Australian and US scientists reverse ageing in mice, humans could be next

[panopticon]

Australian and US scientists reverse ageing in mice, humans could be next (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-20/scientists-develop-anti-ageing-process-in-mice/5168580)
by Ashley Hall. December 20th, 2013
ABC News Online

Australian and US researchers have developed a compound which reverses muscle ageing in mice, saying it could be one of the keys to reversing ageing in humans.

When used in trials, the compound gave mice more energy, toned their muscles , reduced inflammation, and led to big improvements in insulin resistance.

Scientists say it actually reversed the ageing process, not just slowing it down, and say that for humans the effect would be similar to a 60-year-old feeling like a 20-year-old.

And they say human trials could start within the year.

The study has been published this morning in the research journal Cell (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867413015213).

"I've been studying ageing at the molecular level now for nearly 20 years and I didn't think I'd see a day when ageing could be reversed. I thought we'd be lucky to slow it down a little bit," University of New South Wales geneticist Professor David Sinclair said.

"The mice had more energy, their muscles were as though they'd be exercising and it was able to mimic the benefits of diet and exercise just within a week."

Professor Sinclair led the study from his base at Harvard Medical School in the US.

"We think that should be able to keep people healthier for longer and keep them from getting diseases of ageing," he said.

The researchers also looked at particular diseases in the old mice.

"We looked at diabetes, we looked at muscle wasting or frailty, and we also look at inflammations as something that gives rise to many diseases like arthritis. All of those aspects of ageing were reversed within that week and that was really quite a striking result," Professor Sinclair said.

He said the team identified a new cause of ageing that is particularly prevalent in muscle, including the heart.

"What we think is going on is that we have two major chromosome sets in our body," he said.

"We have chromosomes that we all know about, we call it our genome, but there's other DNA that we often don't think about - the mitochondrial DNA that we get from our mothers.

"What we found is that during ageing these two genomes, the chromosomes, don't talk to each other," he said.

"Much like a married couple talks to each other when they're newly married but then they stop communicating after about 20 years, at least in some cases.

"Then we found that we could reverse that and get the communication going again and the animals went back to being young again.

"We used a molecule that raises a chemical in the body that goes down as we get older - its simple name is NAD (Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide)," he added.

"When we're young we have the high levels of NAD and if we exercise and diet, the levels of this NAD molecule are high in our body.

"But as we get older, and as these mice in our experiments got older, the levels went down about 50 per cent and then we could give this drug to bring the levels back up again."

The next stage in the research involves trials with humans, most likely within the next year.

Professor Sinclair is reluctant to forecast how long it will be before the compound might be readily available for use but he says he has established a company to push things along.

"These trials, if we do manage to do them in patients, are millions of dollars and really I need to raise money to be able to do them and that’s the mechanism," he said.

Source (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-20/scientists-develop-anti-ageing-process-in-mice/5168580)

[panopticon]

Researchers reverse symptoms of ageing with 1 week of treatment (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-20/researchers-reverse-symptoms-of-aging-with-1-week/5168582)

BMMVdDyFuN4

[markpierre]

Well....I know without too much reflection that our mice live long enough as it is. And I only know of a few humans who have
much to contribute beyond a certain effort. I guess you have to decide for yourself if life in a container is necessarily better than
life in absolute freedom. Maybe if you can manage to find absolute freedom here. How many people do you know that have that
on their human agenda? Maybe shorter is better incentive.

On the other hand, what they're trying to do with science is what we're also accomplishing with mind.

[panopticon]

Researchers find how to wind back the clock on ageing (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-20/researchers-find-reversible-cause-of-ageing/5168566)
By Ashley Hall. December 20th, 2013.

Genetic researchers from UNSW and Harvard have identified a cause of ageing they've been able to reverse. They've tested their new compound on mice and found it reverses ageing in muscles and in the heart, raising hopes it might be effective in humans.

http://apanopticview.drivehq.com/misc/20131220-eam03-reverseageing.mp3

Source & Transcript (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-20/researchers-find-reversible-cause-of-ageing/5168566)

[ghostrider]

Another Meier prediction fufilled ... scientist would discover the gene responsible for making us grow old , and humans in the future will live to be 300 years old ... this story is the stepping stone to earth humans living longer lives ...

[panopticon]

Well....I know without too much reflection that our mice live long enough as it is. And I only know of a few humans who have
much to contribute beyond a certain effort. I guess you have to decide for yourself if life in a container is necessarily better than
life in absolute freedom. Maybe if you can manage to find absolute freedom here. How many people do you know that have that
on their human agenda? Maybe shorter is better incentive.

On the other hand, what they're trying to do with science is what we're also accomplishing with mind.

I think it's more about a treatment for muscle problems in the elderly and diabetes than reversing aging.

Essentially they need money and if they say "reverse aging" they get media coverage, if they say increased elasticity in muscle and decreased susceptibility to insulin related problems the coverage wouldn't be there.

