--- title: "In One-Year Study, Drug Cocktail Appears to Reverse “Genetic Age”" description: "A one-year reverse aging study from UCLA suggests that it may be possible to reverse biological age with a cocktail of drugs." date: "2019-09-06" modified: "2019-09-16" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/study-drug-cocktail-reverse-genetic-age" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Studies" tags: - "aging process" - "aging research" - "anti-aging" --- # In One-Year Study, Drug Cocktail Appears to Reverse “Genetic Age” ![In a one year genetics study, scientists gave nine healthy men a cocktail of three drugs to see whether they would slow down the men's biological age clock.]() *\Image: Victor Tangermann\* Birthdays aren't the only thing that determine how old we are. Our biological age can also be measured by examining chemical changes in our DNA — and that's something we might be able to influence with the help of cutting-edge treatments. In a one year trial, scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles, gave nine healthy men a cocktail of three drugs — one common growth hormone and two diabetes medications — to see whether they would slow down the men's biological clock. And the results, [according to *Nature*](), are promising. The trial targeted the thymus, a small gland in the chest that matures white blood cells to help the body fight infections and cancers. Previous studies have shown that the gland starts to shrink after puberty. The results, [published]() in the journal *Aging Cell* on Thursday, were astonishing: on average, the trial's participants regained 2.5 years of biological age. Seven participants regenerated thymus tissue and all seven participants showed a rejuvenated blood-cell count. "I’d expected to see slowing down of the clock, but not a reversal," geneticist Steve Horvath at the University of California, Los Angeles, who carried out the analysis, told *Nature*. "That felt kind of futuristic." But before health professionals start prescribing hormones to reverse aging, scientists were quick to point out that the trial was small in scope, with an extremely limited sample size. "It may be that there is an effect," cell biologist Wolfgang Wagner at the University of Aachen in Germany told *Nature*. "But the results are not rock solid because the study is very small and not well controlled." ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()