Short exposure to rapamycin has the same antiaging effects as lifelong treatment.
Imagine being able to take a drug that prevents the decline that comes with age and keeps you healthy. Scientists are looking for drugs that have these effects. The current most promising antiaging drug is rapamycin. It is known for its positive effects on lifespan and health in experimental animal studies. It is often given for life to achieve the maximum beneficial effects of the drug. However, even at the low doses used to prevent age-related decline, negative side effects can occur. Furthermore, it is always desirable to use the lowest effective dose. A research team at the Max Planck Institute for the Biology of Aging in Cologne, Germany, has now shown in laboratory animals that short exposure to rapamycin has the same positive effects as lifelong treatment. This opens new doors for potential application in humans. Researchers are increasingly focusing on combating the negative effects of aging. Lifestyle changes can improve the health of older people, but these alone are not sufficient to prevent the diseases of older age. Repurposing existing drugs for “gerontology” provides an additional weapon to prevent age-related decline. Currently, the most promising antiaging drug is rapamycin, a cell growth inhibitor and immunosuppressant commonly used in cancer treatment and after organ transplants. “At doses used clinically, rapamycin can have unwanted side effects, but for the drug’s use in preventing age-related decline, these should be absent or minimal. Therefore, we wanted to know when and how long we should give rapamycin to achieve the same results as lifelong treatment,” explains Dr. Paula Juricic. She is the lead researcher of the study in the department of Prof. Linda Partridge, director at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging.
Short exposure only
Scientists have tested different time windows of short-term drug administration in fruit flies. They found that a short 2-week period of rapamycin treatment in young, adult flies protected them from age-related gut pathology and extended their lifespan. A similarly short period of 3 months of treatment starting at 3 months of age in young, adult mice had similar beneficial effects on gut health when they were middle-aged. “These brief drug treatments in early adulthood produced as strong protection as continuous treatment started at the same time. We also found that rapamycin treatment had the strongest and best results when given in early life compared to midlife. When the flies were treated with rapamycin late in life, on the other hand, it had absolutely no effect. Thus, rapamycin memory is mainly activated in early adulthood,” explains Dr. Thomas Leech, co-author of the paper.
One step closer to applications
“We found a way to bypass the need for chronic, long-term rapamycin, so it could be more practical to apply in humans,” says Dr. Yu-Xuan Lu, also a co-author of the paper. Professor Linda Partridge, senior author of the study, comments: “It will be important to find out whether it is possible to achieve the geoprotective effects of rapamycin in mice and humans with treatment starting later in life, as ideally the treatment period should minimized. It may also be possible to use intermittent dosing. This study opened new doors, but also many new questions.” Reference: “Long-Term Geroprotection by Brief Rapamycin Treatment in Early Adulthood from Persistently Increased Intestinal Autophagy” by 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 and Linda Partridge, 29 August 2022, Nature Aging.DOI: 10.1038/s43587-022-00278-w Research for this study was conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging and was funded by the CECAD Cluster of Excellence for Aging Research.
title: “The Remarkable Anti Aging Drug Offers Positive Health And Longevity Effects With Short Exposure Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-05” author: “Sarah Leger”
Short exposure to rapamycin has the same antiaging effects as lifelong treatment.
Imagine being able to take a drug that prevents the decline that comes with age and keeps you healthy. Scientists are looking for drugs that have these effects. The current most promising antiaging drug is rapamycin. It is known for its positive effects on lifespan and health in experimental animal studies. It is often given for life to achieve the maximum beneficial effects of the drug. However, even at the low doses used to prevent age-related decline, negative side effects can occur. Furthermore, it is always desirable to use the lowest effective dose. A research team at the Max Planck Institute for the Biology of Aging in Cologne, Germany, has now shown in laboratory animals that short exposure to rapamycin has the same positive effects as lifelong treatment. This opens new doors for potential application in humans. Researchers are increasingly focusing on combating the negative effects of aging. Lifestyle changes can improve the health of older people, but these alone are not sufficient to prevent the diseases of older age. Repurposing existing drugs for “gerontology” provides an additional weapon to prevent age-related decline. Currently, the most promising antiaging drug is rapamycin, a cell growth inhibitor and immunosuppressant commonly used in cancer treatment and after organ transplants. “At doses used clinically, rapamycin can have unwanted side effects, but for the drug’s use in preventing age-related decline, these should be absent or minimal. Therefore, we wanted to know when and how long we should give rapamycin to achieve the same results as lifelong treatment,” explains Dr. Paula Juricic. She is the lead researcher of the study in the department of Prof. Linda Partridge, director at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging.
Short exposure only
Scientists have tested different time windows of short-term drug administration in fruit flies. They found that a short 2-week period of rapamycin treatment in young, adult flies protected them from age-related gut pathology and extended their lifespan. A similarly short period of 3 months of treatment starting at 3 months of age in young, adult mice had similar beneficial effects on gut health when they were middle-aged. “These brief drug treatments in early adulthood produced as strong protection as continuous treatment started at the same time. We also found that rapamycin treatment had the strongest and best results when given in early life compared to midlife. When the flies were treated with rapamycin late in life, on the other hand, it had absolutely no effect. Thus, rapamycin memory is mainly activated in early adulthood,” explains Dr. Thomas Leech, co-author of the paper.
