Aging is an inevitable process marked by the gradual decline in cell, tissue, and organ functions. It has long been associated with a spectrum of diseases such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, neurodegeneration, and cancer.
As scientists and medical professionals tirelessly pursue the ambitious goal of slowing down aging, cellular deterioration takes center stage as a complex mechanism linked to the aging of cells and tissues.
If the cells inside our bodies are like tiny factories, then inside these factories reside tiny powerhouses called mitochondria. These powerhouses help our bodies turn sugar into energy, which is like fuel for our cells. But, while doing this, they create some waste products that can be harmful.
Over time, these waste products can build up and cause damage to the delicate machinery inside the mitochondria. This damage is one of the reasons why our bodies start to show signs of aging.
As it turns out, mitochondria are affected by antibiotics, in a way that they don't completely destroy the mitochondria but slow them down a bit.
Scientists are, therefore, studying a tiny worm called Caenorhabditis elegans, which has some similarities to mammals, to understand aging better.
Researchers, in a study published in the journal Aging, have tested different drugs on these worms to see if they can make them live longer and be healthier. Medicines like doxycycline and azithromycin, which have already been approved by the Food & Drug Administration, were administered to the worms.
In their first experiments, the team used doxycycline, which was shown to make worms live longer. A smaller dose made them live 72.8% longer, whereas a larger dose made them live 63.64% longer compared to worms not treated with anything, in the control group. The control worms lived around 11 days, while the ones treated with a small dose of doxycycline lived 19 days and the ones given a bigger dose lived 18 days.
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