-- Pan

[panopticon]

Scientists find way to make ageing clock stop ticking (http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/scientists-find-way-to-make-ageing-clock-stop-ticking-20131220-2zohf.html)
By Bridie Smith. December 20th, 2013.

http://images.smh.com.au/2013/12/20/5023924/2012mice729-620x349.jpg
The fountain of youth? Human trials could start next year, the hope being to develop treatments for age-related diseases such as cancer.

Finding a way to stop the ageing process has been an elusive, age-old dream. Now scientists from Australia and the US believe they have not only found a way to press pause – but to rewind the ageing process as well.

While the study was conducted using mice, molecular biologist David Sinclair from the University of New South Wales and Harvard University said the findings were significant and could have implications for the treatment of age-related diseases such as cancer and type 2 diabetes.

The research team discovered a key mechanism that keeps the body's cells communicating. In youth, communication inside individual cells – between the cell's "battery" known as the mitochondrion and the nucleus – is fast and frequent. But over time, this slows and ageing accelerates.

"The ageing process we discovered is like a married couple – when they are young, they communicate well. But over time, living in close quarters for many years, communication breaks down," Professor Sinclair said. "And just like a couple, restoring communication solved the problem."

To improve communication inside cells, researchers gave mice injections containing the naturally occurring compound NMN, which raises the levels of a molecule called NAD. This molecule repairs the cells' communication network.

Previously the only way to slow the dropoff in NAD levels in old age was to restrict calories and exercise intensively.

In the study, the Sydney researchers used mice that are considered equivalent to a 60-year-old human and older mice, equating to a 90-year-old human. A control group of mice were fed a calorie-restricted diet.

The results, outlined in the scientific journal Cell on Friday, were better for the younger mice, which were able to rewind the ageing process within a week. The treatment effectively transformed a 60-year-old into a 20-year-old on some measures, including the degree of muscle wastage, insulin resistance and inflammation.

"If the compound is administered early enough in the ageing process, in just a week, the muscles of the older mice were indistinguishable from the younger animals," said co-author Nigel Turner from UNSW's pharmacology department.

The older mice showed some improvement, but it was not as dramatic.

"It may be in the future that your age in years isn't going to matter as much as your biological age," Professor Sinclair said.

"What we've shown here is that you can turn back your biological age, or at least we think we have found a way to do that."

He said seeing results so quickly came as "a complete shock".

Professor Sinclair said he hoped to start human trials next year.

Source (http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/scientists-find-way-to-make-ageing-clock-stop-ticking-20131220-2zohf.html)

[panopticon]

Researchers on to reversing ageing (http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2013/12/20/researchers-reversing-ageing)
AAP December 20th, 2013.

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/images/1/2/121213_Elderly_800x600.jpg

Researchers say an experimental treatment that rejuvenates old mice could lead to treatments to reverse ageing and combat disease in humans.

An experimental treatment that has restored youthfulness in old mice and supercharged young ones could lead to treatments that keep people younger and healthier for longer, researchers say.

The two-year-study by University of NSW and Harvard University medical scientists was published on Friday in the journal Cell.

It reports the discovery of a cause of ageing in animals that can be reversed if caught early.

The breakthrough centres on boosting the presence in mice of a molecule that in turn boosts seven key genes known as sirtuins, believed to protect against ageing and disease.

University of NSW Professor David Sinclair led the study and says it found levels of the molecule NAD, key for efficient communication within cells and present in all animals, went down about twofold with ageing.

The geneticist told AAP the only way to slow NAD decline was to restrict calorie intake and exercise intensively but the study had found a way to mimic that.

The researchers gave two-year-old mice - equivalent to 60-year-old humans - the molecule NMN which the mice's bodies converted into NAD, thus boosting levels of that molecule.

In just a week the muscles of the older mice were indistinguishable from younger animals and young mice given the treatment were "supercharged above normal level" on certain measures, the researchers reported.

"The next step obviously is to take old mice and treat them for longer and see how long they live and also if the molecule can treat diseases," Prof Sinclair said.

Prof Sinclair said the study indicated the treatment could combat diabetes and researchers were hopeful it could also combat cancers and heart disease.

He said it was "frontier research" so it was not yet known if it was possible to reverse ageing quickly without any negative consequences.

He said it would take a year to figure out if the NMN molecule was safe to trial in humans and approval of the drug for humans could be years away.

"This is not research that will keep people older for longer ... what we're trying to do is keep people out of nursing homes.

"What we see from the study so far is that these molecules keep the animals younger for longer and free of disease.

"It's worth pursuing, it's extending our health span, not just our life span."

