University of Minnesota, Mayo report COVID-fighting success with anti-aging therapy

Tests of an anti-aging therapy in mice are boosting hopes at Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota about a potential COVID-19 treatment that could reduce deaths and hospitalizations and improve vaccine effectiveness.

Survival increased in mice with COVID-like illnesses when they received drugs that removed senescent cells - sometimes called "retirement" or "zombie" cells that no longer divide or grow, but persist in the body, according to research published Tuesday by Mayo and U researchers in the journal Science.

While success in mice doesn't guarantee success in people, the results give the researchers confidence as they proceed with two human clinical trials in which they remove senescent cells from COVID-19 patients using high doses of the supplement fisetin. Senescent cells increase with age and chronic disease and could explain why older and unhealthier people make up more than 90% of Minnesota's 7,477 COVID-19 deaths.

https://www.startribune.com/university-of-minnesota-mayo-report-covid-fighting-success-with-anti-aging-therapy/600066486/