A recent study presented the case for the cognitive benefits of injecting human umbilical cord plasma in elderly mice. Promising results add to library of possibilities hidden within the human DNA in the quest to reverse aging.
Cord Blood To Reverse Aging
A recent report about the results of a study showing how the injection of young human plasma cells into white mice, whose ages would be equivalent to 70 human years, improved their overall memory and cognitive functions.
On the other hand, mice that were injected with older human plasma cells showed no significant improvements in performance.
Researchers of the study even pinpointed the specific protein that is responsible for the increased performance: tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 2 (TIMP2), a protein that improves brain function in the very areas affected by Alzheimer's disease.
Though researchers of the study acknowledge that a human test that would possibly yield the same promising results could take years to produce, still, this is yet another progress in the human quest to reverse aging with the help of the very building blocks of human life.
DNA And Aging
Apart from looking at the outside forces that affect aging such as stress, science is also trying to unlock the fountain of youth that's hidden inside the human body. As such, they are slowly uncovering the potentials of using the very cells in the human body to enhance the aging process, or even to reverse aging.
In some studies, science shows that there are just some people who are fortunate enough to have genes that allow them to age a little more gracefully than the rest.
For instance, researchers have found a specific gene, melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R), that is apparently responsible for giving certain individuals the appearance of looking about two years younger than they truly are.
Though little is still known about the very function and implications of MC1R, yet another analysis, done with the help of a genetic database, showed that 10 percent of white Americans and 20 percent of black Americans carried a specific group of genes responsible for making them look a staggering 10 years younger than they actually are.
What researchers found out was that apart from the extra protection that black Americans get from skin pigmentation, their cells also had a special spongy material between their skin cells called extracellular matrix that maintained better cellular structure.
While evidence shows that perhaps some people are simply better equipped for aging, a study has also presented the possibility of reversing age-related disorders by throwing out aged cells that no longer divide and function as fully as they should, thereby keeping only the younger, functioning cells.
While studies of human cells and DNA are underway in the journey to possibly unlocking the fountain of youth, blaming genetics or simply waiting for the perfect anti-aging pill may not really help healthy and proper aging.
Proper physical and even mental care are important factors in keeping the body young and healthy.
