You May Soon Be Able To Reverse Signs Of Aging Like Wrinkles And Hair Loss, As Per New Study

For most people, one of the big worries about getting old is that you don¡¯t look the same anymore. Health issues aside, your wrinkles and bald spots are what others can see. Now, a team of researchers may have figured out how to reverse that.

Reuters

Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham have had quite an interesting breakthrough. While experimenting with mice, they believe they¡¯ve found a way to reverse the processes of skin wrinkling and hair loss, both signs of aging. They did this by editing the genes of the mice to reverse an artificially induced aging process.

¡°Decline in mitochondrial DNA content and mitochondrial function has been observed in aging humans,¡± Keshav Singh, a professor of Genetics at Alabama, told Digital Trends. ¡°We created a mouse to mimic those conditions to show that decline in mitochondrial function leads to development of wrinkles and loss of hair. The main finding is that by restoring mitochondrial function, we can reverse skin wrinkles to normal healthy skin and also regain hair growth.¡±

For the study, the scientists artificially depleted the mitochondrial DNA of their test mice over two months, basically eliminating their ability to convert the energy from food into a usable fuel source for their cells. As a result, the mice developed wrinkled skin and visible hair loss. Once their depletion process was reversed by turning off the gene they had edited, the artificial aging process also rolled back. At the end of the restoration, the renewed mice were indistinguishable from the healthy control group.

Because of this, the researchers believe this method could be applied to humans in some way in the future. We also experience a decline in mitochondrial function as we age, causing not just wrinkles and hair loss but also encouraging other disorders like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, neurological disorders, and certain cancers.

If successful, the ¡°cure¡± these scientists develop could not only keep you looking younger, but could also keep you significantly healthier in your old age.