Scientific evidence suggests that old age can be defeated thanks to young blood, according to the British newspaper The Telegraph.
Two parallel studies show that young blood transfusions can slow down the aging process and possibly even cure Alzheimer's. Young blood "recharges" the brain, forms new blood vessels, improves memory and enhances learning ability, scientists found. True, so far the effectiveness of transfusion has been confirmed only in mice.
“This should give us hope for a healthier future,” said Professor Doug Melton of the Department of Stem Cells and Regenerative Biology at Harvard University.
According to scientists, a protein codenamed GDF11 is responsible for the activity of the brain and muscles. It is present in large quantities in the blood when people and animals are young, but gradually disappears with age. Last year, a team of researchers at Harvard University found in mice that injections of a healing protein can repair damaged hearts and significantly rejuvenate them.
A new study this year showed that raising blood levels of GDF11 in aged mice improved the functioning of all organs. In the next two to three years, scientists hope to begin testing not only in rodents, but also in humans. Melton's colleague Professor Lee Rubin suggests that GDF11, or a drug based on it, could even defeat Alzheimer's.
A similar opinion is shared by Dr. Saul Viljeda of Stanford University School of Medicine. Viljeda and colleagues also conducted a study in mice, in which 18-month-old rodents were given eight injections of blood taken from their three-month-old laboratory cousins over three weeks. As a result of this “therapy,” the older mice have significantly improved their memorization and learning abilities.
In addition, scientists have documented structural, molecular and functional changes in their brain. In particular, new connections of neurons have been formed in the hippocampus, a part of the brain involved in the formation of long-term memory. However, injections of old blood did not show any effect.
"We have shown that at least some age-related brain dysfunctions are reversible," The Telegraph quotes the scientist. According to Viljeda, the study may spur the development of new treatments for Alzheimer's disease.
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At the same time, scientists involved in the study of senile dementia are in no hurry to rejoice at the results obtained at Stanford and Harvard, since both studies were conducted exclusively on mice and did not address the problem of cognitive impairments typical of Alzheimer's disease, which does not affect all old people.