A new class of anti-ageing drugs has arrived – which ones really work?

I COME from a household with dodgy knees. My dad, 79, has had two full knee replacements and my sister wants one on the age of simply 54. My left knee hurts after I stroll downstairs and clicks after I bend it – traditional indicators of the age-related illness osteoarthritis, attributable to put on and tear on the cartilage cushioning the joint.

By the point I get to the knee-replacement stage, nevertheless, I may not must go below the knife. As a substitute, I hope to have the ability to swallow just a few tablets from time to time and really feel my knee ache disappear.

Osteoarthritis isn’t simply right down to put on and tear, but in addition an accumulation of some nasty cells, which assault the knee joint from inside. They’re known as senescent cells – outdated or run-down cells which have reached the top of their lives or suffered irreversible injury. They should die and but they don’t, as a substitute lurking in tissue, inflicting hassle.

Senescent cells are usually cleared out by the immune system, although that goes flawed throughout ageing they usually accumulate, dripping poison into their environment and turning different cells rogue. They’re a number one reason behind quite a few age-related situations, not simply within the knees but in addition within the coronary heart, liver, muscle mass and mind.

No shock, then, that researchers have been eyeing senescent cells for a few years as a juicy goal for efforts to sluggish, halt and even reverse ageing. Now, we’ve got quite a few medication within the pipeline and a few tantalising outcomes from human trials. There may be even hope that, by taking out senescent cells, different causes of ageing will evaporate too.

Cell senescence was …