Key points from article :
Surgically attaching old mice to young mice for 3 months turns back the biological age and extends lifespan of older individuals.
Parabiosis is a procedure that involves sewing old and young mice together so their blood flows into each other’s bodies.
Old mice (age, 20 months) joined to the young mice (age, 3 months) ended up living 6 weeks longer, a lifespan extension of ~5%.
Straight after detachment and even two months later, old mice appeared up to 30% younger.
Displayed altered gene expressions, including higher expression of metabolism genes and reduced expression of inflammation genes.
“If you could improve human lifespan by 5%, that could mean an extra four or five years,” says James White, study researcher.
Smaller effect than that achieved by calorie restriction, which can make mice live up to 27% longer.
Reason for anti-ageing effects may be that the blood of young mice have rejuvenating properties, says White.
Another possibility is that the blood of the old mice gets filtered or diluted through the healthier kidneys and livers of the young mice.
Several groups are now trying to pinpoint the precise rejuvenating components in young blood so that they could potentially be made in a lab, without the need for blood donors.
Study by Duke University and Harvard University published in Nature Aging.
