It was reported using various biological models that the administration of blood factors from young animals to old animals could rejuvenate certain functions. To assess the anti-aging effect of young blood we tested the influence of repeated injections of plasma from young mice on the lifespan of aged mice. One group of 36 CBA/Ca female mice aged 10–12 months was treated by repeated injections of plasma from 2- to 4-month-old females (averaging 75–150 μL per injection, once intravenously and once intraperitoneally per week for 16 months). Their lifespan was compared to a control group that received saline injections. The median lifespan of mice from the control group was 27 months versus 26.4 months in plasma-treated group; the repeated injections of young plasma did not significantly impact either median or maximal lifespan.

Background: Survival remains an issue in pulmonary hypertension, a chronic disorder that often affects aged human adults. In young adult mice and rats, chronic 50% hypoxia (11% FIO2 or 0.5 atm) induces pulmonary hypertension without threatening life. In this framework, oral dehydroepiandrosterone was recently shown to prevent and reverse pulmonary hypertension in rats within a few weeks. To evaluate dehydroepiandrosterone therapy more globally, in the long term and in old age, we investigated whether hypoxia decreases lifespan and whether dehydroepiandrosterone improves survival under hypoxia.