Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C3Gg8BXLguZ/ All of us age as the cells that make up our bodies age.  Now, biologists at New York’s Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center have discovered a method to retrain T killer lymphocytes, those that attack cancers and viruses, to destroy aging cells in our bodies.  When that happens, the body’s aging process stops and, in some cases, reverses. The researchers created so called CAR-T cells, T cells trained to hone in on cells with the aging protein urokinase plasminogen activator receptor or uPAR and destroy these cells.  Employing this therapy in aging mice improved that animals’ exercise capacities, metabolism, and overall vitality. This method for eliminating aging cells and stopping or even reversing aging is an exciting development in the search for the the ever-elusive fountain of youth.   We can only hope that  CAR-T therapy or other ways to eliminate uPAR will be available to make all of us feel and perhaps actually be