In a wager that lots of people want to live forever — or at least longer than what most people do — a Spanish pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturer is reporting the results of phase 2 clinical trials showing that blood taken from young individuals may help older Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s patients.
In other words, they’re trying to use blood from young individuals to reverse aging and diseases associated with aging. According to Newsweek, a “flood” of investment funds are pouring into the project, to the tune of billions of dollars to fund biotechs working on it.
One experiment in particular has scientists excited: This study showed that introducing young blood into older mice could revitalize the older mice’s stem cells, and make the mice act young again. That experiment is ongoing and far from definitive, but when word got out of the amazing results of the study, scientists heard from Alzheimer’s patients pleading for human trials.
The bottom line is the idea of using young blood to solve old-age problems is still in development and far from ready for market, but Newsweek says certain concerns are already arising. For example, Newsweek asks: “Will poor young people be coerced into selling their blood to elderly billionaires? Will magical anti-aging pills become the province of the Park Avenue and Hollywood rich, like facelifts, hair plugs and botox injections?”
“Will the rest of us senile peasants be forced to watch them age backwards as we are left to wither and die?”
SOURCE: Newsweek April 7, 2021