Is it possible that the fountain of youth is in the blood itself?

The search for the long-awaited “fountain of youth” may have taken efficient steps with the upcoming scientific news. That's because two different teams of scientists released studies showing that the blood of young mice was able to reverse aging in older mice, rejuvenating their muscles and brains.

According to The New York Times, experts said the finding could be very useful for treating diseases like Alzheimer's and heart disease. Both research is based on and clarifies findings from earlier studies. One happened in the 1950s and was led by Dr. Clive M. McCay of Cornell University and his colleagues who tested the effect of young rat blood on older animals.

To do this, they joined pairs of mice sewing their blood vessels in a procedure called parabiosis. After the process, the vessels grew and joined the rat circulatory systems. In this way, the blood of the younger flowed to the elderly and vice versa.

Dr. McCay and his colleagues later performed autopsies and found that the cartilage of old mice looked younger than before. But at that time, scientists could not say exactly how the transformations took place or how the animal organisms rejuvenated.

Decades later, it became clear that stem cells are essential for maintaining vital tissues. When tissues are damaged, stem cells act and produce new cells to replace those that die.

More results were revealed in 2005 by Thomas A. Rando, professor of neurology at Stanford University School of Medicine. He and his colleagues relived Dr. McCay's experiences by uniting young and old mice for five weeks. The findings showed that the muscles of the old had renewed as rapidly as those of the young. In addition, the old men gained new liver cells at a youthful rate.

The new research, on the other hand, provides clear proof of how the process works and offers an explanation: the key lies in the levels of some proteins that are more abundant in younger blood and seem to arouse stem cells, causing creation. of new fabrics.

Rejuvenated Brains

The first study, published in the journal Nature, was led by Saul Villeda of the University of California. He says that transfusion of blood through parabiosis works, but that plasma extraction from younger rats to inject it into the brains of older individuals works even better.

The process creates new neuronal connections, reversing the effects of age and significantly improving the cognitive functions of mice:

At the cognitive level, systemic administration of young blood plasma in older rats improved age-related cognitive impairments, both contextual conditioning and spatial learning and memory. Structural and cognitive improvements induced by exposure to fresh blood are mediated, in part, through activation of the cyclic protein AMP response element in the aged hippocampus. Our data indicate that the exposure of aged rats to new blood at the end of life is able to rejuvenate synaptic plasticity and improve cognitive function.

Harvard Study

The second study, published in the journal Science, was led by Dr. Amy Wagers of Harvard University's Stem Cell Institute and was part of the Stanford study in 2005. Still intrigued by the results at that time, the scientist continued with He and his team found that what reversed aging in mice was the high level of GDF11 protein, present in abundance in young blood.

For the research, the plasma of young mice containing GDF11 in quantity was applied to old animals. As a result, the team found that the protein stimulated the growth of new blood vessels and neurons in the brain of the old, replacing the old and improving, beyond the cognitive part, olfactory function.

According to Dr. Amy, the two published papers show that "instead of taking a heart medication or a drug for your muscles and brain, you might be able to come up with something that will all be beneficially affected." And the secret may lie in the new blood.

However, you still can't go around celebrating and asking for a blood donation from your two-year-old cousin. First, because the experiments done so far have been done with mice. They have yet to be made in humans, who have their own version of GDF11. Human protein will probably work the same way, but scientists do not have this information yet.

Moreover, in all this rejuvenation and new cell creation there is also the increased risk of cancer. This is because, as you begin to awaken stem cells by telling them to start creating new cells, you can increase the possibilities of the disease (which is disordered cell proliferation). This issue will also have to be well verified by the experts.

Anyway, the researchers are excited. The results in rats are clear and there are no conflicts between the two studies published in recent weeks.