New function discovered for compound that may help slow aging
A study just published in Aging Cell outlines a new understanding of how this compound works. "It's possible this could provide a new therapeutic approach to neurologic disease," said Viviana Perez, an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics in OSU's College of Science, expert on the biological processes of aging and principal investigator in the Linus Pauling Institute. Scientists have now identified two mechanisms of action of rapamycin. One was already known. The newly-discovered mechanism is what researchers say might help prevent neurologic damage and some related diseases. "The value of rapamycin is clearly linked to the issue of cellular senescence, a stage cells reach where they get old, stop proliferating and begin to secrete damaging substances that lead to inflammation," Perez said. "Rapamycin appears to help stop that process." This secretion of damaging compounds, researchers say, creates a t...