Researchers at Harvard-affiliated medical centers recently published remarkable anti-aging results of a study using gene therapy that reversed aging — on mice!
That’s right, in the study they saw the total reversal of age-related problems, including decreased brain function which returned to normal and failing organs that started working well again. Even fur on the mice that had turned gray was restored to dark fur. (See link to ABC News story at bottom.)
I find this so exciting! The researchers didn’t expect such dramatic anti-aging results, results that went way beyond slowing the signs of aging to actually reversing it — which is what I call growing younger!
What did they do to cause the mice to grow younger? They lengthened their telomeres.
You haven’t heard of telomeres? Let’s back up for a second and define some things. DNA is held within the chromosomes and each chromosome has a protective cap at the ends — called a telomere. It’s sort of like the tip of a shoelace which keeps the shoelace from unraveling.
Throughout life, these protective caps get shorter and shorter — and eventually they become too short to protect the DNA. At this point cellular damage begins to occur, leading to malfunction in crucial organs like the brain, heart, liver, and pancreas.
Muscle loss also occurs, and eventually extreme weakness and frailty happen. In other words, when the telomeres get short enough, the deterioration of old age occurs.
In this study, researchers boosted the cellular levels of telomerase, enzymes that lengthen telomeres, in the mice — and saw the signs of aging reversed. In measureable ways, the mice grew younger!
The next big question is: Can they do the same for people?
They’re certainly hopeful and are conducting more animal studies which will undoubtedly lead to research with people. In the case of humans, each cell holds 23 pair of chromosomes, each with telomeres at the strand ends.
Prior research has already established that shorter telomeres are associated with age-related diseases such as heart disease and Alzheimer’s. The exciting news about this study is the fact that boosting cellular levels of telomerases resulted in a significant reversal of the detrimental signs of aging.
Dr. Ronald DiPinho, a geneticist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, and co-author of the study results, said he thinks this research has identified the core pathway explaining many different theories of aging.
Now, as exciting as this is, we don’t want to sit on our laurels and wait — we want to do everything we can right now to grow younger!
Lifestyle factors may matter just as much! Dr. Dean Ornish, researcher at the University of California San Francisco, conducted a study several years ago with volunteers (people!) who agreed to follow a low-fat diet, exercise regularly and use relaxation techniques.
These lifestyle changes increased the volunteers’ levels of telomerase – hence postponing the time when the telomeres could no longer protect the cells from damage.
My diet is not so low-fat if you count all the coconut oil I consume — which is very healthy for you so I’m sure that’s good. But I DO exercise every day and the relaxation technique I use is twice daily half-hour meditation. Those are just a few of the “grow young” techniques that are working for me so I expect my telomeres are doing a good job protecting my cells.
If you need scientific anti-aging evidence to believe it’s possible to reverse aging, you’ve got it in the studies I mentioned. Keep in mind, however, that when you allow the belief that you CAN grow younger, you’ve taken a significant step toward making it happen. Now let’s celebrate! Walk, exercise, drink lots of pure water, observe your thoughts, pray, meditate and eat less — so we can grow younger together!
If you have an anti-aging tip, we’d love to hear from you. Please share it with our community by clicking Comment below. Thanks!
Joy and Blessings!
Ellen – Your Grow Young Guide
P.S. Here’s the link to the story about the mice on ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Alzheimers/aging-reversed-mice/story?id=12269125
Tags: aging reversed in mice, anti-aging, anti-aging research, anti-aging tips, grow younger, telomeres
May 25, 2011 at 12:13 pm |
Hi Ellen,
I have just found you on the net and LOVE your site and the encoragement and gifts you give.I have been working with the tibetans for quite some time and run my own workshops.Finding your site has enhanced immenseley my own work.I am based in England and coming out to LA and San francisco in July would love to meet up or attend one of your courses.
Keep on shining
Susanx
June 13, 2011 at 1:02 pm |
Susan – thank you so much! I’m working on a DVD of the Tibetans (writing the outline now) because so many people have asked for it. I would love to meet up with you. CAn you include Taos NM in your trip so we can have lunch or dinner together at my house? I have a vacation rental in Taos that my daughter manages and can ask her to give you a discount. Oy! This sounds like a commercial but I don’t mean it to be. Thanks again for your kind words.
Joy and Blessings
Ellen