For the first time, a human being has received a treatment designed to reverse cellular ageing.
Scientists at Boston-based American biotechnology company Life Biosciences have developed a gene therapy aimed at restoring old or damaged cells in human patients.
Their therapy, known as ER-100 (AAV2-OSK), aims to target conditions characterised by damage in the optic nerve, known as optic neuropathies.
They use the so-called OSK factors or three proteins — Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 — to perform partial epigenetic reprogramming, resetting cellular age and restoring function.
After being tested in rodents and primates, the company announced that the first human has now received the treatment.
