- Existing drugs could be repurposed to extend lifespans, leading researchers say.
- The most promising candidates include drugs to treat diabetes and blood pressure.
- Doctors are already prescribing some of these drugs off-label for purposes such as weight loss.
Dr. Neil Barzilai has spent his career figuring out how aging happens, and has already discovered an important genetic reason why some people age so well.
The director of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine Institute for the Study of Aging says he hopes the insights he and others gain from studying centenarians will one day translate into new ways to treat aging using new drug targets. I hope that it may be possible. But for now, he says there are some cheap, older drugs that may help people feel new again.
“They are taking old cells, old organs or old bodies and rejuvenating them,” he told scientists, doctors and longevity enthusiasts gathered at the Healthy Aging Conference in Singapore last week. Ta.
The problem is that it’s hard to get independent investors, or even big drug companies, excited about a very cheap drug that’s already available as a generic drug or a relatively low-cost slow-release tablet.
There are several clear advantages to investigating potential anti-aging drugs that are already approved for the treatment of other conditions compared to other interventions. Unlike supplements, which are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, these drugs have been “tested for safety” and have “established efficacy” to actually work in treating specific problems, Barzilai said. Stated.
According to , the four most underrated longevity candidates currently available are: Barzilai’s research:
Metformin: It is one of the most widely prescribed and cheapest diabetes drugs on the market and also affects several important features of aging. It mimics some of the benefits of fasting and exercise and reduces inflammation and cancer risk. Barzilai said a large-scale, placebo-controlled trial of the drug for healthy aging is expected to begin in the United States this year.
rapamycin: Rapamycin, originally collected from a remote clump of soil in the South Pacific, is an antifungal compound that helps control important proteins in our bodies. It suppresses cell growth and has beneficial effects on many processes associated with aging, such as reducing inflammation and improving immune function. Many biohackers have already begun taking small, self-prescribed doses in hopes of extending their own lives.
ACE inhibitor: Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are designed to lower blood pressure. Keeps blood flowing and reduces stress on the heart. However, studies in mice and rats suggest that it can also extend the lifespan of animals with normal blood pressure.
SGLT2 inhibitor: Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are a new class of diabetes drugs that help lower blood sugar levels by pushing more glucose out of the body in the urine, and are the most common on this list. It’s an expensive drug. Some of the most rigorous anti-aging studies ever conducted (also in mice) show that SGLT2 extends lifespan. Researchers believe that the same blood sugar-regulating effects of these drugs may also help prevent many age-related diseases.
