A team of California researchers has found that a drug can rejuvenate aging brains and muscle tissue — opening the door to new anti-aging treatments that could help revitalize the bodies and minds of seniors.

The University of California-Berkeley team discovered that a small-molecule drug simultaneously perks up old stem cells in the brains and muscles of mice, a finding that could have significant implications for humans.

"We established that you can use a single small molecule to rescue essential function in not only aged brain tissue but aged muscle," said David Schaffer, director of the Berkeley Stem Cell Center and a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering.

"That is good news, because if every tissue had a different molecular mechanism for aging, we wouldn't be able to have a single intervention that rescues the function of multiple tissues."

The findings were published in the current issue of the journal Oncotarget.