4 replies to this topic

[Shoe]

Article from physorg.com:

As people age, their cells become less efficient at getting rid of damaged protein — resulting in a buildup of toxic material that is especially pronounced in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Now, for the first time, scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have prevented this age-related decline in an entire organ — the liver — and shown that, as a result, the livers of older animals functioned as well as they did when the animals were much younger. Published in the online edition of Nature Medicine, these findings suggest that therapies for boosting protein clearance might help stave off some of the declines in function that accompany old age. The study's senior author was Dr. Ana Maria Cuervo, associate professor in the departments of developmental & molecular biology, medicine and anatomy & structural biology at Einstein.

ETA: Damn, the thread title got messed up. It's supposed to say: In scientific first, researchers correct decline in organ function associated with old age

Edited by maestro949, 12 August 2008 - 10:42 AM.

[Lazarus Long]

Coincidentally I posted a different reference to the same study here before I saw your thread, because I thought the relationship of the two separate studies together merits some attention.

This may also be a real contender for the Methuselah Mouse prize.

[Shoe]

This may also be a real contender for the Methuselah Mouse prize.

Indeed. And thanks for correcting the title.

It would be nice if they could find a way to enhance the recycling of the proteins in question without having to insert a new gene.

[Lazarus Long]

It would be nice if they could find a way to enhance the recycling of the proteins in question without having to insert a new gene.

I believe the process will reveal the specific proteins involved over time and that in turn will lead to new synthetic alternatives that mimic what the genes are doing.

[nanostuff]

It would be nice if they could find a way to enhance the recycling of the proteins in question without having to insert a new gene.

I don't see why. Gene therapy isn't the nightmare it once used to be. By the time this therapy is available this will only be more true of delivery methods.