Can a drug slow down aging in mice?
Rapamycin fed late in life extends lifespan in genetically heterogeneous mice
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Scientists gave mice rapamycin, a drug that blocks the mTOR protein involved in cell growth and aging, starting when they were old (equivalent to ~60 human years). They wanted to see if it helps them live longer.
Surprising Findings
The drug didn't change what diseases mice died from
Normally you'd expect a drug that extends lifespan to work by preventing specific diseases (like cancer). But the distribution of causes of death was the same between treated and control mice - suggesting rapamycin slows aging itself rather than just preventing one disease.
Practical Takeaways
Do NOT start taking rapamycin for anti-aging purposes
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Scientists gave mice rapamycin, a drug that blocks the mTOR protein involved in cell growth and aging, starting when they were old (equivalent to ~60 human years). They wanted to see if it helps them live longer.
Surprising Findings
The drug didn't change what diseases mice died from
Normally you'd expect a drug that extends lifespan to work by preventing specific diseases (like cancer). But the distribution of causes of death was the same between treated and control mice - suggesting rapamycin slows aging itself rather than just preventing one disease.
Practical Takeaways
Do NOT start taking rapamycin for anti-aging purposes
Publication
Journal
Nature
Year
2009
Authors
D. Harrison, R. Strong, Z. D. Sharp, James F. Nelson, C. M. Astle, K. Flurkey, N. Nadon, J. Wilkinson, K. Frenkel, C. Carter, C. Carter, Marco Pahor, Marco Pahor, M. Javors, Elizabeth Fernandez, Richard A. Miller
Related Content
Claims (9)
A drug called rapamycin helps mice live longer, and scientists have confirmed this works in three different labs - the results show both male and female mice benefit.
Scientists discovered that blocking a specific cell signaling pathway called mTOR can help mammals live longer. This finding shows that the TOR pathway is involved in controlling how long mammals live.
Giving old mice rapamycin in their food when they're about 60 in human years helps them live longer - males lived 13% longer and females 9% longer on average.
Giving old mice the drug rapamycin when they're about 600 days old helps them live longer - female mice lived about 14% longer and male mice about 9% longer than mice that didn't get the drug.
A drug called rapamycin helped mice live longer - males lived about 9% longer and females lived about 14% longer when they started taking the drug in late adulthood.