‘I was floored by the data’: Psilocybin shows anti-aging properties in early study
Psilocybin, the main psychoactive ingredient of magic fungi, extends the lifespan of human cells, suggests a laboratory study. The researchers also found that the psychedelic compound slows down certain characteristics of aging in older mice while improving their quality of fur.
The results, published on July 8 in the journal NPJ agingProvide the first experimental evidence of potential anti-aging properties of psilocybin.
“The study offers a unique overview of the potential of psychedelics to promote healthy aging and provides a provocative mechanism to explain how they do it”, ” Scott ThompsonProfessor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado which was not involved in research, told Live Science in an email.
However, “a lot of additional work will be necessary to advance these results in a way that will reveal whether the results are applicable and adaptable to human health,” said Thompson.
Recently, studies have explored the therapeutic potential of psilocybin to deal with various conditions, such as anxiety,, depression and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. Part of this research led to clinical trials with promising results. But the researchers have not yet pinned down how the psychedelic achieves his advantages.
A theory, nicknamed the “Psilocybine-gélomer hypothesis“suggest that psilocybin Preserves the length of the telomeres, the protective ceilings of the repetitive DNA sequences located at the ends of the chromosomes. Researchers have understood that Telomeres are shortened with ageAnd the rate of this shortening is correlated at the aging rate.
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So, if the psilocybin protects the length of the telomeres, could also delay aging?
To find out, study the main author Dr Louise HeckerAssociate professor at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and his colleagues administered different doses of psilocinIn which psilocybin is broken down into the body, to isolate human lungs and skin cells. The team found that psilocin has extended the lifespan of cells up to 57%, depending on the dose given.
Psilocin has also preserved the length of the cells of the cells and the reduced levels of oxidative stressor the accumulation of reactive molecules. Simultaneously, this led to higher levels of SIRT1, a protein associated with longevity.
In short, psilocin has revealed cells as younger cells, Heker told Live Science. Hecker’s research is to examine the impacts of aging on the body, and everything she knew to test “just worked,” she said. “I was struck by the data.”
The team then studied the effects of psilocybin on female mice of about 19 months – which, in human years, would be made at the beginning of sixties. The mice received monthly doses of psilocybin for 10 months. At the end of this period, 80% of the mouse treated were still alive, against only 50% of an untreated group. The treated mice also displayed hair growth where they previously had bald spots, and their formerly white hair raised brown.
“It is exciting that we can give this intervention at the end of life and have such a dramatic impact,” said Hecker.
Psychedelics, in general, are known for Modify the functioning of the immune system And the body stress resilienceWho can both affect organs of organs, said Thompson. “What is new in this study is the provocative suggestion that changes in the length of telomeres – important regulators of DNA replication – can be produced by psychedelics.”
A major limitation of the study is that the doses of medication used in laboratory mice are much higher than those generally administered to humans, said Thompson. That said, Hecker maintains that this comparison does not consider the much faster metabolism of mice and shortened time that psychedelics are active in animals.
The results have prepared the terrain to study psilocybin as treatment for aging and age -related diseases, Hecker said. Future research should study the optimal doses to be used in humans, as well as potential risks, she said.
This article is for information only and is not supposed to offer medical advice.
