The field of medicine is staring at a transformation after researchers have said that they have discovered a drug that could reverse the aging process. These researchers are from the Mayo Clinic that is located in Rochester, Minnesota. In a paper that was published on Monday in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, the scientists said that they had discovered a senolytic drug that could be ready for human trial soon. A director at the Kogod Center which is part of Mayo Clinic James Kirkland said that this field of medicine happens to be the most exciting at the moment. Mr. Kirkland is also the leading author of this article. He explained the process to journalists. The author mentioned that as people grow, they start accumulating senescent cells. For starters, these are cells that are shedding off from our bodies. As time goes by, these cells are known to affect tissues and organs in our bodies. The new senolytic drugs will be working by killing these senescent cells. However, caution has been taken meaning that the drug won’t affect the healthy cells. According to these researchers, the senescent cells are associated with a variety of age related illnesses such as blindness, osteoporosis and dementia as well as many types of cancers. At the same time, the cells are responsible for cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.
Mr. Kirkland said that the research had been made possible by the desire to help people suffering from age related illnesses. This new drug was identified two years ago by the collaboration of Mayo Clinic as well as the Scripps Research Institute. Mr. Kirkland was also part of this research team. However, this research was tried out on mice. In the research that was published in the Aging Cell journal, they noted that the new drug prolonged the healthy life of mice. Also, the drug helped alleviate frailty symptoms associated with the mice. This was followed by another study that was published in the same Aging Cell Journal. They discovered that a modified version of the earlier drug is responsible for an improved vascular health for the mice. Up to date, scientists have managed to develop over 14 senolytic drugs. However, more research and study is required before the research can be tried out in humans. The scientists say that the first human trial will involve investigating whether these drugs can be used in treating chronic illnesses.