Although the evidence is still limited, a growing body of research suggests music may have beneficial effects for diseases such as Parkinson’s.
Image credit: Shutterstock/agsandrew.
New Research In
Physical Sciences
Featured Portals
Articles by Topic
Biological Sciences
Featured Portals
Articles by Topic
Contributed by Andrew V. Schally, November 8, 2010 (sent for review August 17, 2010)
Abstract
Both deficiency and excess of growth hormone (GH) are associated with increased mortality and morbidity. GH replacement in otherwise healthy subjects leads to complications, whereas individuals with isolated GH deficiency such as Laron dwarfs show increased life span. Here, we determined the effects of treatment with the GH-releasing hormone (GHRH) receptor antagonist MZ-5-156 on aging in SAMP8 mice, a strain that develops with aging cognitive deficits and has a shortened life expectancy. Starting at age 10 mo, mice received daily s.c. injections of 10 μg/mouse of MZ-5-156. Mice treated for 4 mo with MZ-5-156 showed increased telomerase activity, improvement in some measures of oxidative stress in brain, and improved pole balance, but no change in muscle strength. MZ-5-156 improved cognition after 2 mo and 4 mo, but not after 7 mo of treatment (ages 12, 14 mo, and 17 mo, respectively). Mean life expectancy increased by 8 wk with no increase in maximal life span, and tumor incidence decreased from 10 to 1.7%. These results show that treatment with a GHRH antagonist has positive effects on some aspects of aging, including an increase in telomerase activity.
Footnotes
- 1To whom correspondence may be addressed. E-mail: wabanks1{at}u.washington.edu or andrew.schally{at}va.gov.
Author contributions: W.A.B., J.E.M., S.A.F., T.O.P., N.E., and A.V.S. designed research; W.A.B., J.E.M., S.A.F., T.O.P., N.E., I.V., and A.V.S. performed research; N.E. and A.V.S. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; W.A.B., J.E.M., S.A.F., T.O.P., N.E., I.V., and A.V.S. analyzed data; and W.A.B., J.E.M., S.A.F., N.E., I.V., and A.V.S. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Effects of a growth hormone-releasing hormone antagonist on telomerase activity, oxidative stress, longevity, and aging in mice
Sign up for Article Alerts
Jump to section
You May Also be Interested in
Biomedical communities and journals need to standardize nomenclature of gene products to enhance accuracy in scientific and public communication.
Image credit: Shutterstock/greenbutterfly.
Shapeshifting designs could have wide-ranging pharmaceutical and biomedical applications in coming years.
Image credit: Acacia Dishman/Medical College of Wisconsin.
Amanda Rodewald, Ivan Rudik, and Catherine Kling talk about the hazards of ozone pollution to birds.
CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing can improve the effectiveness of spermatogonial stem cell transplantation in mice and livestock, a study finds.
Image credit: Jon M. Oatley.