An arthritis drug may hold the key to reversing aging, researchers say.
Scientists have known for a number of years that it is possible to renew old blood from patients by infusing it with the blood of younger and healthier people, but studies are still in the early stages.
Researchers at Columbia University in New York may have found a way to teach a person’s body to replenish its old blood without taking it from others.
Anakinra, sold under the brand name Kineret and used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, may have the power to reverse some parts of the aging process of the hematopoietic system that produces our blood.
Anakinra, an arthritis drug, can block blood loss by stopping inflammation of the bone marrow, where blood is produced
Stem cells, which live in the bone marrow, are responsible for blood formation in our body.
As we age, hematopoietic stem cells make fewer red blood cells and immune cells, weakening the immune system, which can lead to conditions such as anemia and even cancer.
A Columbia University study published in the journal Nature Cell Biology found that as mice age, the hematopoietic system becomes inflamed to the point of deterioration, causing blood stem cells to stop functioning properly.
The length of the genes determines how long you live
READ MORE: A major genetic analysis of humans, rodents and fish found that the length of their DNA is directly related to their biological age.
Weakening bone marrow is a major cause of aging, but anakinra can block it by stopping inflammation in the first place.
The research team is investigating whether this can also apply to humans and hopes to start clinical trials.
Emmanuelle Passegué, director of the Columbia Stem Cell Initiative and lead author of the study, said: “Treating older patients with anti-inflammatory drugs that block IL-1B function should help maintain healthier blood production.”
Anakinra is given to patients with moderate to severe arthritis that has not improved with other treatments.
For arthritis, it is given as a daily injection. Rheumatoid arthritis, the most common form of arthritis, affects approximately 1.3 million people in the United States. In the UK, more than 430,000 people have it.
Anti-aging biotechnology has become a popular investment avenue for billionaires in recent years, and some believe that people can hope to live as long as 150.
Medical advances over the past century have allowed people in prosperous countries to live well into their 80s, almost double the average life expectancy of the early 20th century.
Tech mogul Bryan Johnson, 45, spends $2 million a year on a team of more than 30 doctors and medical experts to monitor and test nearly all of his organs. Her goal is to transform his body into that of an 18-year-old.
And the founder and billionaire behind Coinbase, an American cryptocurrency company, is trying to cure aging and is using machine learning to find it.
Billionaires Jeff Bezos and Yuri Milner are also funding a “rejuvenation” biotech startup with the goal of finding a way to reverse aging.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
