(Oh Wonder – White Blood)

In today’s society, age-related neurological disorders are becoming more and more prevalent as life expectancy increases.  Approximately 12 million Americans are currently living with dementia diseases, Alzhiemer’s being the most common among them. Even outside of dementia, aging is correlated to general decreases in in short-term, long-term, and spacial memory, as well as motor coordination and critical thinking skills. It seems as though no matter how well we take care of ourselves, our minds are fated to crumble away long before our souls embark.

Yet this bleak outlook for ourselves as individuals pales in comparison to the emotional pain it will put on our loved ones, who’ll be forced to bear witness as we forget their very existence. I’ve personally felt this pain twice already, growing up. It is a quiet pain – a grief which comes not in waves to batter you down, but rather a steady, calm stream that slowly erodes you.

What would you give to stop it?

Pretty soon, the answer may be blood.

The year is 1964. In a science lab, two mice are nestled beside each other, sound asleep.  Perhaps they are best friends, but their bond is so much more — they are attached at the side, sewn together, pumping each other’s blood.

Figure 1 Nik Spencer/Nature; Chart Data: A. Eggel & T. Wyss-Coray Swiss Med. Wkly 144, W13914 (2014)

This technique is called heterochronic parabiosis. It was most commonly used over 40 years ago to uncover many discoveries in endocrinology, tumor biology and immunology, by joining the circulatory systems of two animals, and observing what the blood factors of one animal do to the other. You can thank this experiment for the development of insulin, and hundreds of other blood factors we commonly use today to treat a wide variety of maladies.

In recent years, heterochronic parabiosis has seen a major comeback in the fields of aging and neurology. Since 2005, Scientists have taken a 35 year old fact — that the blood plasma of younger mice significantly boosts the overall health and lifespan of older mice — and combed through an enormous number of blood factors to isolate which molecules are the culprits of this “rejuvenation.” So far, it seems oxytocin, a chemical best known as “the love hormone” because of its release in our brains upon physical contact or sight of loved ones, is responsible in a large part for the muscle regeneration that occurs in elder mice during heterochronic parabiosis. This is incredibly good news, because oxytocin is already commonly synthesized and FDA regulated, and may be used to minimize muscle deterioration very soon. But what about the brain?

While we continue the search for specific rejuvenating molecules for the brain, we already know that young blood plasma as a whole regenerates neurons and increases neuroplasticity safely in mice. In fact, human trials of blood plasma transfusion into Alzhiemer’s patients are currently reaching their final stages. Even without knowing all the specific players involved, positive results from these clinical trials could result in the very first successful treatments for Alzhiemer’s and dementia diseases, and even aging altogether. These feats will serve to revolutionize not only medicine, but the very fabric of our society as a whole. Though the science coming out right now is fantastical and exciting, we must now contemplate the ethical, moral, and social ramifications of a future where donated blood transitions from an emergency ration to a staple drug, and our seniors become more capable than ever before.

Sources:

http://www.nature.com/news/ageing-research-blood-to-blood-1.16762

http://stemcellassays.com/2014/08/parabiosis/

http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/v20/n6/full/nm.3569.html