Towards Therapies Capable of Reversing the Progression of Fibrosis

Fibrosis is a significant component of many age-related conditions, a failure of the normal regenerative process that leads to the formation of increasing amounts of scar-like, fibrous connective tissue in organs. This disrupts normal tissue structure and degrades proper function. It features prominently in common forms of heart disease, kidney failure, and liver disease, among others. As is the case for many specific aspects of aging, there is no good treatment for fibrosis, if by this we mean a reliable way to turn back its progression and restore failing tissues to their former state. The causes of fibrosis lie somewhere downstream of the fundamental forms of cell and tissue damage outlined in the SENS view of aging. Insofar as it is cells that work to produce fibrotic structures, built from the same materials as the normal extracellular matrix, the proximate causes of fibrosis are thus altered cell signaling and behavior, such as that related to the increased chronic inflammation that accompanies aging. The nature of these signals is much debated, and likely varies considerably from tissue to tissue. Given the importance of fibrosis to the progression of age-related disease, there is considerable interest in finding ways to reverse its progression, not just slow it down. Most such research, as is the case in the paper linked below, is focused on the proximate causes of fibrosis, the altered cellular signaling and behavior. Researchers hope that by forcing a ...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs