Are "Zombie" Cells Accelerating the Aging Process?

Does an “almost dead” cell wreaking havoc in the body evoke a scene out of a Walking Dead episode? “Zombie” cells are real and a recent study finds that senescent or “zombie” cells in the skin could be contributing to the aging process, beyond wrinkles.

Senescent “zombie” cells are inactive or malfunctioning cells that can be found throughout the body from the brain to the colon. They no longer replicate, but they don’t die, so they are still active enough to drive tissue dysfunction and inflammation linked to aging and chronic disease.

These new findings show that as we age, the damaged cells build up in the skin and secrete a harmful chemical protein into the blood. This protein causes inflammation, which can affect stem cell function, prohibit the metabolism from working properly and hinder the skin’s ability to repair itself. This toxic environment in the blood then leads to visible signs of aging like wrinkles and loss of elasticity. Zombie cells are also linked to muscle and brain decline and weakening immune system, further speeding up the aging process.

The study of senescent cells is not new to the research community as they have been highly studied in connection to cancer. Experts are now using the presence of zombie or senescent cells to help predict certain health outcomes in older adults and have determined that skin health may be a crucial and understudied area of research.

More research is underway, to look more closely at the role the skin plays in the overall aging process. Research is also being done on drugs that can successfully treat zombie cells and the effect this would have on the overall health of a patient.