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For the first time, a human has undergone surgery to alter aging genes
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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Specialists from the BioViva Inc. company from the United States carried out a unique operation, during which they changed the aging genes.
The new method involves gene therapy at the cellular level; during surgery, a modified gene is introduced into the patient’s cell, and no further surgical intervention is required.
BioViva CEO Elizabeth Parrish said at a meeting of the scientific council that interim conclusions about the operation could be made in a few months, and the research group plans to report final results in about a year.
For the first 8 years, the patient who has undergone this unique operation will be under the supervision of the company’s specialists.
According to researchers from BioViva, human aging has not been considered by any specialist as a disease, the process of cell destruction was considered irreversible and inevitable. But early cell wear leads to such morphological changes as gray hair, muscle weakness, memory loss, and also provokes diseases such as Alzheimer's, cancer, heart failure. Moreover, such processes can begin at a fairly young age.
Every year, research centers spend millions of dollars studying age-related dementia, brain disorders, Parkinson's, etc. All of these diseases are directly related to the natural wear and tear of cells, which is why BioViva researchers decided not to treat the consequences, but to eliminate the cause of such age-related changes.
Further work in the field of genetic engineering will be continued by specialists from various BioViva clinics, which are located not only in the United States, but also abroad.
It is worth noting that earlier such studies consisted of transplantation and studying the restorative capacity of stem cells. One of the latest works by researchers from Germany showed that stem cells have a molecular switch that triggers the aging process of the body.
Also at Harvard University, researchers discovered a special protein that triggers the aging process of cells.
Scientists know that the aging process can affect not only the entire body, but also individual cells (due to frequent divisions, under the influence of external factors, etc.). Various processes can slow down cellular metabolism, block division, and then lead to cell death. The process of cell renewal is natural, and it is due to this that the body stays young longer.
But sometimes cell renewal is disrupted, resulting in the development of various diseases (Alzheimer's, cancer, etc.).
While studying the process of cellular aging, Harvard specialists discovered the protein GATA4, which affects the work of other proteins, as well as genes. As studies have shown, with an incorrect process of protein breakdown (can be provoked by various factors), GATA4 accumulates in cells and causes an accelerated aging process.
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