'Zombie cells' buildup in your body may play role in aging
Call them zombie cells—they refuse to die.As they build up in your body, studies suggest, they promote aging and the conditions that come with it like osteoporosis and Alzheimer's disease. Researchers are studying drugs that can kill zombie cells and possibly treat the problems they bring.
Basically the goal is to fight aging itself, which hopefully will in turn delay the appearance of age-related disease and disabilities as a group, says geriatrics specialist Dr. James Kirkland of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. That's in contrast to playing a "whack-a-mole game" of treating one disease only to see another spring up, he said.......
Mayo Clinic老年病学研究员,Mayo Clinic的 Kogod Center on Aging的负责人James Kirkland, M.D., Ph.D., (Dr. Kirkland是本文的资深作者)表示:“我们可以肯定地说,衰老细胞会导致幼鼠出现健康问题,包括导致身体功能障碍和降低存活率,而使用senolytics可以明显改善许多自然衰老的动物的健康和寿命。”
Mayo Clinic诊所发现了第一种senolytic药物,这是一些能清除体内衰老细胞的化合物。 本研究中使用的senolytics为达沙替尼(可以促进癌细胞死亡)和槲皮素(一种在苹果和其它食物中发现的抗氧化剂)的鸡尾酒(混合物)。 实际上,senolytics通过使衰老细胞“自我毁灭”而起作用,它不会损害附近和身体其它部位的健康细胞。