Breakthrough in age-related decline
15 years, 8 months ago
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Posted on Aug 10, 2008, 8 p.m.
By Jeanelle Topping
US scientists have succeeded in preventing age-related decline in an entire animal organ, it has been noted.
US scientists have succeeded in preventing age-related decline in an entire animal organ, it has been noted.
In news that may be of interest to anti-aging physicians, researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University delayed the process in a mouse liver.
The aging process is caused by cells becoming less efficient at removing damaged protein which leads to a buildup of toxic materials and ultimately conditions such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, Eurekalert explains.
Results of the study, published in the online edition of Nature Medicine, showed that following the process the liver functioned at the same level as it would in a younger animal.
This could mean that therapeutic procedures that boost protein clearance may delay the aging process.
Senior author Dr. Ana Maria Cuervo, associate professor in the departments of developmental & molecular biology, medicine and anatomy & structural biology at Einstein, said: "These results show that it's possible to correct this protein 'logjam' that occurs in our cells as we get older, thereby perhaps helping us to enjoy healthier lives well into old age."
In related news, the drug rituximab has been found to be effective in the treatment of patients with the common form of immune-mediated kidney disease.
