Newly Discovered Small-Molecule Drug Could ‘Perk Up’ Aging Muscle Tissue

The discovery of a small-molecule drug by experts at UC Berkeley may offer hope for interventions that would rejuvenate aging muscle tissue.  In tests, the drug “perked up” old stem cells in the muscles and brains of mice.  “We established that you can use a single small molecule to rescue essential function in not only aged brain tissue but aged muscle,” noted David Schaffer, Ph.D., director of the Berkeley Stem Cell Center and a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering. “That is good news, because if every tissue had a different molecular mechanism for aging, we wouldn’t be able to have a single intervention that rescues the function of multiple tissues.”  Read more here.