In a monumental breakthrough, scientists have reportedly uncovered a combination of drugs with the potential to reverse the aging process.
Harvard researcher and professor Dr. David Sinclair announced on Twitter last week that a team from Harvard Medical School had found a way to reprogram and rejuvenate cells using a six-drug cocktail in gene therapy.
“The team identified six chemical cocktails (and more now) that restore [human cells] to youthful states and reverse transcriptomic age in less than a week,” Sinclair wrote.
The promising research was published as a paper entitled “Chemically Induced Reprogramming to Reverse Cellular Aging” in the peer-reviewed journal Aging on July 12.
His team, Sinclair explained in the tweet, had spent three years meticulously exploring molecules that could rejuvenate senescent human cells and halt cellular aging.
Building on Nobel Prize-winning research that identified the genes, known as Yamanaka factors, which control how DNA is copied via proteins to make new cells, the scientists found that it is “possible to reverse cellular aging and restore youthful functions to tissues in vivo, without uncontrolled cell growth,” according to Sinclair.
The animal trials yielded promising results, with mice and monkeys showing “improved vision and extended lifespan.”
To determine whether this six-drug cocktail holds the key to the elusive fountain of youth, human trials are underway.
If proven safe and effective, this drug therapy could revolutionize treatments for aging, injuries, and age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s.
It also offers a potentially less costly and faster pathway to development.
“Until recently, the best we could do was slow aging. New discoveries suggest we can now reverse it,” Sinclair explained, according to SciTechDaily. “This process has previously required gene therapy, limiting its widespread use.”
“This new discovery offers the potential to reverse aging with a single pill,” Sinclair continued.
Sinclair has previously been known to test his research on himself, having claimed in 2019 to have reduced his biological age of 49 by two decades.
Yet some of his peers in the medical profession have suggested that his claims amount to more hype than actual results.
“If you say you’re a terrific scientist and you have a treatment for aging, it gets a lot of attention,” said Jeffrey Flier, a former Harvard Medical School dean, according to NBC News. “There is financial incentive and inducement to overpromise before all the research is in.”
Sinclair and his team are not the only scientists working on a drug alternative to gene therapy in a bid to rejuvenate human cells.
He noted on Twitter that his team had to race to publish its findings in a bid to be first among competitors.
“No prizes for second. We have strong competition, even from our own collaborators,” he wrote.
As they battle it out, lessons in how to stay well as you age can be learned from SuperAgers, as The Dallas Express previously reported. For this group of people, who have cognitive function disproportionately impressive to their age, there may be some secrets to longevity.
Most of these lie in lifestyle choices, such as maintaining a well-balanced diet and an active lifestyle to avoid obesity and an increased risk of negative health outcomes like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Research on SuperAgers also suggests that having strong social relationships and robust emotional resilience are just as important to stay mentally fit as doing regular mental exercises like sudoku.
