Harvard Scientists Reverse Aging Symptoms in Mice

For centuries, man has sought to find eternal youth.  Although such a concept has remained a myth, for household rodents, that dream has come closer to reality.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School have been able to reverse symptoms of the aging process in mice. The scientists said they hope to apply this research to combat the symptoms of human aging.

The scientists, working at the Harvard-affiliated Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, did not simply stop or slow down the aging process. “Instead, we witnessed this dramatic reversal in the signs and symptoms of aging,” said the lead author, Ronald A. DePinho, a Medical School professor.

DePinho said that the mice’s worn-out organs were physically regenerated. That meant that shrunken brains increased in size, the neural stem cell reserves were replenished, and coat hair was restored to a healthy sheen. The mice even regained fertility.

Much of the genetic damage that causes aging occurs due to the erosion of the tips of chromosomes, called telomeres. The special enzyme telomerase can restore telomere function. The research team bred genetically modified mice with a telomerase gene that could be toggled on and off. When the gene was turned off, the mice aged rapidly. But when the team turned the gene back on, the aging process of the mice reversed.

“This is the first time that a very severely aged, degenerative state, equivalent to what you might see in somebody who’s in the eighth or ninth decade of life, has been reversed in an animal,” said DePinho.

DePinho said that although some on the research team speculated that replicating the study in humans could lead to an increased risk of cancer, out of all the mice tested, none developed any form of cancer.

With an increasing number of older Americans, DePinho said he thinks his research could lead to an increase in their productivity and health. While more research needs to be done, DePinho's study suggests that what was once thought impossible may not be that far from reality after all.