Apple peel extract helps reverse ageing
We're beginning to understand the causes of ageing and how to reverse the process, thanks to apples. A team has found that a combination of dasatinib – a leukaemia drug – and quercetin – an extract from apple peel – can make elderly mice live 36% longer. These drugs were chosen for their ability to selectively kill so-called senescent cells. These abnormal cells are in the process of breaking down, but they resist dying. They usually start appearing in the human body in our 60s, although they can arise much earlier in people who are obese or experience a chronic disease. Some have suggested that these cells kick the ageing process into action. Now James Kirkland of the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and his colleagues have shown that this does seem to be the case. When they injected small numbers of senescent cells into young, 6-month-old mice, their speed, endurance and strength fell by 20-50% within a few weeks, sinking to the level of a typical elderly, 2-year-old mouse. ...