US and Australian researchers have high hopes their anti-aging compound will be moved to human trials in early 2014. Studies have shown success reversing the ageing process in mice. The University of NSW and Harvard University have found restoring cell efficiency brings back youth to muscle tissue.
Two year old mice were used during the week long anti-aging study. After subjecting the mice to the anti-aging compound for a week, results indicate their age was reduced to that of a six month old. Researchers said these results were comparable to making a sixty year old man or women feel like they were twenty again.
Scientist and researchers are very optimistic at this point. Everyone is anxious to see the health benefits this compound may have on cancer, dementia, diabetes, and other life threatening diseases.
Mitochondria are the cells responsible for producing energy in the human body. Researches have targeted these cells because as time goes on the communication between the cell nucleus and mitochondria weaken, resulting in the ageing process. A reduction of a naturally produced chemical called, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), is the cause of ageing. Injecting NAD into mice led to a profound turn around in the aging of mice.
Dr. Nigel Turner, senior researcher at UNSW and co-author of the study said, the reversal rate in mice was tremendous. Researchers had mapped the aging process thoroughly prior to animal trials. They were all shocked seeing the exceptional results in such short succession.
The cost of this compound for human consumption is about $50,000 a day. Meaning, a “magic pill” that reverses the aging process is several years away Turner says.
Human trials are expected to begin as early as next year. Because NAD is a naturally produced compound researchers are expecting side effects to be minimal.
Turner and his team of researchers are now able to look at other ways of reversing the aging process due to the understanding of the aging pathway. On lookers feel anti-aging research is in effort to make people live for hundreds of years. However, one of the goals for this research is to help people be healthier into old age and limit pain and suffering.
We know life threatening diseases like dementia, cancer, and type-two diabetes cause the breakdown of cell communication. This research could help benefit multiple human organs preventing such diseases from occurring. Suggestions show this research isn’t about prolonging life as much as improving its quality.