Harvard Rewinds The Biological Clock of Time
Researchers at Harvard Medical School identified the key mechanisms that cause vascular aging, its effects on muscle and have reversed this process in animals.
Scientists used a chemical called NMN, which is an NAD+ booster and plays a crucial role in repairing cellularDNA as well as maintaining the vitality of cells to test what would occur.
Could reversing blood vessel aging be the key to rejuvenating youth? The answer to the age-old adage, \”You are as old as you arteries\”, is yes.
Researchers at Harvard Medical School have conducted a study that identifies the cellular mechanisms responsible for the aging process of vascular arteries, as well as its effects on muscle health. The Medical team also managed to reverse the aging process.
These findings suggest that there is a problem in the normal interaction between muscles and blood vessels, which keeps both tissues healthy. Scientists were able to reverse the atrophy of muscle and blood vessels in aging mice using synthetic precursors for two molecules that are naturally found in the body. In the process, this increased their endurance during exercise.
Medical team is thrilled because this breakthrough will pave the path to finding new treatments for humans.
David Sinclair, senior investigator of the study and professor at the Department of Genetics of Harvard Medical School as well as co-director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging in Harvard Medical School said \”we have discovered a method to reverse vascular ageing by increasing the presence of molecules naturally occurring in the body which enhance the physiological response to exercising.\”
There are important biological differences between humans and mouse, so this treatment might not work the same in humans. The research team will still conduct human clinical trials, as the results of the experiment were so important that they felt compelled to do so.
Sinclair is a professor of the University of New South Wales School of Medical Sciences, Sydney, Australia. He stated that \”the approach increases stamina and energy in mice, and paves the way for human therapies to treat the range of diseases arising from vascular aging.\”
Our smallest blood vessels begin to die and wither, resulting in reduced blood flow. Vascular aging can lead to cardiac and neurologic disorders, muscle loss and impaired wound healing, among other things. These blood vessels will die, causing a decrease in blood flow. This can lead to toxins and oxygen loss.
Scientists have known for a long time that endothelial (blood vessel lining) cells play a vital role in the growth and health of blood vessels. These vessels supply oxygen and nutrients-rich blood to organs. As with everything on the human being, endothelial cell ageing has a negative effect on the body. Blood vessels shrink, new blood vessels do not form and blood flow is reduced to the majority of body parts. It has a strong impact on the muscles because they are heavily vascularized and rely heavily on a robust blood supply.
Exercise is usually done to slow down sarcopenia. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work forever. As we age, our muscles become weaker and shrivel.
What exactly causes this decline in blood flow? Why does exercise no longer protect muscle vitality from deterioration? This process is it reversible or not? These were the main questions Sinclair’s team asked.
The Experiment/Results
Sinclair and his research team found through a series experiments that blood flow is reduced when endothelial cell loss of a protein called sirtuin1 or SIRT1 begins. As shown in previous research, SIRT1 slows down aging in mice and yeast.
Sinclair’s and other researchers have shown that NAD+ increases the activity of SIRT1. Loss of SIRT1 is due to the loss of NAD+. NAD+ is a regulator of DNA repair and protein interactions that was first identified over a century earlier. The protein SIRT1 declines as NAD+ does with age.
The results revealed that NAD+, and SIRT1, provide the crucial interface for the communication between endothelial cell walls in blood vessels and the muscle cells.
The SIRT1 signaling activates and creates new capillaries. These are the smallest blood vessels that provide oxygen and nutrients to the tissues and organs of young mice. The studs of the mice grew smaller as they aged.
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