This method has shown miraculous results in trials conducted on mice and monkeys. The research team is planning to move towards clinical trials, which means testing directly on humans.
The SciTech Daily describes this as a revolutionary approach, providing a potential alternative to gene therapy in the quest to reverse aging.
This discovery is expected to change the treatment of age-related diseases, enhance regenerative medicine, and has the potential to help humans achieve the dream of whole-body rejuvenation.
The new method has the potential to rejuvenate humans simply by taking some pills – (Illustrative image from SCITECH DAILY)
The study is led by Harvard Medical School, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Maine (USA).
They based their research on Yamanaka factors, which are the expression of specific genes capable of transforming mature cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), a discovery that earned a Nobel Prize.
Taking it a step further, the American scientists searched for molecules that could simultaneously reverse the cellular aging process and rejuvenate human cells. Ultimately, they identified six chemical combinations that could restore the cytoplasmic protein and transcriptional profile across the genome to a youthful state in less than a week.
The research steps were based on various organs in the bodies of mice, including the optic nerve, brain, kidneys, and muscle, achieving miraculous results.
In their latest move, they improved the vision of monkeys in an experiment conducted in April 2023, according to a recent publication in the journal Aging.
These findings could pave the way for regenerative medicine and the possibility of whole-body rejuvenation, as well as significantly alter the treatment of aging and injuries in general.
According to Professor David A. Sinclair from the Department of Genetics and co-Director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research at Harvard Medical School, until recently, humanity could only slow the aging process. This new method represents a true reversal.
Notably, this is a chemical method – potentially available in the form of a simple pill that can accelerate wound healing, restore eyesight, and cure other age-related diseases – rather than employing controversial gene-editing technologies.
After the success with monkeys, the research team is planning to advance to clinical trials, meaning direct testing on humans.
