The Mayo Clinic is in clinical trials to test a method that may protect against various aspects of aging. The protection comes in the form of senolytic drugs, which can boost a protein that protects older adults against a wide range of diseases associated with aging.
The studies have demonstrated that senolytic drugs plus quercitin help clear the bloodstream of senescent, or “zombie” cells, those that stop functioning and accumulate as we grow older. Zombie cells contribute to multiple diseases by releasing compounds that hasten the aging process, but clearing them from the bloodstream boosts a key protein (a-klotho) that offers protection against the same diseases.
Animal studies in mice have shown that decreasing a-klotho will shorten their lifespan, while increasing a-klotho can increase lifespan by as much as 30%.
Biologist Dr. Andrew Steele wrote about senolytic drugs along with other scientific advances in his first book, Ageless, about extending human life. He believes this new class of drugs is the first to tackle the actual aging process itself. “I can’t see a physical or biological reason why people couldn’t live to 200 – the challenge is whether we can develop the biomedical science to make it possible.”
When Dr. Steele writes about living an additional 100 years, he describes it as “healthspan” not lifespan, because he is talking about adding these years without the typical ailments of old age. He believes that a breakthrough in extending lifespan will happen within the next 10 years.
