Compound Found in Traditional Chinese Medicine Extends Lifespan
Recent examination of crude extracts from plants utilized in traditional Chinese medicine has identified the herb Psoralea corylifolia to have potential lifespan-extending properties. Further analysis demonstrated a single compound, corylin, to be responsible for improving lifespan; it was shown to function through the mTOR pathway, a well-defined pathway known to modulate lifespan in a multitude of organisms.
The Key to Getting More Mileage Out of the Brain: Change the Fluids
A recent study from Stanford University School of Medicine demonstrates the partial restoration of brain function in old mice with infusions of cerebrospinal fluid from younger mice.
Cool Down, Live Longer
Since the development of technologies that have allowed humanity to outlive the “normal” period an organism is fit to survive in the natural world, the tragedy of old age and decrepitude has frustrated researchers and driven them to seek out a root cause. Progress has been achieved, for the most part, by addressing the discrete age-related pathologies; however, taking a first-principles approach focused on temperature has allowed researchers to investigate a basic temperature-dependent facet of aging and perhaps affect an underlying driver of many, if not all, age-related phenomena.
Turning Back the Cellular Clock
Thinking of biological aging as analogous to a clock, research has given us two distinct avenues of lifespan-extending intervention: the clock can be either slowed down or wound back. Most research has with dealt the former, but the latter is very promising—especially for those whose clock has been winding for some time.
Weight Loss Drug Shown to Reduce Obesity and Increase Muscle Mass
Obesity is highly correlated with and thought to contribute to an increased incidence of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers and is rapidly becoming the most prevalent driver of age-related pathologies in the modern world. The availability of novel pharmaceutical interventions might provide treatment to the increasingly common condition of intractable obesity.
Can We Be Immunized Against Old Age?
Can vaccines be used to fight age-related disease and, ultimately, to extend lifespan? Research published in Nature Aging suggests that such a promising strategy could be a reality.
Blood from Exercised Mice Supports the Brain Health of Sedentary Mice
When analyzed, the hippocampus, a region of the brain highly involved in learning and memory, showed increased neurogenesis in mice given access to running wheels for 28 days. In line with the increased cellular proliferation in the hippocampus, sedentary mice treated with “runner” plasma showed improved memory and cognition when assessed via standard behavioral tests.
2021 OFAS Report of Directors
As we begin the new year, we at the Orentreich Foundation for the Advancement of Science (OFAS) wish to thank our friends around the globe for their continued support. To view our recently published 2021 Report of the Director, click here. We hope you will consider...
Erectile Dysfunction Pill Shows Promise as Alzheimer’s Disease Therapeutic
This retrospective case-control study revealed several drugs to be associated with decreased incidence of developing AD; sildenafil was by far the most promising candidate.
Targeted Removal of Senescent Cells in Adipose Tissue Improves Type 2 Diabetes
Research has uncovered evidence that adipose cells are highly susceptible to senescence, an irreversible state of non-proliferation, and the accumulation of senescent cells with age leads to the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP)—a deleterious inflammatory condition thought to be a critical driver of age-related diseases. Obesity and age are top risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes, and it would seem that therapies aimed at reducing SASP would be an ideal approach to improve this condition.
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