Swedish and Russian scientists have conducted a joint study to create an anti-aging agent. The experiments were carried out using genetically modified mice. Now, on the basis of the research, a new medicine for old age is already being created.
Scientists from Sweden and Russia have made a breakthrough in the fight against aging with experiments on mice, as evidenced by new research. Scientific work was carried out with stations for generating energy for cells - mitochondria, which produce all the energy inside the cell. But mitochondria also produce by-products such as free radicals and reactive oxygen compounds, which play an important role in aging.
The damage done by reactive oxygen compounds can be prevented with antioxidants, and this research study used the synthetic antioxidant SkQ1 to target mitochondria.
Experimental results show that SkQ1 in drinking water inhibits the manifestation of physical signs of aging in mice.
Experiments on premature aging mice
In their scientific work, Swedish scientists used mice that were genetically influenced in order to accelerate their aging. These mice live less than a year, that is, half as long as normal mice, which live on average two years. Signs of aging in these mice - weight loss, lower body temperature, osteoporosis, thinner skin, an inhibited estrogen cycle in females - appear as early as on the hundredth day of life.
All these manifestations of old age slowed down or did not appear at all in mice, to whose drinking water small doses of SkQ1 were added.
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“This work is of great importance both from a theoretical and practical point of view. On the one hand, it demonstrates the key role of reactive oxygen species produced by mitochondria in the aging of mammals. On the other hand, the path is opening up to treat aging with antioxidants that specifically target mitochondria,”study co-author Vladimir Skulachev said in a press release. It was he who isolated the SkQ1 molecule.
The next step is to create a SkQ1-based drug for humans. This drug will go through clinical trials quickly and, if approved, will hit the market in two to three years.
Ingrid Lund