse's DNA from the damage that comes with aging, and they’re ready to test it in people.
Dr. David Sinclair, from Harvard Medical School, and his colleagues reveal their new findings in the latest issue of Science. They focused on an intriguing compound with anti-aging properties called NAD+, short for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. It's been known that younger mice had more of it than older mice and back in 2013, the researchers found that when they boosted the NAD+ levels in older mice, they looked, biologically, like much younger animals.
In the latest paper, the scientists revealed new details on how NAD+ works to keep cells young. Sinclair put drops of NAD+ into the water of a group of mice, and within a couple of hours, their NAD+ levels started to rise. Within the first week, the scientists saw obvious age reversal in muscle and improvements in DNA repair. “We can’t tell the difference between the tissues from an old mouse that is two years old versus a young mouse that is three to four months old," Sinclair says.
The reason they think NAD+ has these effects is because the compound is linked to DNA repair functions in the body. Each time cells divide, DNA copies itself—but it's not always a perfect process, and errors are sometimes introduced, causing damage to the DNA. (Exposure to certain chemicals, environmental pollutants and medical radiation from CT scans can also damage DNA.) Normally, most of these insults can be repaired, as long as there's enough of the a DNA-repair compound, called PARP1.
This repair compound and NAD+ are intimately linked. When NAD+ levels are high, PARP1 is activated and can do its job. But when NAD+ levels drop—as they do in older people—PARP1 also starts to decline, which leads to accumulating DNA damage.
Scientists have harnessed this to target cancer cells. A class of cancer drugs called PARP inhibitors, which are prescribed for breast cancer, interfere with PARP’s ability to repair DNA in the tumor, which ultimately leads to their demise. But not all people who take the drug respond well to it, and manipulating NAD+ levels may be one way to enhance their response.
The ultimate test, of course, will be to see if such quick reversal of aging in tissues is also possible in people. Sinclair co-founded a company in Boston, called MetroBiotech, to take the leap of developing and testing a human-grade version of NAD+. He has formulated a capsule version of a precursor to NAD+ called nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN)—a naturally occurring compound found in small amounts in foods like broccoli, cucumber, avocado and edamame—and plans to test 25 people to see if the compound is safe.
Originally posted by vivifyUnless I am mistaken, there will be no reversal of aging as such but rather a slowing down or halting of aging. Mutations, once they reach a certain stage, cannot be repaired.
The ultimate test, of course, will be to see if such quick reversal of aging in tissues is also possible in people.
The real concern of course is how long it will take to do the tests and confirm results and will I still be alive by then?
Originally posted by vivifyI hope that compound works because it just so happens I eat a huge amount of broccoli nearly every day and have been for almost all of my life!
a naturally occurring compound found in small amounts in foods like broccoli, cucumber, avocado and edamame
It just so happens I actually DO appear to be aging unusually slowly; I am over 50 but people say I look more like 30; mere coincidence? Probably just coincidence I think but, still, makes me wonder.
Originally posted by vivifyIt seems to me there have been results like this floating around since my grandmother got a subscription to Discover magazine in the Eighties. The topic could range anywhere from age reversal to a cure for some disease like diabetes or cancer. Where do these studies wind up? We rarely if ever hear from them again.
http://time.com/4711023/how-to-keep-your-dna-from-aging/
Researchers have found a way to protect a mouse's DNA from the damage that comes with aging, and they’re ready to test it in people.
Dr. David Sinclair, from Harvard Medical School, and his colleagues reveal their new findings in the latest issue of Science. They focused on an intriguing compound wi ...[text shortened]... ccoli, cucumber, avocado and edamame—and plans to test 25 people to see if the compound is safe.
Originally posted by twhiteheadThe article says that the NAD+ compound was given to older mice who then looked similar to the younger mice afterward. It's not that the aging merely slowed, but was apparently reversed. Right now, I see no reason why this can't be the case with humans.
Unless I am mistaken, there will be no reversal of aging as such but rather a slowing down or halting of aging. Mutations, once they reach a certain stage, cannot be repaired.
The real concern of course is how long it will take to do the tests and confirm results and will I still be alive by then?
While this would arguably be the single most fantastic scientific achievement if the experiment succeeds in humans, I'm afraid that it would be exclusive to scumbag billionaires like the Koch bros.
But let's not rain on this parade. It's much more pleasant to bask in the awesome possibilities this holds for mankind.
Originally posted by SoothfastThere have always been findings of possible fountains of youth; to my knowledge, this is the first successful effort to reverse (not just slow down) aging. Unlike the previous claims about miracle techniques, this experiment has actually yielded verifiable results.
