Senescent Cells & Aging

According to the Mayo Clinic you have cells in your body known as Senescent Cells. These cells are responsible for the health impairments associated with aging as well as things like dementia and eye cataracts.

What scientists are finding is that the key to anti-aging is to find a way to get rid of these Senescent cells.  Not simply because they become useless with age, but by having them in your body, they can cause the surrounding cells to become less healthy.

Let me explain...

In the body’s normal functionality, cells are supposed to divide, but senescent cells stop dividing and simply just sit in the body, but, they don't just sit there quietly,  they affect the aging process by putting out a substance called 'P16INK4A'.   This substance is found in the senescent cells and is a molecule that can cause inflammation and destruction in normal cells.

These cells are also responsible for suppressing tumors. When there is a mutation or the cells stop dividing, it can increase the risk of you getting certain cancers.

The body has a built in defense mechanism that’s supposed to get rid of these senescent cells, but as we age, the immune system can’t always do this job and so age related problems begin because of these cell activities.

To sum up, these senescent cells push aging in the body’s tissues. You’ll find these cells present in conditions such as arthritis and in build up in the arteries of the heart. 

The key to stopping these cells from damaging other cells and causing health problems as we age is found in a scientific method of helping the body get rid of the cells or rendering them ineffective against healthy ones.

Researchers have discovered that if they inject mice with a senescent cell created with a molecule that reacts to a drug designed to cause the cells to die, then it slows the aging process.

By giving the mice the drug, evidence shows that they didn’t have the same age associated health problems that mice who were not given the drug developed. The mice in the study didn’t get cataracts, had better muscle tone and more energy.

One good thing about the study of senescent cells and aging is that it offers positive hope that medicine can be created for humans that can stimulate the body into getting rid of the senescent cells and stop them from damaging healthy cells.