Coming soon: A PILL TO STAY YOUNG?

Researchers are developing many intriguing new methods of slowing age-related decline. “Some of these approaches aren’t going to turn out to be relevant for humans,” says researcher into ageing Dr Steven N. Austad. “But there are enough leads that some of them will work, and when we discover which ones do, they will revolutionise medicine like nothing since antibiotics.” Here are some of the most promising therapies in the works.

Replacing old blood with new

“We know from a number of studies that if you transfuse old mice with the blood of younger mice, it rejuvenates the brain, heart and muscles,” says Dr Austad. While this may sound like the plot of a vampire movie, it’s not quite what you think. Scientists are working to find out which components of blood are the important ones, and eventually those may be available in pill form, Dr Austad says, such that you wouldn’t need a transfusion from your grandchild to get the anti-ageing benefit.

Restoring cells to a healthier state

The latest buzz in longevity focuses on efforts to return cells to younger versions of themselves, minus the accumulated ageing-related damage. Scientists are using the ‘back-up’ copy of cells’ epigenomes – essentially their software – to pull off that mind-bending feat. In 2020, Dr Sinclair’s lab reversed the age of optic nerves and restored vision in ageing mice.

Creating age-reversing drugs

At least a dozen new drugs to slow ageing are now in human trials, says Dr Austad, who predicts that some will hit the market within 10 years. Several have already been approved for other uses but show promise for extending life and health. In a large study of British people with and without type 2 diabetes, those who were taking metformin (a diabetes medication) lived 15 per cent longer than healthy people not taking it. And in a study from the Mayo Clinic, patients with kidney disease showed a reduction of senescent cells, which produce harmful inflammation, when treated with an existing drug combined with the drug quercetin, which is also a nutrient (flavonoid) in some fruit, vegies, seeds and grains. Who knows? Perhaps, one day, you’ll be able to share your life story with your great-great-great-grandchildren.