It seems to me there have been results like this floating around since my grandmother got a subscription to Discover magazine in the Eighties. The topic could range anywhere from age reversal to a cure for some disease like diabetes or cancer. Where do these studies wind up? We rarely if ever hear from them again.
Originally posted by vivifyIf it reverses aging then an explanation is needed for how it works other than improved DNA copying.
The article says that the NAD+ compound was given to older mice who then looked similar to the younger mice afterward. It's not that the aging merely slowed, but was apparently reversed. Right now, I see no reason why this can't be the case with humans.
[edit]
It would appear the mechanism is not DNA copying improvement:
http://healthland.time.com/2013/12/19/reversing-aging-not-as-crazy-as-you-think/?iid=sr-link2
And why did it take four years to do the mouse tests?
Originally posted by humyFor some reason I seem to have always loved broccoli, am 75 and seemingly in good heath which of course could be just because I chose the right parents.
I hope that compound works because it just so happens I eat a huge amount of broccoli nearly every day and have been for almost all of my life!
It just so happens I actually DO appear to be aging unusually slowly; I am over 50 but people say I look more like 30; mere coincidence? Probably just coincidence I think but, still, makes me wonder.
One thing in my favor, I never smoked tobacco ever.
Originally posted by sonhouseSame here.
One thing in my favor, I never smoked tobacco ever.
Research shows smoked tobacco makes you kind of age faster (aging-like symptoms more likely to come sooner) especially in ones external appearance but also inside where it really counts. So even if you don't get cancer or hart disease from it, it will still likely shorten your life by years via aging-like effects. If only all smokers truly comprehended this awful fact and understood just how very precious life really is, perhaps all of them would quit smoking?
Originally posted by humyI think most of them have a 'it can't happen here' kind of mentality.
Same here.
Research shows smoked tobacco makes you kind of age faster (aging-like symptoms more likely to come sooner) especially in ones external appearance but also inside where it really counts. So even if you don't get cancer or hart disease from it, it will still likely shorten your life by years via aging-like effects. If only all smokers truly comprehen ...[text shortened]... ct and understood just how very precious life really is, perhaps all of them would quit smoking?
What got me to never start was a biology class in HS, where the teach had a cigarette smoking machine hooked to a freshly slaughtered cow lung, one of which is about the size of our two. So the machine smoked a single cigarette through that nice pink lung and before it got through that single cigarette it turned black and black goo started dripping out the bottom of the lung.
That impressed me never to start that disgusting habit.
Originally posted by sonhouseDo you avoid alcohol too? Its just as bad as tobacco but generally overlooked by society.
One thing in my favor, I never smoked tobacco ever.
Correction: this source puts alcohol at about a third as deadly:
http://drugfree.org/learn/drug-and-alcohol-news/who-report-smoking-and-drinking-cause-millions-of-deaths-worldwide/
Originally posted by SoothfastResveratrol, calorie restriction and Nrf2 just to name a few off the top of my head.
It seems to me there have been results like this floating around since my grandmother got a subscription to Discover magazine in the Eighties. The topic could range anywhere from age reversal to a cure for some disease like diabetes or cancer. Where do these studies wind up? We rarely if ever hear from them again.
Of course, the media article on the scientific study does overstate their conclusions a bit. A "Reversal of DNA aging" for example, was never shown. Note that the title of the research article was slightly less provocative: "A conserved NAD+ binding pocket that regulates protein-protein interactions during aging"
But it is extremely attractive to consider that a small molecule can have such dramatic effects on muscle tissue. They have a long way to go to identify the mechanisms (i.e. WHY is this effect so dramatic?) and identify any other detrimental side-effects. As I have seen, for example with Nrf2 (which was once considered a "fountain-of-youth" type discovery) there are trade-offs between anti-aging mechanisms and cancer-causing mechanisms. Biologically, one thought is that the reason why these processes are ramped down in aging is to protect against cancer.
Originally posted by vivifyReversed aging in mice?
http://time.com/4711023/how-to-keep-your-dna-from-aging/
Researchers have found a way to protect a mouse's DNA from the damage that comes with aging, and they’re ready to test it in people.
Dr. David Sinclair, from Harvard Medical School, and his colleagues reveal their new findings in the latest issue of Science. They focused on an intriguing compound wi ...[text shortened]... ccoli, cucumber, avocado and edamame—and plans to test 25 people to see if the compound is safe.
Great, now all they have to do is reverse aging for roaches.
Nice.