Migrated Material

Summary: A new nanotechnology enables the selective targeting of senescent cells; in mice, it dramatically improves an age-related lung disease, and makes cancer chemotherapy safer and more effective. Now the scientists behind it have a startup and are headed toward human testing.

Michael Rae discusses the role of senescent cells in the brain during aging, and how eliminating those cells could prevent diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Alpha-synuclein aggregates are a key form of aging damage in the brain, linked to a spectrum of symptoms in Parkinson’s disease beyond the classic motor symptoms. The first amyloSENS-style immunotherapy to clear this pathology out of the brain was advanced into clinical trials by Austrian biotech firm AFFiRiS AG. Now two more such therapies have entered human testing. Although the trials are in their earliest stages, they bring the hope that this rejuvenation biotechnology will begin preventing and reversing Parkinson’s disease and less specific disorders of aging soon.

Question of the Month #11: Are Mitochondrial Mutations Really All That Important? Part of Michael Rae’s regular column from the Foundation’s newsletter.