3 ms·

There are drugs in development that reverse [glycation]. [...] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alagebrium http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alagebrium Alagebrium only

There are drugs in development that reverse [glycation]. [...] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alagebrium http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alagebrium Alagebrium only reverses a minor type of glycation. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16706655 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16706655 Known crosslink breakers (e.g., alagebrium, of the thiazolium halide family) are only partly effective because they break only a subset of AGE crosslink structures (sugar-derived alpha-diketone bridges). So far, no agent has been found that breaks the prevalent glucosepane and K2P crosslink structures. Enzymes that would be able to recognize and disassemble glycation products may be too big to migrate into the ECM and repair collagen or elastin in vivo. Meanwhile, over the next decade, glycation -- that might otherwise have been largely-inhibited by simple and inexpensive glycation-inhibition regimens -- will turn today's: * 20-year-olds into further-degraded 30-year-olds, * 30-year-olds into further-degraded 40-year-olds, * 40-year-olds into further-degraded 50-year-olds, * etc.

rsheridan6 18y ago
The point is that glycation is just a chemical reaction which can be reversed. You need to get something there which can reverse the chemical reaction. It's not necessarily easy, but it's not necessarily impossible either. There are also other potential ways to deal with A.G.Es, like stimulating turnover of those molecules, or, as you implied, preventing their formation. I'm not trying to imply that todays n year olds won't be 2019's n+10 year olds, or 2050's fertilizer. I'm just saying it's possible in theory.