{"id":1237,"date":"2022-03-22T19:13:48","date_gmt":"2022-03-22T19:13:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linksus.net\/anti-aging-supplement-works-in-mice-maybe-humans-medical-news-today\/"},"modified":"2022-03-22T19:13:48","modified_gmt":"2022-03-22T19:13:48","slug":"anti-aging-supplement-works-in-mice-maybe-humans-medical-news-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/2022\/03\/22\/anti-aging-supplement-works-in-mice-maybe-humans-medical-news-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Anti-aging supplement works in mice, maybe humans – Medical News Today"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr. Rajagopal Viswanath Sekhar<\/a>, associate professor of medicine-endocrinology at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in Houston, is the senior author of a new study that suggests the health and function of the body\u2019s mitochondria can slow aging<\/a>.
Mitochondria<\/a> are present in nearly every cell in the human body. They play a critical role by providing the energy each cell needs to perform its job.<\/strong>
Dr. Sekhar told Medical News Today<\/em>,
\u201cHaving investigated aging for over 20 years, I am convinced that two fundamental defects contribute to the biological process of aging: [a] deficit of energy due to mitochondrial dysfunction, and an increase in oxidative stress, which harms mitochondria and other cellular components.\u201d
The study found that administering a supplement called GlyNAC to younger mice extended their life span by 24%.<\/strong>
GlyNAC is a mixture of an amino acid called glycine<\/a><\/hl-trusted-source> and the medication N-acetylcysteine (NAC)<\/a><\/hl-trusted-source>. Together, these serve as precursors for glutathione<\/a><\/hl-trusted-source>, an important natural antioxidant<\/a>.
Levels of glutathione normally decrease during aging. Experts link this deficit to increased oxidative stress<\/a><\/hl-trusted-source>, decreased mitochondrial function, inflammation<\/a>, loss of muscle strength, metabolic defects, difficulty clearing mitochondrial debris, poor nutrient sensing, gene damage, and cognitive decline. All of these are among the established \u201challmarks of aging<\/a><\/hl-trusted-source>.\u201d
In 2021<\/a><\/hl-trusted-source>, Dr. Sekhar and his colleagues first discovered that GlyNAC could correct the glutathione insufficiency that occurs with aging.
Given the difficulties observing the effect of GlyNAC over the long span of human life, the researchers turned to mice for their study. Glutathione levels in mice typically decrease at about 65 weeks in age.
The new study appears in the journal Nutrients<\/a><\/em>.
Dr. Sekhar explained to MNT<\/em> the central role of mitochondria:
\u201cThink of it this way \u2014 the mitochondria need oxygen to burn fat and sugar to make energy. Oxygen is provided to mitochondria by the combined action of the lungs, heart, blood, and the vascular system, and fat and sugar by the gut, liver, and pancreas working together.\u201d
\u201cThe ultimate goal of all these organs working together is to provide mitochondria with oxygen and fuel.\u201d
\u201cSimply put,\u201d said Dr. Sekhar, \u201cmitochondria could be the most important \u2018organ\u2019 hidden in plain sight.\u201d<\/strong>
When asked whether one could expect similar effects with humans, Dr. Sekhar answered, \u201cThat\u2019s the big question.\u201d
To partially answer it, Dr. Sekhar\u2019s team conducted a pair of short-term, limited human trials that supported GlyNAC\u2019s ability to improve aging hallmarks.
\u201cIn our pilot human trials,\u201d said Dr. Sekhar, \u201cGlyNAC improved both strength and cognition \u2014 these are areas of huge unmet need. Normal aging is associated with a decline in strength, exercise capacity, and gait speed, and GlyNAC improves these.\u201d
Yet he sounded a note of caution, \u201cIt is important to remember that cognition depends on a healthy brain, and normal aging is also associated with some cognitive decline.\u201d
Nonetheless, he said:
\u201cOur pilot human studies show that GlyNAC supplementation is able to improve cognition. We have also completed a study of cognition and brain health in normal aging in mice, and exciting results will be forthcoming. Overall, I am very interested in understanding and improving brain health in normal aging, mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer\u2019s disease, and more.\u201d
\u201cSimilarly,\u201d he concluded, \u201cdeclining muscle strength and physical function occur as we age, and GlyNAC studies are showing improvements in these declines.\u201d
\u201cThere is [a] growing interest in being able to improve both healthy aging and longer life, but this is not an easy task,\u201d Dr. Sekhar tells Baylor College of Medicine News<\/a><\/em>.
\u201cWe have investigated aging in mice and in human studies for 2 decades, and our studies show that GlyNAC supplementation successfully and consistently improves many age-related defects. It is exciting that something as simple as GlyNAC can improve several important defects in aging and also extend life.\u201d
BCM has patented GlyNAC and has thus far licensed it to Nestl\u00e9 Health Science for, among other products, its Celltrient Cellular Protect. It is of note that Nestl\u00e9 did not fund or participate in this study.
As part of our series addressing medical myths, we turn our attention to the many myths that surround the "inevitable" decline associated with aging.<\/a>
In this Special Feature, we cover how the immune system changes as we age. We also ask whether or not lifestyle factors can slow or reverse these\u2026<\/a>
Oxidative stress can damage cells and occurs when there is an excess of free radicals. The body produces free radicals during normal metabolic\u2026<\/a>
The DNA in our cells holds not only the key to life, but also the reason we age. With every cell division, chromosomes shorten and cause the cell to\u2026<\/a>
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OUR BRANDS<\/p>\n

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Dr. Rajagopal Viswanath Sekhar, associate professor of medicine-endocrinology at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in Houston, is the senior author of a new study that suggests the health and function of the body\u2019s mitochondria can slow aging.Mitochondria are present in nearly every cell in the human body. They play a critical role by providing the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":869,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1237"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/869"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1237"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1237\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}