Treeman
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A drug has increased the lifespans of laboratory animals by nearly 25%, in a discovery scientists hope can slow human ageing too.
The treated mice were known as "supermodel grannies" in the lab because of their youthful appearance.
They were healthier, stronger and developed fewer cancers than their unmedicated peers.
The drug is already being tested in people, but whether it would have the same anti-ageing effect is unknown.
The team at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Science, Imperial College London and Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore were investigating a protein called interleukin-11.
Levels of it increase in the human body as we get older, it contributes to higher levels of inflammation, and the researchers say it flips several biological switches that control the pace of ageing.
Longer, healthier lives
The researchers performed two experiments.
The first genetically engineered mice so they were unable to produce interleukin-11
The second waited until mice were 75 weeks old (roughly equivalent to a 55-year-old person) and then regularly gave them a drug to purge interleukin-11 from their bodies
The results, published in the journal Nature,, external showed lifespans were increased by 20-25% depending on the experiment and sex of the mice.
Old laboratory mice often die from cancer, however, the mice lacking interleukin-11 had far lower levels of the disease.
And they showed improved muscle function, were leaner, had healthier fur and scored better on many measures of frailty.
Here
The treated mice were known as "supermodel grannies" in the lab because of their youthful appearance.
They were healthier, stronger and developed fewer cancers than their unmedicated peers.
The drug is already being tested in people, but whether it would have the same anti-ageing effect is unknown.
The team at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Science, Imperial College London and Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore were investigating a protein called interleukin-11.
Levels of it increase in the human body as we get older, it contributes to higher levels of inflammation, and the researchers say it flips several biological switches that control the pace of ageing.
Longer, healthier lives
The researchers performed two experiments.
The first genetically engineered mice so they were unable to produce interleukin-11
The second waited until mice were 75 weeks old (roughly equivalent to a 55-year-old person) and then regularly gave them a drug to purge interleukin-11 from their bodies
The results, published in the journal Nature,, external showed lifespans were increased by 20-25% depending on the experiment and sex of the mice.
Old laboratory mice often die from cancer, however, the mice lacking interleukin-11 had far lower levels of the disease.
And they showed improved muscle function, were leaner, had healthier fur and scored better on many measures of frailty.
Here