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Posted on Feb 21, 2005, 6 a.m.
By Bill Freeman
Researchers at Stanford University have found that an infusion of young blood has significant benefits. It's not a figure of speech. The scientists linked the blood supply of young mice to old mice, and what they found will have an impact on stem-cell research as well as the scientific study of aging: The young blood activated stem cells in the old muscles that allowed them to recover from injury like a spring chicken.
Researchers at Stanford University have found that an infusion of young blood has significant benefits.
It's not a figure of speech. The scientists linked the blood supply of young mice to old mice, and what they found will have an impact on stem-cell research as well as the scientific study of aging: The young blood activated stem cells in the old muscles that allowed them to recover from injury like a spring chicken.
Longevity enthusiasts shouldn't get too excited just yet. Hooking a young human's blood supply up to an old person would throw both immune systems into chaos (the mice were modified to be genetically identical). But the results, published in the Feb. 17 issue of Nature, are exciting for stem-cell researchers and tissue-regeneration scientists looking for therapies in everything from elderly care to spinal-cord injury.
"It's not so much about making people live longer," said Dr. Thomas Rando, associate professor of neurology at Stanford University School of Medicine. "But if some older person gets a broken bone or skin wound, maybe we could improve their recovery rate. Maybe there's a chance to enhance the potential of old tissues."
If you're thinking a blood transfusion will offer the same effects, think again. The old mice shared their younger counterparts' blood supply for six weeks.
It's not a figure of speech. The scientists linked the blood supply of young mice to old mice, and what they found will have an impact on stem-cell research as well as the scientific study of aging: The young blood activated stem cells in the old muscles that allowed them to recover from injury like a spring chicken.
Longevity enthusiasts shouldn't get too excited just yet. Hooking a young human's blood supply up to an old person would throw both immune systems into chaos (the mice were modified to be genetically identical). But the results, published in the Feb. 17 issue of Nature, are exciting for stem-cell researchers and tissue-regeneration scientists looking for therapies in everything from elderly care to spinal-cord injury.
"It's not so much about making people live longer," said Dr. Thomas Rando, associate professor of neurology at Stanford University School of Medicine. "But if some older person gets a broken bone or skin wound, maybe we could improve their recovery rate. Maybe there's a chance to enhance the potential of old tissues."
If you're thinking a blood transfusion will offer the same effects, think again. The old mice shared their younger counterparts' blood supply for six weeks.
