Researchers in Japan say they may have taken a step towards increasing human life expectancy because trials of a vaccine against cells that contribute to aging have been successful.
In laboratory tests , a drug that binds to a protein in older cells - those that have naturally stopped them from reproducing - slowed the weakening of the body in older mice, said researchers from Tokyo's Juntendo University.
Cells are considered old when they stop duplicating themselves, often in response to natural damage to their DNA. Cellular aging is thought to contribute to the aging process itself, as well as to age-related diseases such as Alzheimer's and some cancers.
The vaccine also successfully affected old cells in adipose tissue and blood vessels, suggesting that it may have a positive effect on other medical conditions associated with aging.
"We can expect that (the vaccine) will be applied to treat narrowing of blood vessels, diabetes and other diseases related to aging," Professor Juntendo Toru Minamino told the Japanese news agency Jiji.
"It is still early to know how long life can be extended and whether there is a limit or not," Dr. told Euronews Next. Salvador Macip, head of the Laboratory of Cancer and Aging Mechanisms at the University of Leicester. "[However] the field of anti-aging research is advancing very fast. "In the last decade, there have been many key discoveries."
"The person who will take the first anti-aging pill is probably already born."
