Research on aging is clearly gaining momentum. Here we have another
aspect of the aging condition.
Several working protocols are already been field tested by motivated
subjects as was inevitable and generally reports are favorable, if
not obviously spectacular. For that reason, public enthusiasm is
obviously muted.
This state of affairs will not last, simply because a number serious
folks are waking up to the possibility and going for it. We are
still in the dissemination phase.
I am actually quite optimistic here. This is likely to blow up fast
and furious because everyone cares.
Scientists may have
found the key to control aging
By Scott Sutherland
That's still out of
the reach of science (so far), but a team of U.S. researchers may
have found a way to significantly extend lifespans, by manipulating a
small, almond-sized part of our brain called the hypothalamus.
The hypothalamus
controls various functions of our body having to do with metabolism
and the nervous system, and it works with the pituitary gland to
control how we grow and develop to sexual maturity. Dr. Dongsheng
Cai, a professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York,
has been examining how inflammation affects the hypothalamus, and how
that can give rise to illness and disease, and this latest research
turns to how this could also affect aging.
To do this, Dr. Cai
and his team looked at the effects of one specific chemical,
called NF-κB (short for 'nuclear factor
kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells'), that has a big
influence on inflammation.
"Inflammation
involves hundreds of molecules, and NF-κB sits right at the center
of that regulatory map," Cai said in a press statement.
Working with mice, the
researchers found that, as the mice aged, they showed more NF-κB
activity in their brains, and especially in the hypothalamus.
Stimulating the hypothalamus so there was more NF-κB activity there
caused symptoms of increased age and shortened the animals' lifespan.
Inhibiting NF-κB activity in the hypothalamus had the opposite
effect, slowing the aging process down and causing the mice to live
around 20% longer.[ this
could be the link to the starvation protocol]
They also discovered
that increasing NF-κB activity caused the hypothalamus to release
less of a hormone called 'gonadotropin-releasing hormone' (GnRH),
which the body uses in reproduction. Giving older mice daily
injections of GnRH slowed their aging process, possibly by growing
new neurons in their brain.
"Scientists have
long wondered whether aging occurs independently in the body's
various tissues or if it could be actively regulated by an organ in
the body," he said in the statement. "It's clear from
our study that many aspects of aging are controlled by the
hypothalamus. What's exciting is that it's possible — at least in
mice — to alter signaling within the hypothalamus to slow down the
aging process and increase longevity."
The hope now is
that this can be turned into a treatment therapy for age-related
illnesses, such as arthritis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and
Alzheimer's disease, and possibly even to extend human lifespan.
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