Good news for those wanting to keep their youthful glow – an anti-ageing pill could be just a few years away
A DRUG that reverses ageing and promotes DNA repair may be on the market within three years, scientist claim.
It could also help astronauts travel to Mars by reducing the impact of cosmic radiation.
Researchers working with two biotech companies hope to begin testing the treatment on humans in the next six months.
The treatment has already had a dramatic rejuvenating effect on ageing mice.
Study leader Professor David Sinclair, from the University of South Wales, in Australia, said: “The cells of the old mice were indistinguishable from the young mice, after just one week of treatment.
“This is the closest we are to a safe and effective anti-ageing drug that’s perhaps only three to five years away from being on the market if the trials go well.”
The drug – named nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) – boosts levels of a chemical named NAD+, which decline with age.
NAD+ is naturally present in every cell of the body and helps regulate protein interactions that control DNA repair.
Accumulated DNA damage is believed to be a major driver of natural ageing and a primary cause of cancer.
Recent work highlighting the chemical’s potential anti-ageing properties has led to an influx of NAD+ supplements available online.
But there is no hard evidence that the low-dose supplements really can keep ageing at bay.
The new research, reported in the journal Science, showed that NAD+ boosts the activity of a well-known DNA repair enzyme called PARP1.
Reduced levels of NAD+ with age were thought to reduce the ability of PARP1 to repair damaged DNA.
The work has attracted the interest of the American space agency NASA, which is looking for ways of shielding astronauts from the effects of radiation on the long voyage to Mars.
High levels of cosmic radiation mean that the chances of unprotected astronauts developing cancer could approach 100 per cent.
Professor Sinclair’s team won a competition run by NASA in search of a possible solution last year.
NMN could protect frequent flyers from the effects of radiation on passenger jets and combat the accelerated ageing seen in childhood cancer survivors.
It could also help the 96 per cent of childhood cancer survivors that suffer a chronic illness – such as heart disease, Type-2 diabetes, and Alzheimer’s – by the age of 45.
A different team of scientists have found a way to restore stamina, fur and kidney function in elderly mice.
They believe this could also lead to the development of a new anti-ageing pill for humans.
The drug works by hunting down and destroying broken down cells that hamper proper tissue renewal. As the old cells are killed off, new ones grow in their place.
Researchers from Erasmus University, Rotterdam, injected mice with the protein three times a week. Those with missing fur began to recover their coats after ten days.
They became fitter after three weeks – running double the distance of those that had not been treated. And they developed healthier kidneys after a month.
The findings are reported in the journal Cell.
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