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Metformin, the gold standard for diabetes treatment, causes modest weight loss The cheap drug is popular among tech figures for purported anti-aging benefits It is one of several highly popular tools out there for promoting weight loss A cheap diabetes pill has become the latest craze among tech moguls who claim it can reverse aging and melt body fat - but it can cause explosive diarrhea. Studies show the 20c pill promotes weight loss, while preliminary studies in mice models suggest the medication can improve life and health spans. Metformin - the world's most common treatment for type 2 diabetes...

Young blood plasma transfusions for anti-aging are popular with some wealthy elites. There are claims that young blood rejuvenates the body's organs. But turning back the body's clock with transfusions might not need to be done anymore following research from Columbia University in New York that states an anti-inflammatory drug can rejuvenate the body and possibly increase the human lifespan by decades. "An aging blood system, because it's a vector for a lot of proteins, cytokines, and cells, has a lot of bad consequences for the organism," Emmanuelle Passegué, Ph.D., director of the Columbia Stem Cell Initiative, who's been studying...

Our bodies arsenal of antioxidant control mechanisms become less efficient as we get older. Supplementing with the amino acid taurine could be a strategy to combat the problem. The study described 24 women randomly divided into two groups. One group took three 500 mg capsules of taurine per day for 16 weeks (1.5 g per day). The other took corn starch. Markers of oxidative stress were analyzed in blood samples. One interesting result was an increase of almost 20% in levels of the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the group that received taurine, compared with a decrease of 3.5%...

Researchers in the U.K. have developed a way to reverse the aging process in skin cells, turning back the biological clock by about 30 years. De-aging cells has become increasingly common in the last decade, with researchers reprogramming multiple mouse, rat and human cell types. But never before have cells been de-aged by so many years and still retained their specific type and function. The method, developed by Diljeet Gill, a postdoctoral candidate at the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, and his colleagues, was published April 8 in the journal eLife, and has been dubbed "maturation phase transient reprogramming." The researchers...

The population on Earth is increasingly growing and people are expected to live longer in the future. Thus, better and more reliable therapies to treat human diseases such as Alzheimer's and cardiovascular diseases are crucial. To cope with the challenge of ensuring healthy aging, a group of international scientists investigated the potential of biosynthesising several polyamines and polyamines analogs with already known functionalities in treating and preventing age-related diseases. One of the most interesting molecules to study was spermidine, which is a natural product already present in people's blood and an inducer of autophagy that is an essential cellular process...

Cellular reprogramming can reverse the aging that leads to a decline in the activities and functions of mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs). This is something that scientists have known for a while. But what they had not figured out is which molecular mechanisms are responsible for this reversal. A study released today in STEM CELLS appears to have solved this mystery. It not only enhances the knowledge of MSC aging and associated diseases, but also provides insight into developing pharmacological strategies to reduce or reverse the aging process. The research team, made up of scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, relied...

The researchers found that a unique protocol of treatments with high-pressure oxygen in a pressure chamber can reverse two major processes associated with aging and its illnesses: the shortening of telomeres (protective regions located at both ends of every chromosome) and the accumulation of old and malfunctioning cells in the body...The clinical trial was conducted as part of a comprehensive Israeli research program that targets aging as a reversible condition.

Nicotinamide riboside (NR) is pretty amazing. It has already been shown in several studies to be effective in boosting metabolism.... As mice, like all mammals, age, the regenerative capacity of certain organs (such as the liver and kidneys) and muscles (including the heart) diminishes. Their ability to repair them following an injury is also affected. This leads to many of the disorders typical of aging. Under normal conditions, these stem cells, reacting to signals sent by the body, regenerate damaged organs by producing new specific cells. At least in young bodies. This is why the researchers wanted to "revitalize" stem...

There has been considerable interest in fisetin recently, especially for its potential as a senolytic, which clears away dysfunctional senescent cells that accumulate with aging. Researchers believe that fisetin may be useful in increasing the healthy period of life known as healthspan. What is Fisetin? Fisetin is a part of the flavonoid family of polyphenols. Fisetin acts as a pigment and influences the color of various fruits and vegetables. Senescent cells and senolytics As we grow older, we accumulate more and more damaged cells which cease dividing and enter a state known as senescence. Once they enter this state, they...

With its pudgy body, tired eyes and hair loss, the lower mouse could easily be the father of the sprightly and alert animal nestling alongside. But they are actually the same age, the result of extraordinary trials of drugs which are slowing down or even reversing the ageing process. Scientists now believe that ageing itself is responsible for many major conditions such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, arthritis, cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. And they think they have found a way to turn it off. Anti-ageing drugs - dubbed ‘senolytics’ - are currently being trialled in humans and unlike previous tests which...

