Scientists reverse ageing in mammals, predict human trials within 10 years

Illustration/Ravi Jadhav

California:âu00c2u0080u00c2u0088An end to grey hair and crows-feet could be just 10 years away after scientists showed it is possible to reverse ageing in animals.

Using a new technique, which takes adult cells back to their embryonic form, US researchers at the Salk Institute in California, showed it was possible to reverse ageing in mice, allowing the animals to not only look younger, but live 30 per cent longer.

The technique involves stimulating four genes, which are particularly active during development in the womb. It was also found to work to turn the clock back on human skin cells in the lab, making them look and behave younger.

Scientists hope to eventually create a drug that can mimic the effect of the found genes, which could be taken to slow down, and even reverse the ageing process. They say it will take around 10 years to get to human trials.

"Our study shows that ageing is a very dynamic and plastic process, and therefore will be more amenable to therapeutic interventions than what we previously thought," said Dr Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, a professor in Salk's Gene Expression Laboratory. "With careful modulation, aging might be reversed," he said.

In mice with a premature ageing disease, the treatment countered signs of ageing and increased their lifespan by 30 per cent. If it worked similarly in humans, it could allow people to live until more than 100 years old. It can also help damaged organs to heal faster.