The multibillion dollar anti-aging market includes products, services and technologies. A lot of this involves skin care. But beneath the surface, relating to the dorsomedial hypothalamus, a structure deep in the brain, there’s been a big breakthrough at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

“This is actually the first demonstration that manipulating specific neurons, delays aging and expands lifespan in mice,” said Shin-ichiro Imai, MD, PhD, the Theodore and Bertha Bryan Distinguished Professor in Environmental Medicine and a professor in the Department of Developmental Biology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

With mice, the lifespan increased when specific brain cells are activated. In the study, the look of aging is undeniable when comparing the mice.