Source (http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2013/12/20/researchers-reversing-ageing)

[panopticon]

Harvard Medical School scientists find key to reversing ageing process (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/harvard-medical-school-scientists-find-key-to-reversing-ageing-process/story-fnb64oi6-1226787354333)
By Tom Whipple. December 20th, 2013.

http://resources1.news.com.au/images/2013/12/20/1226787/356601-2c56a9d8-690c-11e3-a5ca-1ba7b6bfb8c9.jpg
"What we are aiming to do is keep people younger for longer": Professor David Sinclair's research into the causes of ageing offer hope to sufferers of age-related illnesses. Picture: Tim Pascoe. Source: News Limited

IT is not quite the elixir of life, but it could be a start. Scientists from Harvard Medical School claim not only to have identified one of the causes of ageing, but also to have reversed it.

The discovery offers hope for treatment of age-related illnesses, but it also comes with a caution. "There is no sign of immortality in the near future," Professor David Sinclair said.

For now the only beings that have had a shot at that elusive immortality - which involves isolating the source of the degeneration of a cell's ability to make energy - are rats. However, there are plans to try it in humans soon.

Professor Sinclair and his colleagues, including Dr Nigel Turner, from the University of New South Wales, began their research by investigating mitochondria, the batteries of the cell. For a cell to function properly the mitochondria have to communicate with the nucleus of the cell, despite both of them having separate DNA.

As animals get older, this communication becomes less clear and, the authors claim in a paper published in the journal Cell, the functioning of the body itself correspondingly declines as cells are less able to create energy.

"Scientists have been wondering what causes ageing for centuries," Professor Sinclair said. "We generally agree that one of the main causes is a loss of mitochondria, the cell power packs. We all know about chromosomes, but we often forget we have another set of chromosomes - in mitochondria."

To keep powering the cell, these two sets of chromosomes need to talk to each other, he said. "During ageing, there's a breakdown in how they communicate and correspondingly in the cell's ability to make energy."

The mechanism for this communication is, Professor Sinclair believes, a chemical called NAD, the levels of which decline over time. The decline can be stalled by eating less and exercising, but Professor Sinclair and his colleagues have found that it can be boosted directly by adding a compound that is then converted into NAD.

When they did so with mice they found that the "mitochondria were rejuvenated". One of Professor Sinclair's co-authors described the difference as like turning a 60-year-old into a 20-year-old.

"It was shocking how quickly it happened," said Dr Turner, from UNSW. "If the compound is administered early enough in the ageing process, in just a week, the muscles of the older mice were indistinguishable from the younger animals'."

Improvements were also seen in type 2 diabetes, muscle wasting and inflammation. If this can be replicated in humans there could be wider applications in the treatment of cancer, heart disease, and even Alzheimer's.

However, other scientists cautioned that any practical benefits were still very far off. "This is an intriguing and exciting finding," said Professor Tim Spector, of Kings College London. "It is, however, a long and tough way to go from these nice mouse experiments to showing real anti-ageing effects in humans without side effects."

Professor Sinclair hopes to begin research in humans within a year. But do we want what the research has to offer?

Having worked in ageing for many years, he is used to accusations that his end goal is a nightmare vision of a geriatric world. "We are accused of wanting to keep people old," he said. "It is quite the opposite. What we are aiming to do is keep people younger for longer. Our work could keep age-related diseases away - and hopefully also mean we do not suffer so much in the end."

The Times

Source (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/harvard-medical-school-scientists-find-key-to-reversing-ageing-process/story-fnb64oi6-1226787354333)

[Blake Elder]

This is amazing. Truly 2013 has been a remarkable year for science and technology. It's all part of this exponential acceleration of technological progress we are experiencing.

Potentially, we can cure ageing within a few decades (or less). The way I see it, this empowers us to choose, for ourselves, when to die, not have that choice made for us by the whims of biology.

[Ellisa]

It appeared from an interview today, that the researchers are more interested in achieving a healthier ageing process rather than extending life to 300 years. As you said earller, pan, it could be that the mention of near immortality will help more with the funding of future research than the possibility of a fitter cohort of senors! The research could also help people with various rheumatic conditions, some of whom may be children. I think this is great news. A painful old age is no fun, and living pain-free until the end of life would be amazing!

I totally agree with you Blake!

[markpierre]

Well....I know without too much reflection that our mice live long enough as it is. And I only know of a few humans who have
much to contribute beyond a certain effort. I guess you have to decide for yourself if life in a container is necessarily better than
life in absolute freedom. Maybe if you can manage to find absolute freedom here. How many people do you know that have that
on their human agenda? Maybe shorter is better incentive.

On the other hand, what they're trying to do with science is what we're also accomplishing with mind.

I think it's more about a treatment for muscle problems in the elderly and diabetes than reversing aging.

Essentially they need money and if they say "reverse aging" they get media coverage, if they say increased elasticity in muscle and decreased susceptibility to insulin related problems the coverage wouldn't be there.

-- Pan

Lets see if they can reverse the dependence on NLP to get their funding. Seems like relieving pain is a fairly noble cause.