Category: Immunity

Key Points:  A woman’s reproductive lifespan is largely determined by her ovarian reserve — a finite number of oocytes that decreases with age. Declining oocyte numbers inevitably hampers fertility, which usually occurs during a woman’s late 30s. However, scientists from the Buck Institute in California believe that reproductive lifespan can be prolonged, which could also… Continue reading Buck Institute Study Shows Low NAD+ Drives Reproductive Aging and Hinders Fertility

Key Points: Research at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at the University of Lausanne shows that a molecule called urolithin A can make old blood stem cells better at making blood and immune systems. Blood stem cells from old people were given Urolithin A for three days, which made them better able to grow… Continue reading Urolithin A Can Revitalize Blood Stem Cells in People and Mice, Study Finds

Key Points:  While our immune system guards us from bacterial infection, it progressively falters with age. By the time we grow old, our immune system becomes more likely to evoke a life-threatening inflammatory response — sepsis — when threatened by bacterial invaders. However, researchers from Harvard and the Huntington Medical Research Institute may have found… Continue reading Harvard Scientists Find NAD⁺ Protects Against Life-Threatening Inflammation

Key Points:  The immune system gradually declines with age leading to chronic inflammation, a major driver of age-related diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes. Now researchers from the Radiation Effects Research Foundation in Japan have found that immune system aging may be accelerated by radiation from the atomic bomb Dr. Oppenheimer — the father… Continue reading Japanese Study Links Radiation with Accelerated Immune Aging: Nuclear Power’s Lasting Impact

Key Points: Can cells avoid aging, or is aging an unavoidable, programmed fate? A new study published in Nature shows that descendents from immune cells can be continuously harvested and transferred into new mice for over 10 years, which is about four times the lifespan of a mouse. Despite demonstrating the potential to expand the… Continue reading Immune Cells Can Avoid Aging to Produce Progeny 30,000x the Earth’s Volume

Key Points: C3G, a molecule that gives some fruits their deep purple hue, is a natural inhibitor of CD38 — an enzyme on the surface of our immune cells. While CD38 is a critical component of our immune system, it becomes overactive with aging. And since CD38 depletes NAD+, its overactivity may be the primary… Continue reading Researchers find Plant Pigment that Reduces Age-Related Inflammation and Boosts NAD⁺ 

Key Points: Metformin prevents the age-related progression of ovarian fibrosis in old mice.   Fibrosis already present in older mice is not reversed by metformin treatment.  The effects of metformin appear to be due to immune system rejuvenation.  As we age, it becomes more difficult for our organs to regenerate new cells. Instead, our cells are… Continue reading Anti-Diabetes Drug Metformin Protects Against Reproductive Aging in Latest Study

Key Points:  The diabetes drug metformin preserves thymus structure and boosts the function of thymus mitochondria (cell powerhouses).  Treated mice exhibit fewer senescent cells — growth-arrested cells associated with promoting aging — than untreated aging mice.  Treatment with metformin increases the activity of multiple essential proteins responsible for proper functioning of the thymus.  As we… Continue reading New Study Shows Metformin Reverses Age-Related Thymus Degeneration by Boosting Mitochondrial Function