A study released in Cell Metabolism has identified the brain mechanism by which a protein called SIRT1 slows aging and increases longevity . Both effects are also associated with a low-calorie diet, according to the authors, from the University of Washington School of Medicine (USA).
Specifically, the work reveals that sirtuin SIRT1 in mice promotes neural activity in very specific areas of the hypothalamus of the brain that trigger radical physical changes in skeletal muscle and increase stamina, energy and longevity . The consequence is that, if it is subjected to a genetic modification that causes it to overproduce the SIRT1 protein, a 12-month-old mouse (the equivalent of 70 years in humans) is as active as would correspond to a rodent of this size. only 5 months . Mice with extra doses of SIRT1 also showed an increase in body temperature, oxygen consumption and nocturnal physical activity compared to individuals of the same age.
Likewise, a delay in cancer death was observed in mice with excess SIRT1 compared to control rodents. Imai explained that the longevity and health profile in these animals appears to be the result of a delay in the time when age-related decline begins , and not a change in the rate of aging.
If the effect is confirmed to be the same in humans, this gene therapy could add 13 or 14 years of life in women and 7 years in men.
