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Biological age is the objective assessment of the state of health of an individual. In theory, the biological age of a "normal" person – in appearance, performance, and functional ability – should be equivalent to his or her chronological age. So far, many scientists have striven to create systems to accurately determine people's biological age.
In a recent study in California, scientists discovered that it was possible to reverse the aging process.
The results were really surprising, but the scientists suggest that the results are preliminary because the trial was small and did not include a control arm.
The study involved nine healthy volunteers, who were administered a cocktail of three common drugs for one year – growth hormone and two antidiabetic drugs. When scientists analyzed the marks on a person's genome, they found that volunteers lost an average of 2.5 years from their biological age.
The marks on their genomes represent their epigenetic clock, as well as their immune system, improved despite the passing of time. In addition, the immune system of volunteers has also shown signs of rejuvenation.
The geneticist Steve Horvath of the University of California at Los Angeles, who performed the epigenetic analysis said: "I was expecting a slowing down of the clock, but not a reversal. It was a little futuristic.
Cell biologist Wolfgang Wagner of Aachen University in Germany said: "There may be an effect. But the results are not very solid because the study is very small and poorly controlled. "
The epigenetic clock is estimated by the body's epigenome – a record of the chemical changes made to an organism's DNA. As people get older, chemical adjustments or labels are added to their DNA, which changes throughout their lives. It is therefore possible to estimate the natural age of these people.
As part of this study, scientists wanted to see how growth hormone changes the thymus tissues, which is essential for effective immune function. Various studies have shown that growth hormone stimulates the regeneration of the thymus. But this harmone can also lead to diabetes. Thus, the study included in the treatment cocktail two widely used antidiabetic drugs, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and metformin.
Scientists have examined four different measures of the epigenetic clock to understand the different ages of each patient. They found that each volunteer was significantly reversed.
Horvath says: "That said that the biological effect of the treatment was robust. In addition, the effect persisted among the six participants who provided a final blood sample six months after the trial ended.
"Because we can track changes within each individual and the effect has been very strong in each of them, I am optimistic."
Scientists now hope to be able to test the same effects with more people, through a controlled study, and with different age groups, different ethnicities and women.
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