After a certain age, we all enter the “cycle of fragility”. Muscle mass decreases, immune defenses weaken, gait slows down. Once this cycle begins, the slightest fall or small infection can prove fatal. Until now, medicine had no solution against this state, a natural biological evolution of our organisms. But that was before, and researchers may have found a solution.
The biotechnology company Longeveron, based in Miami, has developed Lomecel-B (or lomestrocel), which has all the makings of a revolutionary treatment but is overall quite intuitive: elderly patients are injected with healthy stem cells from young donors – often aged 18 to 24. It is in fact during this period that the regeneration capacities of cells are at their maximum. Once in the body, these cells act like real sentinels. They identify inflamed areas, send a signal to the body and reduce inflammation. Easy.
A study was carried out on 150 patients ranging in age from 70 to 85 years old, with a 6-minute walk as the main test. The people who received the most cells walked on average 63 meters further than the others. Even if it doesn’t seem like much, this small difference plays a huge role in the daily life of an elderly person.
The researchers observed a decline in biomarkers of chronic inflammation, as well as an improvement in endothelial function (basically, the ability of blood vessels to properly transport oxygen). These people have even gone from the status of “fragile” to that of “pre-frail”, or even “robust”. It’s a real step backwards for their physical condition.
Immortality is not for now
Be careful, however, we are still far from having discovered the miracle cure and the secret of immortality. According to Doctor Jorge Ruiz, main author of the study, this solution will face two major concerns. The first is logistical: Transplanting such cells requires taking them from enormous numbers of young adults under anesthesia and then transporting everything.
The second is economic: the transplantation of all these cells would cost far too much today, without us knowing how long the effects of this process last. Will it be necessary to repeat the operation every year? Every 6 months?
This treatment represents, in itself, a new prism through which to view the medicine of our ancestors. Instead of treating the heart, liver or prostate, we can consider tackling aging directly. As Joshua Hare, chief scientific officer at Longeveron, says, “we are finally targeting the root of the problem”.
It is a safe bet that such treatment, if it sees the light of day, will first be reserved for the wealthiest, so we will have to wait a little before we can see octogenarians running like rabbits in the streets of France.
