'Blood exchange' to continue life? University of California: Replacement of young blood for 6 months, age regression 25%

Throughout the ages, longevity and eternal youth have always been people's good wishes. In the East, there are stories of "eating Tang monk's meat can make you live forever" and human blood steamed buns to prolong life. In Europe, there have been legends that vampires drink human blood to stay young forever.

In the past, people tended to think that this was just a fairy tale, and it was not believed. But in fact, scientists have long been inspired by it, using modern science and technology, step by step to find the youth code in the blood.

1. "Exchange" 6 months, 20 years younger

As early as 2005, Professor Irina Conboy from the University of California published an article in the international top journal "Nature", saying that by suturing the blood circulatory systems of young and old mice, it was observed that the muscles of old mice after sharing young blood, Age indicators such as , cells and hair were significantly reversed, and exercise abilities such as grip strength and pace were also enhanced. In contrast, young mice showed signs of aging, such as graying of their hair.

After the release of the experiment, it caused heated discussions in the field of anti-aging, and set off a boom in young blood research, but most of these experiments were conducted on animals. For example, in 2015, Stanford scientist Weskley found that the brains of old mice after exchange blood established more neural connections, and their memory abilities such as learning mazes far exceeded those of the untreated control group.

Until the end of August this year, after 17 years of scientific research, Professor Conboy's team carried out the world's first human clinical experiment of "replacement of young blood", which was published in the authoritative aging journal "Geroscience".

The experiment recruited 6 elderly people (average age 69.3 years old) and 2 middle-aged people (average age 49 years old), according to the principle of mouse exchange transfusion experiment, using "saline solution + albumin" to dilute and replace the plasma, the cycle is Once a month.

After 6 months, the researchers used a more advanced electrochemical detector to conduct long-term high-precision detection on the volunteers participating in the exchange blood, and found that the DNA damage markers in their bodies, such as 8-OHdG, became more "younger". . "The aging indicators of these elderly people are more similar to those 20 years younger." Professor Conboy said in shock.

More importantly, the researchers found that the number of major immune cells including T cells and B cells in the elderly after "exchange blood" increased significantly, and the composition and quality of immune cells were also more youthful, which means that the elderly subjects tested. immune function improved.

2. The rich have secretly tasted the "forbidden fruit", and the life of science and technology will come true?

Once the human clinical trial of the exchange transfusion therapy was released, it attracted the attention of many authoritative scholars in the circle. Even Professor Sinclair of Harvard University, who is known as the "Godfather of Anti-aging", also praised the words on his personal social platform, "This therapy is used in clinical practice. Shows a lasting anti-aging effect!"

In fact, when the "exchange blood" was still in the stage of animal experiments, many rich people had already heard the news. Silicon Valley investment tycoon Peter Thiel once joined related projects and spent $15,000 a month to replace the fresh blood of young people. Named "Silicon Valley Vampire".

Six years ago, Ambrosia, a biotechnology company in the United States, publicly recruited middle-aged and elderly volunteers over the age of 35 in the name of scientific research, and provided them with the blood of young people aged 16-25 at a high price of US$8,500 per liter. However, the project was urgently halted by the FDA in 2019 due to ethical risks.

According to a research report on "The Hallmarks of Aging - Signs of Aging" in the international top journal "Cell", the essence of "transfusion youth" is to improve "biological signs of aging" such as cell and protein homeostasis, and to achieve regulation of the aging process.

As a colleague of Professor Conboy's circle, Professor Sinclair has set his sights on another classic sign of aging - mitochondria. Mitochondria are the "energy factories" of cells, responsible for supplying more than 95% of the body's energy. It can be said that mitochondria are to the human body what an engine is to a car. Similar to engine aging, with age, the number and quality of mitochondria will decline year by year, accelerating the aging of the body.

In 2012, Professor Sinclair first discovered the "Pavilo pro" class of anti-aging molecules in the Harvard laboratory. Through the mitolive mechanism, it targets and empowers mitochondria to achieve a double-effect increase in the number and quality of mitochondria, which is comparable to the aging of replacing a car. engine. At present, this type of molecule has been clinically confirmed by the University of Tokyo and the University of Washington, and it has been confirmed that it has a positive intervention effect on aging indicators such as muscle and endurance in aged organisms.

Compared with the rather primitive method of "exchange blood", the "Paiweiluo pro" class of anti-aging molecules reaches the bottom of biological cells, and has become a "sweet pastry" in the eyes of the Silicon Valley rich after its advent. Nowadays, with the continuous iteration of technology, the cost of "Paiweiluo pro" anti-aging agents has dropped by more than 95%. After being introduced to the mainland through JD.com, it has also become a "guest of honor" for ordinary groups. Most of the comments from 4w+ point to improved energy and deeper sleep. There are rumors from the outside world that the 94-year-old Li Chaoren is still able to keep his sword alive and traverse the sea of ​​commerce, or it may be related to his perennial exposure to this type of anti-aging technology.

3. Life science is changing with each passing day, and the future can be expected in the century-old era

From the heroes in Norse mythology bathed in dragon blood, making their bodies invulnerable, to the bloodletting therapy that has been used for thousands of years, the unique cultural tradition of blood worship has made the "exchange" still popular today.

But looking at the present, the development of life science and technology has already changed with each passing day. Israel's Shai Efrati team used 3-month O2ark hyperbaric oxygen therapy to help 65-year-old healthy elderly reduce 37% of old cells; Cambridge University in the United Kingdom used "cell programming" technology to make 53-year-old female cells 30 years younger; Yale team injected special OrganEx liquid , to help dead pig liver cells re-proliferate, restart metabolism, and realize the rebirth of physiological significance.

In a civilized society, "exchange blood" may be out of time, but with the help of modern technologies such as gene editing and "Paiweiluo pro" anti-aging elements, we have every reason to believe that "immortals caress my top and endure longevity". A long-cherished wish, perhaps in our lifetime can be realized.

references:

[1] Conboy, I. M., Conboy, M. J., Wagers, A. J., Girma, E. R., Weissman, I. L., & Rando, T. A. (2005). Rejuvenation of aged progenitor cells by exposure to a young systemic environment. Nature, 433(7027), 760–764.

[2] Mehdipour, M., Mehdipour, T., Skinner, C. M., Wong, N., Liu, C., Chen, C. C., Jeon, O. H., Zuo, Y., Conboy, M. J., & Conboy, I. M. (2020). Plasma dilution improves cognition and attenuates neuroinflammation in old mice. GeroScience, 43(1), 1–18.

[3] Horowitz, A. M., Fan, X., Bieri, G., Smith, L. K., Sanchez-Diaz, C. I., Schroer, A. B., Gontier, G., Casaletto, K. B., Kramer, J. H., Williams, K. E., & Villeda, S. A. (2020). Blood factors transfer beneficial effects of exercise on neurogenesis and cognition to the aged brain. Science, 369(6500), 167–173.