To fight diseases of aging, scientist makes aging itself the target

When Dr. Ming Guo says that she wants to reverse the aging process, she ’s not outlining a fantastical quest for the Fountain of Youth. She’s looking for ways to defeat incurable diseases.“If we could pause, delay or even reverse aging, we would make a significant impact against numerous diseases,” said Guo, professor of neurology, molecular and medical pharmacology at theDavid Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.“I want to create a higher quality of life over a healthy life span, rather than just prolonging life.”Her particular approach to her research is inspired by her compassion for her patients who have Alzheimer ’s and Parkinson’s diseases and other brain degenerative disorders, and from the discoveries she has made in her research lab.The percentage of people with Alzheimer's doubles every five years after the age of 65, so Guo believes that intervening in the aging process could be the path to reducing the disease ’s massive impact. Slowing aging could also help combat a range of other diseases and conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, heart disease, cancer and osteoporosis, as well as the increased vulnerability to infection that occurs with aging.Since Guo joined the UCLA faculty two decades ago, her research focus has broadened to include multiple brain diseases and aging. In a landmark publication in 2006, Guo and her team examined two genes, PINK1 and PARKIN, that are mutated in some people with Parkinson ’s disease.They discovered that t...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news