Aging slowed in mice with supplement mix
Aging slowed in mice with supplement mix - Health - CBC News
might be possible to cure aging, say scientists who've found that lab mice get smarter and more agile as they age when fed a mix of nutritional supplements.
The diet and supplement plan isn't a conventional "cure." But the animal results at McMaster University in Hamilton illustrate how investigators aim to slow down the aging process to avoid the physical and mental declines that often come as more candles are added to the birthday cake.
At Prof. David Rollo's biology laboratory, mice that ate bagel bits soaked in a cocktail of supplements such as B vitamins, vitamin D, ginseng and garlic lived longer than those not taking the special mice chow.
"If you put them on a supplement, they actually learn better as they age," Rollo said. "They still don't live much longer but their brain function is remarkable."
The mice also acted like restless teenagers showing "spontaneous motor function" that fades in humans in a universal sign of aging, Rollo added.
The supplemented mice maintained their memory function in tests, such as remembering a familiar object. Their learning abilities were like those of very young mice, he said. Mice of the same age that were not supplemented behaved in lab tests like a frail 80-year-old woman.
Investigators turned to the cocktail of ingredients based on their suspected ability to offset five key mechanisms involved in aging.
Available at health food stores
The researchers have also doubled the lifespan of crickets using a combination of dietary restriction and supplements, and other investigators have found similar results in other animal models.
Most of the supplements Rollo and his team use are sold at health food stores. But he cautioned they are not something to be toyed with because the cocktail hasn't been tested to see if it is safe for people.
The supplements cross the blood-brain barrier to affect the mitochondria "furnaces" in the brain in a fundamental way, he noted.
Scientists still don't how the supplements actually work and interact in the body.
Live to 1,000?
Like Rollo, British gerontologist Aubrey de Grey of Cambridge is optimistic about the potential to extend human life span, but he takes a different approach. He's not trying to eliminate aging but to extend how long people can be fit and healthy.
"We know that with simple man-made machines like cars and airplanes, we don't have a limit," said de Grey said, who acknowledged that humans are more complicated.
Cocktail ingredients
Ingredient Mouse dose (mg/day/100 mice)
Vitamin B1 30.49
Ginko biloba 18.29
Vitamin B3 (niacin) 30.49
Ginseng 631.1
Vitamin B6 60.98
Green tea extract 487.8
Vitamin B12 0.18
L-Glutathione 30.49
Vitamin C 350.61
Magnesium 45.73
Vitamin D 0.02
Manganese 19.05
Acetyl L-carnitine 146.45
Melatonin 0.73
Alpha-lipoic acid 182.93
N-acetyl cysteine 304.88
Acetylsalicylic acid 132.11
Potassium 18.11
Beta carotene 21.95
Rutin 304.88
Bioflavonoids 792.68
Selenium 0.05
Chromium picolinate 0.30
Vitamin E 326.83
Folic acid 0.61
Cod liver oil (Omega 3) 1,219.51
Garlic 3.81
Coenzyme Q10 60.98
Ginger root extract 600.37
Flax seed oil 1,219.51
Aging slowed in mice with supplement mix - Health - CBC News
might be possible to cure aging, say scientists who've found that lab mice get smarter and more agile as they age when fed a mix of nutritional supplements.
The diet and supplement plan isn't a conventional "cure." But the animal results at McMaster University in Hamilton illustrate how investigators aim to slow down the aging process to avoid the physical and mental declines that often come as more candles are added to the birthday cake.
At Prof. David Rollo's biology laboratory, mice that ate bagel bits soaked in a cocktail of supplements such as B vitamins, vitamin D, ginseng and garlic lived longer than those not taking the special mice chow.
"If you put them on a supplement, they actually learn better as they age," Rollo said. "They still don't live much longer but their brain function is remarkable."
The mice also acted like restless teenagers showing "spontaneous motor function" that fades in humans in a universal sign of aging, Rollo added.
The supplemented mice maintained their memory function in tests, such as remembering a familiar object. Their learning abilities were like those of very young mice, he said. Mice of the same age that were not supplemented behaved in lab tests like a frail 80-year-old woman.
Investigators turned to the cocktail of ingredients based on their suspected ability to offset five key mechanisms involved in aging.
Available at health food stores
The researchers have also doubled the lifespan of crickets using a combination of dietary restriction and supplements, and other investigators have found similar results in other animal models.
Most of the supplements Rollo and his team use are sold at health food stores. But he cautioned they are not something to be toyed with because the cocktail hasn't been tested to see if it is safe for people.
The supplements cross the blood-brain barrier to affect the mitochondria "furnaces" in the brain in a fundamental way, he noted.
Scientists still don't how the supplements actually work and interact in the body.
Live to 1,000?
Like Rollo, British gerontologist Aubrey de Grey of Cambridge is optimistic about the potential to extend human life span, but he takes a different approach. He's not trying to eliminate aging but to extend how long people can be fit and healthy.
"We know that with simple man-made machines like cars and airplanes, we don't have a limit," said de Grey said, who acknowledged that humans are more complicated.
Cocktail ingredients
Ingredient Mouse dose (mg/day/100 mice)
Vitamin B1 30.49
Ginko biloba 18.29
Vitamin B3 (niacin) 30.49
Ginseng 631.1
Vitamin B6 60.98
Green tea extract 487.8
Vitamin B12 0.18
L-Glutathione 30.49
Vitamin C 350.61
Magnesium 45.73
Vitamin D 0.02
Manganese 19.05
Acetyl L-carnitine 146.45
Melatonin 0.73
Alpha-lipoic acid 182.93
N-acetyl cysteine 304.88
Acetylsalicylic acid 132.11
Potassium 18.11
Beta carotene 21.95
Rutin 304.88
Bioflavonoids 792.68
Selenium 0.05
Chromium picolinate 0.30
Vitamin E 326.83
Folic acid 0.61
Cod liver oil (Omega 3) 1,219.51
Garlic 3.81
Coenzyme Q10 60.98
Ginger root extract 600.37
Flax seed oil 1,219.51
