Though no one model mimics the disease in humans completely, a group of mouse models together, offer insight into the workings of the disease. Identifying this gene mutation is a solid starting point to developing a possible drug to slow or prevent the disease’s progression. Researchers have been able to identify an early-onset mutation for Alzheimer’s, through studies with humans that was then strengthened with mouse models, and recently a rare protective gene mutation that provides more evidence for excessive levels of a normal brain substance, beta amyloid, as a driving factor of the disease. Progress has also been made in the last decade using mice models to determine the genetic factors of Alzheimer’s. Studying brain function in healthy monkey brains, researchers can pin point where human brains suffering from Alzheimer’s, dementia, and other neurological disorders are failing. Non-human primates are essential to our knowledge of the human brain. Understanding genetic predisposition to the disease is crucial to finding a cure. The institutions conducting Alzheimer’s research publicly recognize the continual need for humane and responsible research with animal models for understanding and curing the disease. If more effective treatments are not developed, by the year 2050, costs will rise to $1.1 trillion. The estimated cost incurred on the American taxpayer to treat Alzheimer’s patients on Medicare and Medicaid for 2017 is as high as $259 billion. With no cure or effective treatment, research is vital. A new study even estimates that including those who are not yet symptomatic, the number of Americans living with Alzheimer’s may be closer to 11 million. with more than 5 million Americans currently living with Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S. Animal research has been fundamental in the anti-aging drug prospects we have now and will remain fundamental going forward in our quest to prolongate and improve human life.Īlzheimer’s affects an estimated 44 million people and their families. Once on the market for humans, these drugs could also be adapted to improve the lifespan of pets. The progress towards anti-aging drugs offers the prospect of not only a greater life span but a world with less age-related diseases resulting in an overall healthier population. Human trials will begin in late 2017, and if they succeed the drug could be available in as soon as four years. Our bodies natural ability to repair our DNA declines with age, but mice who received an NAD+ booster improved cells repairability so much so, treated old mice cells were indistinguishable from those of young mice. Recently a team at the University of New South Wales have identified the metabolite NAD+ as key in DNA repair. Other anti-aging drugs are being researched with the help of animals. If the results transfer to humans not only will life span increase, but humans will be better protected against age-related diseases. Depending on the results of the trial Metformin could become the first ever anti-aging drug. 3,000 elderly people will be tracked for 6 years to see how the drug affects their overall health. The results in animals were so compelling, in 2016 the FDA greenlit human clinical trials known as the Targeting Aging with Metformin (TAME) study. Metformin improved the life and health span of the mice, leading researchers to further investigate the drug’s potential protective effect against diseases that become more common with age, like cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s. The proper dosage also resulted in fewer cases of cataracts and weight gain. In middle-aged mice, a small dose extended their lives, while a large dose shortened them. Subjects lived to the person equivalent of 120 years. Researchers observed a substantial increase in the lifespan and vitality of the animals. An old diabetes drug, Metformin is cheap and has been found to stall the aging process in work with mice and the roundworm c. Researchers have been studying the drug Metformin, which increases the number of oxygen molecules released into a cell, to determine its effects on aging. Animal research is being used to determine the effectiveness of anti-aging elements. Researchers have been studying potential drugs to boost immune functions and slow the aging process. Google even launched an anti-aging development sector, Calico. Life expectancy in the United States is 78.8 years: For females, it is at 81.2 years for males, it’s 76.4 years. Scientists have recently begun exploring the aging process.
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