An extraordinary new anti-ageing technique could see humans live to 150 years old and allow them to regrow their organs by 2020. Harvard Professor David Sinclair and researchers from the University of New South Wales developed the new process, which involves reprogramming cells. Dr Sinclair said the technique could allow people to regenerate organs, and even allow paralysis sufferers to move again, with human trials due within two years. The same researchers also found they could increase the lifespan of mice by ten per cent by giving them a vitamin B derivative pill. They also said the pill led to...

Brain health is the second most important component in maintaining a healthy lifestyle according to a 2014 AARP study. As people age they can experience a range of cognitive issues from decreased critical thinking to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers write about eight nutrients that may help keep your brain in good shape.

Researchers could be closing in on a "fountain of youth" drug that can delay the effects of aging and improve the health of older adults, a new study suggests. Seniors received a significant boost to their immune systems when given a drug that targets a genetic signaling pathway linked to aging and immune function, researchers with the drug maker Novartis report. The experimental medication, a version of the drug rapamycin, improved the seniors' immune response to a flu vaccine by 20 percent, researchers said in the current issue of Science Translational Medicine. The study is a "watershed" moment for research...

It's not just about anti-aging. "Longevity" is the new buzzword as Hollywood embraces all sorts of technology, from an altitude machine favored by tennis star Novak Djokovic to L.A.'s hot new treatment: the very deep freeze. This story first appeared in the Sept. 19 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. "I have no intention of dying," Sumner Redstone told THR in January. Redstone, now 91, has made no secret of his longevity regime. It begins with a breakfast of goji berries, "Green Machine" smoothies and tomato juice — followed by a fish dinner and a shot of vodka for its...

To date, we know of only two things that can reverse the effects of aging: caloric restriction and extensive exercise. But in a recent experiment, researchers applied a new compound to 2-year old mice, causing their muscles to regenerate to 6-month old levels. Incredibly, human trials may start next year. The new compound, nicotinamide mono nucleotide (NMN), worked surprisingly quickly when tested on mice. When administered early enough in the aging process, it was found to work within one week; the muscles of older 2-year old mice were "indistinguishable" from the younger 6-month old animals. It improved muscle wastage, restored...

HASTINGS-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. — THIS fall Google announced that it would venture into territory far removed from Internet search. Through a new company, Calico, it will be “tackling” the “challenge” of aging. (snip) Even if anti-aging research could give us radically longer lives someday, though, should we even be seeking them? Regardless of what science makes possible, or what individual people want, aging is a public issue with social consequences, and these must be thought through. (snip) We may properly hope that scientific advances help ensure, with ever greater reliability, that young people manage to become old people. We are not,...

The compound resveratrol, believed to benefit longevity and heart health for its antioxidant properties, seemed to undermine the cardiovascular benefits of exercise in a small study. When some plants (like grape vines) are under stress, they produce a polyphenol known as resveratrol, which you may have heard of as the "anti-aging" chemical. Resveratrol has been shown to improve cardiovascular performance and extend the lives of non-mammals and mice -- specifically improving the lipid profiles and longevity of mice who ate a lot of fat. We believe that's because of its work as an antioxidant. The mice in that study got...

The new drugs are synthetic versions of resveratrol which is found in red wine and is believed to have an anti-ageing effect as it boosts activity of a protein called SIRT1. Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has been testing the medications on patients suffering with medical conditions including cancer, diabetes and heart disease. The work proves that a single anti-ageing enzyme in the body can be targeted, with the potential to prevent age-related diseases and extend lifespans. The most common naturally-occurring activator is resveratrol, which is found in small quantities in red wine, but synthetic activators with much stronger activity are already...

The onset of wrinkles, muscle wasting and cataracts has been delayed and even eliminated in mice, say researchers in the US.It was done by "flushing out" retired cells that had stopped dividing. They accumulate naturally with age. The scientists believe their findings could eventually "really have an impact" in the care of the elderly. Experts said the results were "fascinating", but should be taken with a bit of caution. The study, published in Nature, focused on what are known as "senescent cells". They stop dividing into new cells and have an important role in preventing tumours from progressing. These cells...

Baby boomers face of what used to be called the retirement age are offering 70 million members strong market for the legions of companies, entrepreneurs and plastic surgeons willing to take advantage of their “forever young” mode think, either through wrinkle creams, face lifts or training schemes. That adds to the potential bonanza. Market research firm Global Industry Analysts projects that fuel the boom in consumer base, “seeking to keep the dreaded signs of aging at bay,” will drive the U.S. market anti-aging products for about $ 80 million today to more than $ 114 billion by 2015. The baby...