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Scientists have discovered the secret of youth
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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A joint effort by experts from the Scripps Research Institute in California, the Mayo Medical Center in Minnesota, and other research institutions has made a sensational discovery – a completely new type of drug that helps slow down aging and increase life expectancy.
Scientists classified their development as a senolytic - a medicinal product that has a detrimental effect on "aged" cells in the body, and also improves heart function; in addition, drugs in this group combat the development of many age-related diseases.
As the developers themselves noted, the unique drug is a real breakthrough in the field of treatment and could become a new stage in the development of treatment methods aimed at increasing life expectancy, preserving youth and human health.
The new drug destroys old cells in the body that have already "worked out" their term and stopped dividing. Specialists have long found out that in a young body, the process of cell renewal is active, but with age, "old" cells accumulate in the body and the renewal process practically does not occur, which leads to age-related changes and diseases.
During their research, the scientists drew attention to the fact that the behavior of "aged" cells can be compared to cancer cells: they also show activation of survival mechanisms, they block the process of natural cell death. Based on the results obtained, the researchers concluded that anti-cancer drugs can be used to combat "aged" cells.
Further work showed that the scientists' assumption was correct. A series of experiments showed that two agents are most suitable for combating "old" cells - dezantibe (an anti-cancer drug) and quercetin (an antihistamine with an anti-inflammatory effect).
The specialists conducted their research on cell cultures and the experiments showed that these two drugs caused the death of "aged" cells and did not affect healthy and "young" ones. When used simultaneously, the scientists noted a very strong rejuvenating effect on the body.
After successful experiments on cultures, specialists conducted a series of experiments on laboratory rodents. As a result, it turned out that even after one administration of the new drug, the work of the cardiovascular system significantly improved, bone tissue became stronger, and the rodents became more resilient.
As scientists reported, similar tests of the new drug can be conducted with the participation of people, but before this it is necessary to take into account many factors and possible side effects that may occur after the introduction of the new drug, and this requires a certain amount of time.
Also, experts noted that in the future such drugs could be used, but only in rare cases, i.e. anti-aging treatment could be done in a single course.
They also noted that even if it is possible to partially slow down the aging process, the quality of life of older people will improve significantly.
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