Women toss their bras during the 5th Pink Bra Spring and Bra Toss and help Push Up the Fight Against Breast Cancer at the Trocadero Square near the Eiffel Tower in Paris
Women toss their bras during the 5th Pink Bra Spring and Bra Toss and help Push Up the Fight Against Breast Cancer event at the Trocadero Square near the Eiffel Tower in Paris March 16, 2014. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

The University of Leicester has made an advancement in biomedical research. It is said the advancement could help in tackling diseases that are associated with ageing as well as in the treatment of cancer. The university funded the research along with other organisations.

According to the University of Leicester, the study helped in finding new ways to identify ageing cells in the human body. The research is an important one, as it helps to identify the accumulation of senescent cells, or old cells, in human tissues, which is a factor in the symptoms of ageing.

The study found that old cells could appear as a result of internal anti-cancer mechanisms in the human body. The team of researchers found the old cells were seen in high numbers in blood samples of humans who were suffering from different types of cancer. This was most evident in the case of breast cancer.

Dr Salvador Macip, lecturer of biochemistry at the University of Leicester and the lead author of the study, said they had found a series of novel markers that could help detect senescent cells. He also said they have found that the cells could be used to predict and diagnose increased survival in a few types of cancer.

According to Dr Macip, till date, good protocols to help detect the cells had been lacking. He said his team's research had described new markers that were located on the surface of old cells. He explained the markers were useful in identifying the old cells faster in the laboratory using a wide range of techniques. He added that the new advancement could be used in future to develop strategies to remove old cells, which could help reduce effects of ageing in healthy subjects.

Dr Macip was assisted by a group of scientists from the Department of Biochemistry and Cancer Studies of the University of Leicester, the Umm Al-Qura University and the Russian Academy of Sciences. The study is published in the scientific journal Cell Death and Disease.