Anti-ageing pill that could see humans living up to a decade longer
An anti-ageing pill that could help us live up to a decade longer has moved a step closer with the discovery of a key component of the ageing process.
Protein molecules – known as GSK-3 – are responsible for shortening our natural lives, according to a new study which suggests that life could be prolonged by effectively switching them off.
Experiments with fruit flies – which also have the GSK-3 protein – found that the molecule could be inhibited by low-level lithium use, which extended their lives by 16 per cent.
This has raised hopes that lithium – or more likely another, similar drug with fewer side-effects – could eventually be turned into a tablet to prolong human life.
Want to live forever? Try a little dose of lithium
And perhaps more importantly, knowledge of the molecule could also unlock the secret to pushing back the onset of age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s, diabetes, cancer and Parkinson’s, said Dr Jorge Ivan Castillo-Quan, lead author of the study.
“We’re excited about GSK-3. It could mean that all sorts of diseases related to ageing could be prevented for the near future if it was to become a therapy starting in middle age. I think that’s an even more exciting perspective than life extension,” he said.
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Source: http://nunezreport.blogspot.com/2016/04/anti-ageing-pill-that-could-see-humans.html
