OPINION | GENE THERAPY |


CAN GENE THERAPY PREVENT AGEING?


Recent research suggests that gene therapy to increase the activity of the enzyme telomerase might lead to a longer and healthier life. Peter Charlish examines the facts.


T isotope 198 58 ❚ July/August 2012 | prime-journal.com HE ALCHEMISTS OF


ancient times had two overriding goals: to turn base metals into gold, and to achieve immortality. By exposing the mercury


reactor, it can be converted to 197


Hg to fast neutrons in a nuclear Hg, which


radioactively decays to form gold. Therefore, if you consider mercury to be a base metal, the first of the alchemistsÕ dreams has been realised. But immortality is a much harder nut to


crack. In fact, vast resources have been deployed in an arguably futile attempt to slow the ageing process. Recently,


however, Spanish researchers have shown that gene therapy to increase levels of the enzyme telomerase allows older mice to live not only longer, but also healthier lives. The research has been hailed as the first proof-of-principle that gene therapy is a feasible and potentially safe approach to improving the healthy lifespan of older organisms.


Mechanisms of ageing What causes the ageing process, and how to slow or stop it, has taxed the minds of man for centuries. Roger Bacon, the 13th century English philosopher and scientist, was one of the first to suggest that ageing


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