Does clearing senescent cells with senolytics help against ageing?
Senolytics show impressive results in mouse studies, but in humans the evidence is too thin for use outside clinical trials. Self-medication with Dasatinib is inadvisable due to its side effects and cancer-biology risks.
Senescent cells stop dividing but do not die off. They accumulate as you get older and continuously pump inflammatory substances into their surroundings. In mouse studies, removing those cells with senolytics has been strikingly successful: more than 40 conditions, ranging from heart and kidney problems to bone disease and brain disorders, appeared to improve or slow down. But what works in mice does not by any means always work in humans.
In humans the evidence is still very thin. The most-cited human study tested a combination of the cancer drug Dasatinib (100 mg) and the supplement Quercetin (1000 mg) in just 9 people with diabetic kidney disease, over 3 days1. Within 11 days the number of senescent cells in fat tissue and skin decreased measurably, and inflammatory substances in the blood also fell. However, there was no control group, and several of the researchers involved have a financial interest through patents at the Mayo Clinic.
Clinical studies into senolytics are under way for diabetes, pulmonary fibrosis, Alzheimer's disease, osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. Whether they also make a difference for the human brain is an open question, with many uncertainties still remaining2,3. Large-scale evidence on safety and effectiveness is lacking for the time being.
An important safety point: senescent cells are not simply harmful. Shortly after they arise, they actually suppress tumours. Only when they remain present for a long time do they become cancer-promoting through their inflammatory secretions4,5. Using senolytics at the wrong moment can therefore carry risks. Dasatinib is moreover a cancer drug with known side effects.
Attention is also being paid to a senolytics cream for the skin, but that idea is speculative and has not been clinically demonstrated6. Quercetin is freely available as a supplement, but the available data in humans are far too limited to support a safe or effective dose for healthy people. Experts agree: senolytics belong in clinical studies, not in your own medicine cabinet.
Seven claims are based on six PMID sources (31542391, 32686219, 35015337, 35953721, 38030088, 36045302, 33262144, 35012887). The only direct human study (PMID 31542391) involves 9 participants without a placebo group. The remaining sources are primarily review articles on animal data and mechanistic research. No randomised controlled trials in humans are available in this source collection.
What exactly does senescence do to your cells as you age?
Senescent cells stop dividing, accumulate with age and cause damage throughout the body through a constant stream of inflammatory substances. They are both a protector (a brake on cancer) and a cause of damage, and that makes targeted intervention more complex than it appears.
Can meditation do anything about ageing at the cellular level?
There are cautious indications that meditation favourably influences the activity of the telomere-repairing enzyme, but whether this truly keeps your cells younger has not yet been convincingly proven. Meditation for stress reduction has a considerably stronger evidence base in any case, and an indirect effect on cellular ageing via that pathway is plausible.
Does chronic inflammation accelerate the ageing of your cells?
Chronic inflammation demonstrably accelerates cellular ageing through a negative spiral that is difficult to break. The best evidence-based approach to tackling that spiral is through lifestyle factors that dampen low-grade inflammation, such as sufficient exercise and a diet low in ultra-processed products.
Do sirtuins actually do anything against ageing?
Sirtuins play a clear role in ageing in animal research, but whether they are of any benefit to humans (through supplements or other means) remains unknown. Wait for human evidence before acting on any sirtuin-based claims.
Do senolytics already work in humans, or only in mice so far?
Senolytics no longer work only in mice: there is now first concrete evidence in humans, but the studies are small and lack long-term outcomes, so they cannot yet be relied upon as a proven treatment.
Does caloric restriction actually make your cells younger?
Caloric restriction slows ageing processes in cells, but whether your cells actually become younger as a result has not yet been proven in humans. The metabolic benefits, such as improved insulin sensitivity, have been demonstrated in human studies.