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Researchers in the US say they might have discovered how to combat and even reverse some effects of ageing, at least in mice. Injecting the blood of young mice into older rodents boosted their brainpower, a study found. The scientists now want to carry out trials in people in the hope that new treatments for dementia can be developed. A UK dementia research charity said the human significance was unknown. There are factors present in blood from young mice that can recharge an old mouse's brain so that it functions more like a younger one� Dr Tony Wyss-Coray Stanford University School of Medicine In the study, published in Nature Medicine, mice aged 18 months were given transfusions of the fluid part of blood (plasma) from mice aged 3 months. The treated mice performed better on memory tests than those the same age that had not been treated. "There are factors present in blood from young mice that can recharge an old mouse's brain so that it functions more like a younger one," said Dr Tony Wyss-Coray of Stanford University School of Medicine. "We're working intensively to find out what those factors might be and from exactly which tissues they originate." He said it was not known whether the same was true in humans, but a clinical trial was planned. Dementia research charity Alzheimer's Research UK said the treatments tested rejuvenated certain aspects of learning and memory in mice, but were "of unknown significance to humans". "This research, while very interesting, does not investigate the type of cognitive impairment that is seen in Alzheimer's disease, which is not an inevitable consequence of ageing," said Dr Eric Karran, director of research. A second study by a Harvard team shed more light on how young blood benefits the old, at least in mice. A substance in the blood of mice previously shown to have an anti-aging effect on heart muscle, also boosted muscle and brain power.