Young Blood Reverses Signs of Aging in Mice

A recent study shows that the infusion of young blood into mice can help rejuvenate brain tissue, according to research conducted by the Stanford University School of Medicine.  

The current research is an extension of a 2011 paper written by Tony Wyss-Corary and a team of researchers. They discovered that certain parts of brain regions in old mice can cause new nerve cells when they are exposed to young blood.

For the study, researchers conducted a series of experiments on mice called parabionts. All of the mice had their circulatory systems stitched together, making them function like conjoined twins.

"Exposing young mice to old recharges their brain and now they remember better and behave in many ways like younger mice,"  Wyss-Coray said, via USA Today. 

"Their fur looks better, they groom better, they seem to do overall better," Wyss-Coray added. "To us it's just so surprising, that something so simple has dramatic effects on every tissue in the body that's been looked at."

Two Harvard papers that will be released later in the week tested a protein found in abundance in the blood of the younger mice, known as GDF11. Human blood also carries the same protein.

Older mice given the GDF11 were able to grow new blood and brain cells, leading to better overall function of the organs.

The second study, led by stem-cell biologist Amy Wagers, shows that boosting GDF11 in the blood of older mice also made them more agile and quicker to recover from injury. However, at this time, researchers are uncertain how much GDF11 would be needed to show a similar effect in humans.

"There are factors present in blood from young mice that can recharge an old mouse's brain so that it functions more like a younger one," Wyss-Coray said in a news release. "We're working intensively to find out what those factors might be and from exactly which tissues they originate."

"We don't know yet if this will work in humans," he added.

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the journal Science and Nature Medicine.