The scientists have discovered that a chemical, NAD (Nicotinamide Adenine DInucleotide) has a key role as a regulator in protein-to-protein interactions that control DNA repair. This chemical is naturally present in every cell of our body. Treating mice with a NAD booster called NMN (Nicotinamide Mononucleotide) improved their cells' ability to repair DNA damage caused by old age or radiation exposure. The cells of the old mice were indistinguishable from the young mice after just one week of treatment.
Lead author Professor David Sinclair of UNSW School of Medical Sciences feels we are very close to find a safe and effective anti-ageing drug. It will take three to five years to reach the market if the trials go well. Human trials of NMN therapy will begin within six months at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
New research is so promising that it has attracted the attention of NASA, which believes the treatment can help its Mars mission. Scientists are studying the effects of space travel on astronauts' health. Even on short missions, astronauts experience accelerated ageing from cosmic radiation, suffering from muscle weakness, memory loss and other symptoms when they return.
On a trip to Mars, the situation would be far worse. Five per cent of the astronauts' cells would die and their chances of cancer would approach 100 per cent. Cosmic radiation is not only an issue for astronauts. We are all exposed to it during air travel. For example, a London-Singapore-Melbourne flight is exposed to radiation which is roughly equivalent to a chest x-ray. In theory the same treatment could mitigate any effects of DNA damage for frequent flyers.
