Researchers Work On Tackling The Signs Aging

Researchers at the University of Leicester have made a new discovery when it comes to halting the aging process in certain medical conditions. The findings are published in the journal Cell Death and Disease.

Researchers at the Mechanisms of Cancer and Ageing Lab and the department of Biochemistry of the University of Leicester have carried out a study to find new ways of identifying old cells in the body--something that's critically important for various medical conditions that accelerate aging.

"What we have found is a series of novel markers - a way to detect senescent cells. What is more, we have shown that they can be used to predict increased survival in certain types of cancer," said  Dr Salvador Macip of the university, in a news release. "Until now, good protocols to help spot these cells have been sadly lacking. Our research has described new markers located on the surface of the old cells. This makes these markers particularly useful to quickly identify these cells in laboratory and human samples using a range of techniques."

During a clinical application of the markers, researchers discovered that they were present in high numbers of samples from different types of cancer and that this correlated with a better prognosis of the disease, particularly in health issues such as breast cancer.

"These markers could be useful tools not only to study senescent cells in the lab but also they could be developed into diagnostics to help predict survival in cancer patients," he concluded.

In the future, researchers noted that they hope to work on strategies that help selectively eliminate old cells from certain tissues and reduce the effects of aging on the cells, overall.