DRUG BEATS AGEING
Treatment could be on market within three years
A DRUG that reverses the signs of ageing could be on the market by 2020, scientists have revealed.
In early experiments, the drug nicotinamide mononucleotide had a dramatic rejuvenating effect on ageing mice.
Researchers working with two biotech firms hope to begin clinical trials on patients later this year.
Lead scientist Professor David Sinclair, from the University of South Wales in Australia, said: “Cells of the old mice were indistinguishable from the young mice after just one week of treatment.
“This is the closest we are to a safe and effective anti-ageing drug that’s perhaps three to five years away from being on the market if the trials go well.”
The drug boosts oxidised nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, which repairs the DNA.
Accumulated DNA damage is believed to be a major driver of natural ageing and a primary cause of cancer.
Nasa hope the drug could shield astronauts on the long voyage to Mars from the effects of cancercausing radiation.
A competition run by the US space agency to search for possible solutions was won by Sinclair’s team last year.
Experts hope it could also combat the accelerated ageing seen in survivors of childhood cancer.
The results of the study by the Australian scientists and a team from Harvard in the US were reported in the journal Science.