document: Study by Bay Area 's Buck Institute blazes trail for life span extension and disease treatments A new study by researchers at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato validates a promising new approach for extending life span and treating age-related diseases . The study appears in the March 30 online edition of the prestigious scientific journal Nature . The study found that a dye , used in laboratories to detect Alzheimer 's disease , extended the life span of nematode worms by more than 50 percent and slowed the disease process in worms bred to mimic aspects of Alzheimer 's disease . The dye is also known as Thioflavin T. Nematodes make excellent subjects for research on aging . Researchers do n't have to wait long for results because the tiny worms live only two or three weeks normally , and the nematodes ' genetic code has been mapped . It was research on nematodes more than two decades ago that first revealed to scientists that the aging process could be extended via genetic mutations . It had long been believed that aging was an uncontrollable process of deterioration that could n't be altered by single genes . Since then , researchers at the Buck Institute and elsewhere have identified hundreds of genes that affect the life span of nematodes as well as compounds that can trigger the anti-aging effect . Until now , however , scientists did n't know the mechanism at work . '' `` What 's new and exciting about this study is we think we know what is going on , '' '' said Gordon Lithgow , the Buck faculty member who led the research study . The study highlights a process called protein homeostasis , the ability of an organism to maintain the proper structure and balance of its proteins , which are the building blocks of life . '' `` Proteins have a certain three-dimensional shape and if that shape is lost by clumping or other types of damage their function is lost as well , '' '' Lithgow said . '' `` This is well studied in relation to Alzheimer 's disease , Parkinson 's disease and other diseases . '' '' While many degenerative diseases have been linked to a breakdown in the process , genetic studies have long indicated that protein homeostasis is a major contributor to longevity in complex animals . '' `` We 've had a hunch for a long time that protein homeostasis would be a driving factor for normal aging , and I think that 's what we 're seeing here , '' '' Lithgow said of the study . '' `` Somehow these compounds slow the clumping of the proteins together and consequently that slows down normal aging . '' `` We have been looking for compounds that slow aging for more than 10 years and Thioflavin T is the best we have so far , '' '' Lithgow said . Aided by a $ 1.7 million grant from the Petaluma-based Larry L. Hillblom Foundation in 2007 , Buck Institute scientists tested 120,000 chemical compounds on yeast and nematode worms in search of compounds that would slow the aging process . But Thioflavin T was not part of that process , Lithgow said . Testing Thioflavin T was the idea of Silvestre Alavez , a staff scientist in the Lithgow lab . Alavez was trained in neuroscience and knew about the use of these compounds to detect disease-related proteins . Several other compounds he identified have also proven effective in increasing life span in worms . One of those is curcumin , the active ingredient in the popular Indian spice turmeric . '' `` People have been making claims about the health benefits of curcumin for many years , '' '' Alavez said . '' `` Maybe slowing aging is part of the mechanism of action . '' '' Curcumin is being tested in several human clinical trials for conditions ranging from colon cancer to rheumatoid arthritis to depression . Alavez said , '' `` Any small molecule that maintains protein homeostasis during aging could be active against multiple disease states . '' '' Follow-up research on Thioflavin T is underway at the Buck Institute in mice bred to have Alzheimer 's . One of the members of the research team that worked on the study was David Zucker , 23 , a Dominican University student who is working on his master 's degree . Zucker 's ambition is to become a physician and he is in the process of sending out applications to medical schools . Now he can mention that his name is attached to a study published by Nature . '' `` I lucked out , I guess , '' '' Zucker said . Contact Richard Halstead via e-mail at rhalstead@marinij.com
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extractive_keyphrases: university arthritis indicated compounds nematode identified than neuroscience uncontrollable million threedimensional underway testing believed foundation research degenerative process action proteins lost disease affect scientific journal nature antiaging effect chemical wait long slow homeostasis make excellent complex consequently life part curcumin scientist long faculty member deterioration genetic code relation breakdown active institute scientists study major contributor online edition genetic human clinical mechanism physician ingredient health diseaserelated nature diseases popular indian spice turmeric molecule aging rheumatoid single genes work damage team down normal known treating longevity building ambition can trigger
abstractive_keyphrases: alzheimer's disease parkinson's life span process genetic protein homeostasis dominican university threedimensional shape extending life span new study