‘Supermodel granny’ mice could be key to slow human aging

[KARAH RUCKER]

SCIENTISTS MAY HAVE FOUND AN ANSWER TO AGING.

WHILE TESTING A NEW DRUG ON MICE – THEY FOUND IT INCREASED THEIR LIFESPANS BY UP TO 25 PERCENT.

THEY DECIDED TO CALL THE MICE “SUPERMODEL GRANNIES” BECAUSE OF THEIR YOUTHFUL APPEARANCE… BUT THEY ALSO BECOME OVERALL HEALTHIER AND STRONGER THAN THE MICE THAT DIDN’T GET THE DRUG – AND THEY DEVELOPED FEWER CANCERS.

RESEARCHERS SAY MICE THAT WERE GIVEN THE DRUG LIVED FOR AN AVERAGE OF 155 WEEKS – COMPARED TO THE 120-WEEK LIFESPAN OF THE OTHER MICE.

THEY SAY THIS POINTS TO THE PROSPECT THE DRUG COULD EXTEND HEALTHY AGING IN HUMANS – NOT ONLY REDUCING THE SIGNS OF AGING, BUT REDUCING THE FRAILTY OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH IT, AS WELL.

NOT ONLY DID THE DRUG REDUCE CANCER DEATHS IN THE MICE – IT ALSO REDUCED MANY DISEASES CAUSED BY CHRONIC INFLAMMATION AND POOR METABOLISM – WHICH ARE COMMON SIGNS OF AGING.

SCIENTISTS AT THE IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON FOUND SWITCHING OFF A PROTEIN CALLED I-L-11 WAS THE KEY.

I-L-11 LEVELS GO UP AS WE GET OLDER.

THEY TESTED THE IMPACT OF I-L-11 BY CREATING MICE THAT HAD THE PROTEIN DELETED FROM THEIR GENES.

THEY FOUND THAT EXTENDED THEIR LIVES BY AN AVERAGE OF 20 PERCENT.

THEY ALSO TESTED AN I-L-11-ANTIBODY DRUG ON MICE THAT WERE 75 WEEKS OLD – WHICH EQUATES TO 55 YEARS OLD IN HUMANS.

THEY FOUND THE LIFESPANS OF THOSE MICE WENT UP BY AS MUCH AS 25 PERCENT.

THE DRUG IS ALREADY BEING TESTED IN CERTAIN PEOPLE – BUT IT’S STILL NOT KNOWN WHAT EFFECT IT’LL HAVE.