Young blood could keep older people healthy
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- Professor Linda Partridge argues humanity is close to tools prolonging health
- Previous research found blood from young mice helps rejuvenate older ones
- US clinical trial Ambrosia, is already offering teenage blood to elderly
customers at a cost of $8,000 for 2.5 litres
Blood taken from a young person may help revitalise failing health in the elderly, following studies on young mice.
Professor Linda Partridge from UCL's Institute of Healthy Ageing has drawn from the research into humans and animals and argued that humanity is close gaining the tools to prolong health.
Her argument in the journal Nature comes amid a Harvard University company announcing that it would be investing millions to explore treatment based on the idea that the blood of young animals can help the older ones.
Professor Partridge told The Telegraph: 'I would say ageing is the emperor of all diseases.
'There's been all this fantastic research in animals. It's just crazy.
'We're really beginning to understand how malleable ageing is. Now we need to push to translate this into humans.'
Research conducted in the area has already found that when blood from a young mouse is transfused into one when ill health it can help maintain vitality.
In 2014, researchers at Stanford University led by neuroscientist Tony Wyss-Coray, found that blood infusions from the young mice reversed cognitive and neurological impairments seen in the older mice.
This research is now looking into how humans may benefit from the animal studies.
A US clinical trial called Ambrosia, is already offering teenage blood to elderly customers at a cost of $8,000 for 2.5 litres and this week saw another programme called Elvian announce it had a $5.5 million investment backing to conduct research in the field.
It's scientists, Harvard biologists, are exploring whether a blood protein called GDFII is the key ingredient.
While it is too early to tell whether either company could benefit its customers Professor Partridge said other forms of intervention were necessary with diseases of ageing threatening to bankrupt health services.
However, blood is not the only thing that can be taken by the elderly to keep their health, with Professor Partridge also suggesting the bacteria taken from a young person's gut may help the poor functioning 'microbiomes' in the elderly.
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...scientist.html
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