Are You Ready to Slow Down the Clock?
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Photo by Artem Verbo
In a recent trial conducted in California, researchers investigated the effects that a recombinant human growth hormone had on the immune systems of 9 healthy men in their 50’s and 60’s. The hormone was administered with a steroid and a diabetes medication to counteract potential negative effects on thymus regeneration. The results were fascinating! Over the course of one year, on average the trial members shed 2.5 years off of their ‘biological age’ (measured by marks on their genomes).
During the treatment period, blood samples and MRI’s showed an increase in blood-cell count and areas of the thymus previously accumulated with fat had been replaced with regenerated thymus tissue. The thymus is responsible for producing T cells (a critical part of the immune system). It’s hoped that this newly acquired information regarding the effects these three drugs have on the body could be beneficial for people with under-active immune systems, the elderly, and research into infectious diseases, cancer, and aging in general.