Aging: brief use of anti-aging agents instead of lifelong use
With the aging the body’s repair mechanisms slow down and consequently the signs of wear increase and the risk of many diseases increases. The active substance rapamycin is considered one of the most promising anti-aging agent. Researchers now report that the short revenue of the preparation has the same effect as a lifelong treatment.
According to experts, rapamycin is currently the most promising anti-aging agent. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for the Biology of Aging have shown in fruit flies and mice that short-term treatment with the drug has the same positive effects on longevity and health in the elderly as a lifelong treatment. The results of their study were published in the journal “natural aging“published.
New possibilities for possible application in humans
Love it in one Message from the Max Planck Institute for the Biology of Aging, researchers are trying to find a drug that prevents age-related decline and keeps people healthy in old age.
The most promising anti-aging drug currently is rapamycin. It can in laboratory animals both live and increase lifespan. However, in order to achieve the maximum effectiveness of the drug, it is often given for life. But even at low doses used to prevent age-related decline, side effects can occur.
A research team from the Max Planck Institute for the Biology of Aging in Cologne has just shown on laboratory animals that a short-term treatment with rapamycin has the same beneficial effects as a lifelong treatment. This opens New opportunities for possible human application.
Fight the negative effects of aging
fight the negative Effects of aging increasingly becoming the subject of research. While lifestyle changes can improve the health of older people, they alone are not enough to prevent the suffering of old age.
Repurposing existing medications provides an additional opportunity to prevent age-related decline. Rapamycin, a promising anti-aging drug, cell growth inhibitor and immunosuppressant, is commonly used in the cancer therapy and after organ transplants deployed.
“At doses used clinically, rapamycin may cause adverse effects Side effects have, but for the drug to be used to prevent age-related decline, these must be absent or minimal.”says Paula Juricic, lead scientist on the study in the department of Linda Partridge, director of the Max Planck Institute for the Biology of Aging.
“So we wanted to know when and for how long we should administer rapamycin to same effect achievable with lifelong treatment”explains the researcher.
Short term administration
Researchers tested different time windows for short-term drug administration in fruit flies and found that a short rapamycin treatment window of two weeks in young adult flies protected them from changes related to age in the gut and their extended life.
A suitably short time windowa three-month treatment beginning at three months of age in young adult mice had similar beneficial effects on gut health, the researchers said.
“These brief drug treatments in early adulthood resulted in a equally strong protection as a continuous treatment that started at the same time”says Dr. Thomas Leech, co-author of the study.
“We also found that the rapamycin treatment had the strongest and best effect when given at a young age compared to middle age. However, when the flies were treated with rapamycin later in life it had no effect, so the memory of rapamycin is mainly in the early adulthood activated.
Intermittent dosing may be possible
“We have found a way to circumvent the need for chronic, long-term use of rapamycin so that the application in humans could become more likely”explains Dr. Yu-Xuan Lu, also a co-author of the study.
“It is important to know whether it is possible to obtain the therapeutic effect of rapamycin in mice and humans when treatment is started later in life, because the duration of treatment should ideally be minimized”comments Professor Linda Partridge, who led the study.
“Maybe there is one too intermittent dosing possible. This study opened new doors, but also raised many new questions. (ad)
Author and source information
This text corresponds to the specifications of the specialized medical literature, medical guidelines and current studies and has been verified by health professionals.
Sources:
Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging: Time window for rapamycin: short intake has the same effect as lifelong treatment, (Accessed: August 30, 2022), Max Planck Institute for the Biology of Aging
Paula Juricic, Yu-Xuan Lu, Thomas Leech, Lisa F. Drews, Jonathan Paulitz, Jiongming Lu, Tobias Nespital, Sina Azami, Jennifer C. Regan, Emilie Funk, Jenny Fröhlich, Sebastian Grönke, Linda Partridge: Brief Long Term Geroprotection rapamycin treatment in early adulthood with persistent increase in intestinal autophagy; in: Nature Aging, (published: 08/29/2022), natural aging
Important Note: This article contains general advice only and should not be used for self-diagnosis or treatment. It cannot substitute a visit to the doctor.