Your Daily Longevity & Aging Briefing

Popular Anti-Aging Drug Combo Causes Severe Brain Damage in Mice

• A widely studied anti-aging drug combination, dasatinib and quercetin (D+Q), has been found to cause significant brain damage in mice, including severe loss of myelin, the protective coating around nerve fibers. Researchers at the University of Connecticut reported on May 27, 2026, that this treatment, explored for its ability to remove aged cells, led to myelin damage even more pronounced in younger animals than in older ones. This unexpected finding raises concerns about the growing use of D+Q in longevity research and off-label anti-aging therapies, with damaged cells resembling those seen in multiple sclerosis.

  Sciencedaily

• In a promising development, scientists from Bar-Ilan University, the US National Institute on Aging, and Tel Aviv University have successfully "rewound" age-related decline in the livers of older mice. Published on May 27, 2026, their peer-reviewed findings in *Nature Communications* showed that boosting levels of the SIRT6 "longevity protein" reorganized DNA structure in liver cells, restoring them to a much younger state. This suggests that biological aging may not be an irreversible process and could lead to new strategies for preserving tissue function and reducing inflammation during aging.

  TimesofisraelTimesofisrael

• Vanderbilt University researchers have created the first comprehensive growth charts for the brain's white matter, mapping 72 distinct "functional highways" from birth to age 100. This groundbreaking study, published on May 27, 2026, in *Nature*, revealed that white matter volume peaks in a person's early to mid-30s before gradually declining, and that pathways taking longer to mature also resist aging longer. These charts could one day be used by neurologists to track neural network development and detect early signs of brain disorders like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's.

  Vanderbilt Edu

• Researchers at Mass General Brigham have identified shared molecular signatures of aging and mortality across different tissues in humans, mice, rats, and macaques. Their work, published on May 27, 2026, in *Nature*, introduces new "transcriptomic clocks" that quantify aging by analyzing gene expression changes. These clocks could offer a more detailed way to measure biological age, predict disease and mortality risk, and evaluate interventions aimed at extending healthspan.

  Massgeneralbrigham