Effects of Aging Have Been Reversed by Putting Young Mouse Poop in Old Mice

It sounds like something that might have come out of a sci-fi novel, but it's based on cold, hard, printed research: transplanting fecal microbes from young mice into old mice seems to reverse key signs of aging in the guts, eyes, and brains of the older animals.

Further experiments showed that it works the other way too – moving microbes from the poop of aged mice into younger mice caused the younger animals to then show signs of aging, including increased inflammation in the brain and a reduction in a key protein needed for normal vision.

"Here, we tested the hypothesis that manipulating the intestinal microbiota influences the development of major comorbidities associated with aging and, in particular, inflammation affecting the brain and retina," write the researchers in their published paper:
[link to microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com (secure)]

"Our results demonstrate that the age-associated changes in the murine intestinal microbiota contribute to disrupted gut barrier integrity and systemic and tissue inflammation affecting the retina and the brain, but these changes can be reversed by replacement with young donor microbiota," write the researchers.

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