United States: A drug being touted for potentially slowing down aging is the same one used to prevent organ rejection in kidney transplant patients.
A daily dose of rapamycin, on the other hand – known as sirolimus – is being used off-label to extend longevity.
More about the news
According to Dr. Andrea B. Maier, who is a professor in healthy aging and dementia research and the Director of the Centre for Healthy Longevity at the National University of Singapore, “By targeting a key pathway (mTOR) in cells, this drug has been shown to extend lifespan in animals and could be beneficial to prevent age-related diseases in humans,” Fox News reported.
Maier was a co-author of a recent review study of how rapamycin affects healthy humans.
The review in the Lancet Healthy Longevity journal found that the medication helped improve the effect of aging on the skin.
What more have the experts stated?
According to Maier, “Rapamycin and its derivatives improve the immune and cardiovascular function of healthy individuals or individuals with aging-related diseases,” Fox News reported.
Molecular biologist Daniel Tawfik, who’s also a co-founder of Healthspan, a digital medical clinic that provides antiaging and longevity-promoting therapies, explained his team uses rapamycin to slow down the rate of aging.
Tawfik, who belongs to Santa Monica, California, “We view this through the lens of reducing the accumulation of damaged senescent cells,”
The expert said senescent cells, cells that no longer function properly but remain in the body, can also help contribute to the deterioration of tissue and inflammation.
Tawfik said, “By lowering the rate at which healthy cells transform into senescent cells, rapamycin can slow the aging process at the tissue level, helping to preserve organ function and overall health as we age.”
About med’s off-label use
Rapamycin is FDA-approved for its immune-suppressing properties in patients with kidney transplants and certain cancers in the US.
However, it is being used off-label as a means of extending longevity, for which it has been given approval by the regulators.
According to a press officer for the FDA, “Sirolimus (rapamycin) has not been evaluated by the FDA for safety and effectiveness as an antiaging treatment,” FoxNews reported.