For the first time ever, an injection to reverse aging has been administered to a human. Throughout history books the search for the Fountain of Youth has been prevalent. Who doesn’t want to prolong their life is the theme of many healthy lifestyles. Eat this, drink that, take these vitamins, exercise this way or that, all in the name of prolonging our life. Now it seems that scientists may have found a way to provide an injection that can reverse the aging process.
On Tuesday, Boston-based biotech startup Life Biosciences announced that its first patient has been dosed with a cellular reprogramming injection that has been designed to reverse age-related disease. It’s a pivotal moment for longevity science. Researchers are going to be able to prove that epigenetic reprogramming is a technique that trains the aging cells in our bodies to act young again. This new injection could actually improve the way that people age in the real world.
It’s no surprise to hear that billionaires, including Sam Altman and Jeff Bezos, along with pharmaceutical giants Eli Lilly and Merck, have all been invested in the idea of reversing aging. Before being injected into a human for the first time, the reverse-aging shot was relegated to mouse and monkey research.
Reverse Aging Research
If this human-based trial is successful, it could usher in a whole new era of anti-aging therapies aimed at making cells more youthful across the body. In this case, the injection went into the person’s eyeball that was clouded over with glaucoma. The facility did not share any other information about the patient.
For the next six months, the patient will be monitored by the scientist in an effort to watch for any issues or progress.
Life Biosciences CEO Jerry McLaughlin told Business Insider, shortly before the news was announced, “To me, it represents a potential transformational moment, not only for the company, not only for the field of aging biology, but I think potentially, and I don’t say this lightly, for medicine.”
“We’re really looking at the ability to restore function, to reverse disease at a very fundamental level in the body.”
Types of Reverse Aging Research
For almost two decades, the thoughts of cellular reprogramming have been one of the most tantalizing theories in longevity science. Nobel Prize winner Shinya Yamanaka first successfully reprogrammed adult human cells in 2007. Today, they are known as the “Yamanaka Factors.” They are four specific proteins that he discovered can reprogram cells. Basically, they make old cells act brand new again.
One tantalizing theory among some longevity scientists is ways to partially reprogram old cells, so they don’t get completely reprogrammed into newborn stem cells. Instead, those cells would act more youthful and resilient, while still maintaining their identity and role in the body.
A couple of hot areas of research include muscle and liver cells. According to Business Insider, “The goal is to improve how the cells in these tissues perform, optimizing our strength and vitality as we get older.”
By Sheena Robertson
Sources:
Business Insider: The first-ever reverse-aging drug was just injected into a human by Hilary Brueck
Nature: World-first: therapy to make cells young again trialled in a person by Heidi Ledford
Image by axventura Couresty of Wikimedia – Creative Commons
