Calling all Twilight and True Blood fans. It seems that bloodsuckers may truly be onto something. Consuming young blood may well be the gateway to immortality—or at least to staving off the aging process.
Research from Stanford University has determined that injecting older mice with the blood of "young ones" countered some effects of aging, according to an article in the Guardian.
Mice that had received the transfusions outperformed a control group in a maze test, making gains in terms of both memory and learning. Brain stem cells and connectivity also increased.
"Do I think that giving young blood could have an effect on a human? I'm thinking more and more that it might," said lead researcher Saul Villeda, who shared his findings at the recent Society for Neuroscience meeting. "I did not, for sure, three years ago."
Villeda has already considering how his research might translate to humans. The key task facing scientists now is pinpointing the magic ingredient in young blood.
The study, which builds on earlier findings published in Nature last year, holds promise for treating conditions like Alzheimer's.
"Even if the finding leads only to a drug that prevents, rather than reverses the normal effects of aging on the brain, the impact upon future generations will be substantial—potentially outweighing other wonder drugs such as penicillin," said Chris Mason, a professor of regenerative medicine bioprocessing at University College London.
Well, duh, says Dracula.
This recent study also confirmed what moms have long suspected.
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