We are moving in the general direction of prolonging life. Drugs to slow down aging are coming and some are even here now. The basic problem with extending life may reflect the quality of the life that is extended. If we add 10 years to a person’s life, will it be worthwhile? Will we just be filling the nursing homes with more debilitated, mentally impaired people?
In the recent issue of New Scientist (October 4, 2014 called Elixer of youth? It’s already here) and good overview of what is going on in the field of the ‘Elixer of Youth’ is examined. Google believes in this future and has invested in a company called Calico, an R&D firm targeting the life span issue. Even drug companies like Novartis have now entered the field with research of “geroprotetors” (longevity drugs). Many doctors who are in the anti-aging field are taking the drugs themselves even through they are deemed experimental at this time.
Adding up to 10 years on to your life may not be so distant into the future as you might think. Drugs such as a baby aspirin daily and a statin, is believed to reduce your risk of stroke, heart disease and even dementia. The evidence is clear on the use of baby aspirin but controversial for the value of statins. Some of the most promising drugs for future use were developedin organ transplants to reduce organ rejection such as the compound rapamycin. This drug has been found to extend life in yeast, worms and mice. A drug called everolimus can reverse the deterioration of the immune system that occurs with age. “Immune system aging is a major cause of disease and death.” These drugs seem to have the same effects on humans as seen in mice but the clinical evidence is wanting. The common drug metformin, used to treat diabetes, seems to have anti-aging effects when used on non-diabetes, but has side effects in producing diabetes in people taking it. Early evidence suggest that 15% of non-diabetics taking metforman were less likely to die than other not on the drug.
In other publications, Scientists have shown a link between long-living calorie-restricted mice and the types of microbes residing in the guts of those mice. The finding, published last month (July 16, 2013) in Nature Communications, suggests a novel mechanism of living longer by establishing the right kind of microbes in our gut through a low-calorie diet. We are learning more and more that we house colonies of gut bacteria that impact us in ways we never imagined.
“[The study] underlined the effectiveness of the healthy modulation of the gut microbiota along with diet specificities,†Jean-Paul Vernoux, a professor of food toxicology at the University of Caen in France who was not involved with the study, said in an email to The Scientist.
Caloric restriction has been known to extend life span in a variety of organisms, including humans, though the molecular mechanisms of this effect are not known. Recent research has begun to outline the role of the apparently innocuous microbes of the gut in modulating metabolism and immunity of their host. Based on these findings, Liping Zhao of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and his colleagues wondered if caloric restriction may prolong life span by modulating the type and composition of gut microbes.[/bq]
Read the rest — Eat Less and Live Longer?
Mice on a low-cal diet live longer. How does that translate to humans? We’ll see.
