Increased Lifespan

They’ve been living longer and looking healthier thanks to a new drug developed at the Mayo Clinic

Dr. Jan Van Deursen, researcher says, “It was a very labor-intensive and stressful project. But I’m glad it worked out.”

Dr. Jan Van Deursen and his team have been studying mice for years, and learned that by removing damaged cells that no longer divide they increased the life span of the mice by 17 to 35 percent.

Removing those cells also made the mice’s organs healthier.

Dr. Jan Van Deursen, researcher says, “We see a health improvement in a number of tissues. We think a very important tissue is the heart. It seems like the heart was able to maintain its youthful performance so it’s very stress resistant.”

So how do Dr. Van Deursen and his team remove those damaged cells from mice?

They inject a drug into the animals.

And they say the drug seems to have no negative side effects.

Dr. Jan Van Deursen, researcher says, “Within six months of treatment, we did see these health improvements in the heart and kidney.”

Dr. Van Deursen hopes with these new findings researchers can eventually develop a drug that will do the same for humans with the potential of treating heart attacks. COPED and many more.

Dr. Jan Van Deursen, researcher says, “Removing senescent cells may also have an important anti-cancer effect.”

So how long before clinical trials for humans? Dr. Van deursen says they could only be a few years away.

Dr. Jan Van Deursen, researcher says, “If a clinical trial turns out to be successful and safe, i think perhaps the sky is the limit.”