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Researchers have discovered a new treatment made from substances derived from pig’s blood that has the ability to reverse the aging process in rats, according to a recent study.
The study published in the journal GeroScience revealed that a treatment, known as E5, was created using the blood of a youthful pig and administered to older rats in order to combat aging.
Researchers, including those from UCLA, have found that E5, made up of intricate nanoparticles and fresh plasma obtained from pigs, has the ability to turn back the biological clocks of rats by an average of 70 percent.
Scientists have claimed that if these findings can be applied to humans, it could potentially reverse the aging process of an 80-year-old individual to that of a 26-year-old.
“In the beginning, I found it difficult to believe the significant rejuvenating effects of E5 at the epigenetic level. Nevertheless, our discoveries have been strongly reinforced by similar studies on rodents conducted by various laboratories,” stated Steve Horvath, co-author of the study.
Scientists discovered that applying pig blood treatment to different rat tissues resulted in a reversal of the biological age in the blood, heart, and liver.
According to the study, the treatment reduced the epigenetic ages of blood, heart, and liver tissue by more than 50%.
Additionally, there was a noticeable yet statistically significant rejuvenation effect on the hypothalamus in the brain.
The researchers noted a gradual enhancement in the functioning of these organs, as well as improvements in behavior and cognition.
In general, the results indicate that a treatment derived from young porcine plasma can significantly reverse aging in rats.
According to researchers, the plasma fraction treatment was consistently successful in decreasing the epigenetic age of various tissues in male and female rats.
The latest findings also provide understanding of the mutual biological processes among different mammal species.
Although the treatment has not yet been tested on humans, researchers expressed hopefulness for its potential.
In the future, it may be possible to utilize rejuvenation techniques to systematically lower the risk of developing diseases instead of treating each disease separately.
There are also reasons to doubt that the results will apply to humans.
Researchers noted that the signs of aging seen in the rats during the experiment may vary greatly in terms of measurements and trends when compared to those of humans.
The researchers suggested that something harmful in one type of animal may not have the same effect in another, which could explain why many methods for rejuvenation that work in mice do not work well in humans.
Some of the researchers involved in the study have roles as creators, shareholders, workers, or advisors at Yuvan Research Inc, a biotechnology company focused on creating rejuvenation therapies.
Source: independent.co.uk
