It was only just a decade ago that a new medical treatment called Botox was introduced to the public as a true solution to skin wrinkles. The before and after pictures were nothing short of astounding and people everywhere sat up and took notice. Then the next turn of events was “Botox parties”, where friends gathered for cocktails wine and cheese as a doctor treated them all for their wrinkles with injections of this new miracle anti wrinkle serum.

Expensive Short Term Results

Soon however, the “Botox bubble” began to burst, as people everywhere found out that there was more to Botox treatments than meets the eye. To begin with, the effects of Botox injections only last some three weeks, with maximum effects only occurring for the first week. Secondly, a Botox treatment costs between $350-$500, which puts them out of reach for most people.

Boom to Bust as Reality Took Hold

Then people began to learn that Botox injections are only effective on wrinkles on the brow, forehead and sides of the eyes, that are the result of involuntary muscle contractions. Finally, those who had undergone Botox injections were reporting back that they were experiencing a deadening of their facial expressions due the their facial muscles being paralyzed by the Botox. So, while Botox did have its fifteen minutes of fame, it appears that the “Botox show” has been canceled.

Mice kept in a germ-free room with intensive nursing care at Harvard Medical School are hopefully the key to this side effect. A mouse gym holds a miniature exercise machine that tests the rodents’ ability to balance on a bar, while in a nearby water maze, mice must recall visual cues from their “training” to swim to safety on a hidden platform – thereby testing memory powers. (Don’t worry: the that forget their lessons are rescued as they start to submerge.)

The new drugs being tested are called Sirtuin activators, and are based on a theory that most species have an ancient strategy for riding out famines: switch resources from reproduction to tissue maintenance. These activators appear to be triggered in mice when fed a healthy diet with 30 % fewer calories. The mice seem to live longer because they are somehow protected from the usual diseases that kill them.