Can Young Blood rejuvenate & reverse the effects of aging???

I certainly hope so. Can you imagine my excitement when I read this piece of news. This definitely deserve a slot in my blog …haha.  Ok it’s just in the research stage with mice. Apparently a protein in blood can repair age-related damage in the brains and muscles of old mice, returning them to a more youthful state. This protein, called growth differentiation factor 11 (GDF11), was found to have a restorative effect on mouse hearts. If it does a similar job in humans, it could have huge potential for treating a wide-range of age-related diseases.

Revitalised organs

In the brain study, the researchers injected 15-month-old mice – which is just over half their natural life span – with GDF11 daily for a month. The volume of the blood vessels in their brain increased by 50 per cent and the number of brain stem cells by 29 per cent. Both factors are known to improve brain function.

Muscle fibres in old mice injected with GDF11 doubled in size to match that of 2-month old mice. Images from an electron microscope show a striking reordering of muscle fibres from a disordered state to the highly regular appearance of young muscle.

In a separate study, they gave 18-month-old mice, the equivalent of mid-to-late middle age, eight injections of blood plasma taken from 3-month-old mice. Three weeks later, the brain cells of the older mice had 20 per cent more dendrites, the spines that relay messages between neurons, than mice given a placebo.
The mice performed about 50 per cent better on two standard tests of cognitive function. The studies show the old brain is plastic and can recover function, and that this can be done so simply, just by injecting 'young' blood plasma.  

Next stop humans?

Scientist predicted they could have more answers with regards to humans in the next three to five years. They are already planning a human trial. They want to inject blood plasma from young, healthy donors into people with Alzheimer's disease to see if it improves their brain function.