Scientists are working on an elixir of youth and hope that it may appear as early as this year
People will always try to win over the years. We are closely monitoring scientific discoveries in this area. Scientists say we are on the cusp of one of those discoveries that will treat old age like a normal flu.
In the photo: Professor Zuev uses in his experiments an extract of the brain of an old mouse, obtained from the rubbed brain of elderly rodents.
Aging is the result of a special kind of infection on the body. And if the cause is known, then finding a cure is a matter of time. A tool that can extend the active phase of a person's life for several decades can be created in the coming years.
The beginning of research in the field of life extension was laid by the discovery of the aging factor - an extremely stable protein substance that begins to be produced in the human body at the age of 25 years. The author of this discovery is Doctor of Medical Sciences Viktor Zuev. He met the Trud-7 correspondents on the first floor of an old two-story building. A tall, energetic man in his sixties. I am surprised: it seems that he must be older. Viktor Abramovich, as if having caught my question, immediately announces:
- This year I am celebrating my 80th anniversary!
He does not hide his age and does not like when others flirt.
“If you’re not ready to admit how old you are, then you have nothing to do here,” he says.
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Time stood still in the professor's office. An antediluvian washbasin walled into the wall to the right of the door, an old medical lamp with an incredibly long metal neck, blue faded walls with cracked paint: Sinking down on an old failed sofa, I immerse myself in the Soviet atmosphere of the 50-70s. At least, this is how the scientific reality was drawn to the imagination from photographs and films of those years. Eternal youth begins here.
Aging infection
In fact, old age is an infection. And she has the same pathogen as, for example, the flu. Certain substances (Professor Zuev calls them an aging factor) provoke changes in the brain. The scientist was prompted to this idea by data from a study of a previously unknown disease of man-eating savages from the island of New Guinea. Autopsy revealed the same changes in their brains that occur during natural aging of the body: the death of neurons, the formation of voids in their place, filling the voids with cells of connective tissue - glia.
The causative agent of this disease was a prion protein with an altered molecular structure. In a healthy state, it is vitally necessary for a person, since it manages the daily rhythms of our body, that is, it "prompts" when we go to bed and when to get up. In the course of research, a whole group of diseases was discovered that lead the brain to the same spongy state. These diseases were called prion diseases.
In the aging body, the volume of connective tissue also increases due to the active division of brain glial cells. This, in turn, leads to disruption of the connection of the nerve cells with the capillaries feeding them and, as a consequence, their death. But if the pathogen is understandable during the disease, then what triggers the same mechanisms with age is a mystery.
When transfusing blood, as well as in the manufacture of blood products and blood components, the donor's age is not taken into account.
The mice turned gray
It must be some kind of substance, suggested Professor Zuev. Certainly not one that you can eat or drink and immediately rejuvenate. It appears in the body over time and triggers aging.
The hypothesis was confirmed by an experiment with glia cells of newborn mice. An extract of the brain of an old mouse was added to one of the tubes (it is obtained by grinding the brain particles in a mortar and acting on it with enzymes), to the other - the extract of the brain of a young mouse, nothing was added to the third - it was a control tube. After several days, the number of glial cells in the test tube with the brain extract of the old mouse exceeded the number of cells in the control tube by 2.5 times, while the number in the test tube with the brain extract of the young mouse hardly differed from the control tube.
The experiment was repeated on live mice. One and a half-month-old animals were injected with an extract of the brain of old individuals, and already at 5 months they began to show signs of aging, some of them even turned gray!
Stubborn molecule
As a result, it was possible to identify carriers (or pathogens) of old age. These are molecules that have been called the aging factor. Scientists are now studying their properties and origins. These particles are synthesized in the brain tissue and spleen. The molecule turned out to be extremely resistant to temperature influences (almost like hepatitis B), as well as to the action of various enzymes. This means that the search for an anti-factor - a substance that can neutralize the aging factor - is not an easy task.
In addition, the functions of the aging factor are not yet fully understood. It is possible that it is also responsible for some vital processes in the body and a decrease in its concentration can lead to serious side effects.
Stale blood
The aging factor is also found in the blood, albeit in smaller quantities than in the brain tissue. This was proved by an experiment similar to the first one with mice, which were infused with the blood of old rodents.
In mice, the aging factor begins to appear in the body at the tenth month of life. This is the end of the first third of the average life span of a mouse.
- In the human body, the aging factor begins to be produced by the age of 25, that is, like in mice, by the end of the first third of life. This is exactly the time when our body stops growing, - explains Professor Zuev.
How then does donor blood affect a young organism? The Center for Hematology of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences reported that age is not taken into account when making blood products and its components and during transfusion. Any healthy person under the age of 50 can become a donor, and his age is not indicated on the container with blood. Currently, the Research Institute. Gamalei and the Center for Hematology are preparing a joint project to investigate this problem.
Why now?
A cure for old age will be found very soon. Progress in science occurs in leaps and bounds, and if no significant discoveries have been made for a long time, then they will rush like a horn of plenty.
For example, primitive man lived for 20 years. In the middle of the 19th century, people lived for 40 years. For millennia, man has managed to "win" from nature for only 20 years. But a century passed, and by the middle of the 20th century, numerous discoveries increased life expectancy by 30 years. In one century, humanity has achieved more than in all previous millennia.
Now the rate of growth in life expectancy has slowed down again: by the end of the 20th century, this indicator increased by only 5 years. According to Viktor Abramovich, such a slowdown is explained by the fact that humanity is on the verge of another great discovery, which will allow in a relatively short time to increase the average life expectancy by several more decades. At the same time, Professor Zuev emphasizes that by neutralizing the aging factor, the active phase of a person's life will be extended. And this means that we will not be comprehended by the disappointment of Typhon, for whom the goddess of the dawn Eos begged for immortality from Zeus, but forgot to ask for the preservation of his eternal youth.
Very soon
Aging research is progressing quite well. Substances have already been found that can destroy its molecular structure. As an example of such a substance, Professor Zuev named a certain proteinase-K extracted from mushrooms. However, the development of the anti-factor, according to him, is still not based on it. The professor does not disclose details - after all, on the verge of a great discovery.
- So when will the elixir of youth appear? - I do not stop.
“Perhaps already this year,” the professor answered without a trace of humor.
He tests some drugs on himself, however, which ones - he refused to tell. Professor Zuev also categorically refuses to talk about the secrets of his cheerfulness and hyperactivity - without explaining the reasons. And he did not accept our candidates for testing a new medicine either. Perhaps, in order to prevent journalists from considering him a completely misanthrope, the Trud-7 correspondent was promised a dose of the miraculous elixir free of charge.
- And if a medicine is discovered in the coming years, how long will it take for it to become generally available? Will the elixir of youth become a medicine for the elites?
- Marina Vladimirovna, maybe you can answer the correspondent's question? - Victor Abramovich called out to the head of the laboratory passing by. - Otherwise I don't know what to say:
- Of course, at first it will be the medicine of the elites. We must pay off our labor! - without hesitation, the manager answered.
- This is called a practical person, - Victor Abramovich smiled. He himself, in anticipation of a great discovery, is infinitely far from such "earthly" questions.
For us, mere mortals, Professor Zuev now advises only one thing: to take care of our health and smile more. After all, it would be a shame, having the opportunity to live up to 120 years, wear out, for example, your liver by the age of 40!
