A New Record for the Longest Lived Laboratory Rat, Resulting from Plasma Dilution

Many more life span studies are carried out in mice rather than rats, so it is not too surprising to see people pushing the record for longest lived rat. The longest lived mice are those in which growth hormone receptor signaling is inhibited, while the longest lived rats are the result of life-long calorie restriction. The group noted here is pursuing a strategy of processing the blood plasma from young animals and then introducing the processed plasma into old animals. A treatment starting in mid-life produced a modest gain in median life span in rats, while the one still surviving rat from the small study group has surpassed the existing record for calorie restricted mice. It is an interesting data point for the field of dilution of blood plasma to reduce harmful factors present in the bloodstream of old individuals, though as I understand it, this group favors explanations involving factors from the processed young plasma that are beneficial. Scientists working on an experimental anti-ageing therapy claim to have broken a record by extending the lifespan of a lab rat called Sima. Named after the Hindi word for "limit" or "boundary", Sima is the last remaining survivor from a group of rodents that received infusions of blood plasma taken from young animals to see if the treatment prolonged their lives. Sima, who was born on 28 February 2019, has lived for 47 months, surpassing the 45.5 months believed to be the oldest age recorded in scientific literature for a fe...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs