Scientists discover 'genes that slow ageing process'

Mutations have been found to extend the lifespan of animals in the lab such as worms, fruit flies and mice, and appear to play the same role in humans.

Professor Linda Partridge, director of the Institute of Healthy Ageing at University College London, said such research could help treat or delay many diseases simultaneously with medication.

She believes these scientific advances are offering hope to improve health during ageing in humans and inspiring a new wave in ageing research.

So far, "pathways" in the human body along which nutrients pass have proved to have the most robust effect on healthy lifespan.

Prof Partridge, who will present a public lecture at the Royal Society in London on Tuesday, said tackling the very causes of ageing - rather than treating the symptoms "piecemeal" - offers the best prospects for dealing with the diseases.

She said: "Research on the diseases associated with ageing is generally done by separate communities of research workers who read different journals, attend different conferences and generally do not communicate with each other.

"But by tacking the causes of ageing itself we could treat, or at least delay, a broad spectrum of conditions simultaneously."

Prof Partridge said in mammals, insulin regulates blood sugar levels and metabolism in response to food intake, while the related insulin-like growth factor 1 (Igf1) regulates growth.

Mutations in genes that encode the protein components of the insulin and Igf1 signalling pathways have proved to extend lifespan in a nematode worm, the fruit fly and mice, and genetic variants for these genes in humans have proved to be associated with lifespan.

Dietary restriction, which is a simple environmental intervention, can also extend life in a range of animals.

Drugs which inhibit the nutrient pathways in humans could replicate the effects of dietary restriction and act not only to increase healthy lifespan but to target a broad range of ageing related diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancers, diabetes and Alzheimer's.

Prof Partridge said this research means a new approach to the treatment of age-related conditions.

She added: "The major burden of ill health is in the older section of the population.

"The new discoveries about ageing have raised the prospect of increasing the number of years that people enjoy in good health, with broad-spectrum preventive medicines for the diseases of ageing."