A team of Canadian scientists showed that Vitamin C 'cured' mice of symptoms of accelerated aging disease, in a new study.
A team of Canadian scientists showed that Vitamin C 'cured' mice of symptoms of accelerated aging disease, in a new study.
Researchers at the Centre de Recherche en Cancerologie in Quebec said vitamin C reversed accelerated aging in a mouse model of Werner's syndrome.People with Werner's syndrome show signs of accelerated aging in their 20s, develop age-related diseases and generally die before age 50.
The study findings suggested that vitamin C might be helpful in other age-related diseases as well.
"Our study clearly indicates that a healthy organism or individuals with no health problems do not require a large amount of vitamin C in order to increase their lifespan, especially if they have a balanced diet and they exercise," said Michel Lebel, co-author of the study from the Centre de Recherche en Cancerologie in Quebec, Canada.
"An organism or individual with a mutation in the WRN gene or any gene affected by the WRN protein, and thus predisposes them to several age-related diseases, may benefit from a diet with the appropriate amount of vitamin C," Lebel added.
Scientists treated both normal mice and mice with a mutation in the gene responsible for Werner's syndrome (WRN gene) with vitamin C in drinking water.
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After treatment, the mutant mice were as healthy as the normal mice and lived a normal lifespan.
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The study has been published in the January 2010 print issue of the FASEB Journal.
Source-ANI
TRI