One step closer to applications
“We found a way to bypass the need for chronic, long-term rapamycin, so it could be more practical to apply in humans,” says Dr. Yu-Xuan Lu, also a co-author of the paper. Professor Linda Partridge, senior author of the study, comments: “It will be important to find out whether it is possible to achieve the geoprotective effects of rapamycin in mice and humans with treatment starting later in life, as ideally the treatment period should minimized. It may also be possible to use intermittent dosing. This study opened new doors, but also many new questions.” Reference: “Long-Term Geroprotection by Brief Rapamycin Treatment in Early Adulthood from Persistently Increased Intestinal Autophagy” by 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 and Linda Partridge, 29 August 2022, Nature Aging.DOI: 10.1038/s43587-022-00278-w Research for this study was conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging and was funded by the CECAD Cluster of Excellence for Aging Research.
title: “The Remarkable Anti Aging Drug Offers Positive Health And Longevity Effects With Short Exposure Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-05” author: “Tonya Towell”
Short exposure to rapamycin has the same antiaging effects as lifelong treatment.
Imagine being able to take a drug that prevents the decline that comes with age and keeps you healthy. Scientists are looking for drugs that have these effects. The current most promising antiaging drug is rapamycin. It is known for its positive effects on lifespan and health in experimental animal studies. It is often given for life to achieve the maximum beneficial effects of the drug. However, even at the low doses used to prevent age-related decline, negative side effects can occur. Furthermore, it is always desirable to use the lowest effective dose. A research team at the Max Planck Institute for the Biology of Aging in Cologne, Germany, has now shown in laboratory animals that short exposure to rapamycin has the same positive effects as lifelong treatment. This opens new doors for potential application in humans. Researchers are increasingly focusing on combating the negative effects of aging. Lifestyle changes can improve the health of older people, but these alone are not sufficient to prevent the diseases of older age. Repurposing existing drugs for “gerontology” provides an additional weapon to prevent age-related decline. Currently, the most promising antiaging drug is rapamycin, a cell growth inhibitor and immunosuppressant commonly used in cancer treatment and after organ transplants. “At doses used clinically, rapamycin can have unwanted side effects, but for the drug’s use in preventing age-related decline, these should be absent or minimal. Therefore, we wanted to know when and how long we should give rapamycin to achieve the same results as lifelong treatment,” explains Dr. Paula Juricic. She is the lead researcher of the study in the department of Prof. Linda Partridge, director at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging.
Short exposure only
Scientists have tested different time windows of short-term drug administration in fruit flies. They found that a short 2-week period of rapamycin treatment in young, adult flies protected them from age-related gut pathology and extended their lifespan. A similarly short period of 3 months of treatment starting at 3 months of age in young, adult mice had similar beneficial effects on gut health when they were middle-aged. “These brief drug treatments in early adulthood produced as strong protection as continuous treatment started at the same time. We also found that rapamycin treatment had the strongest and best results when given in early life compared to midlife. When the flies were treated with rapamycin late in life, on the other hand, it had absolutely no effect. Thus, rapamycin memory is mainly activated in early adulthood,” explains Dr. Thomas Leech, co-author of the paper.
One step closer to applications
“We found a way to bypass the need for chronic, long-term rapamycin, so it could be more practical to apply in humans,” says Dr. Yu-Xuan Lu, also a co-author of the paper. Professor Linda Partridge, senior author of the study, comments: “It will be important to find out whether it is possible to achieve the geoprotective effects of rapamycin in mice and humans with treatment starting later in life, as ideally the treatment period should minimized. It may also be possible to use intermittent dosing. This study opened new doors, but also many new questions.” Reference: “Long-Term Geroprotection by Brief Rapamycin Treatment in Early Adulthood from Persistently Increased Intestinal Autophagy” by 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 and Linda Partridge, 29 August 2022, Nature Aging.DOI: 10.1038/s43587-022-00278-w Research for this study was conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging and was funded by the CECAD Cluster of Excellence for Aging Research.
title: “The Remarkable Anti Aging Drug Offers Positive Health And Longevity Effects With Short Exposure Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-24” author: “Paul Bordelon”
Short exposure to rapamycin has the same antiaging effects as lifelong treatment.
Imagine being able to take a drug that prevents the decline that comes with age and keeps you healthy. Scientists are looking for drugs that have these effects. The current most promising antiaging drug is rapamycin. It is known for its positive effects on lifespan and health in experimental animal studies. It is often given for life to achieve the maximum beneficial effects of the drug. However, even at the low doses used to prevent age-related decline, negative side effects can occur. Furthermore, it is always desirable to use the lowest effective dose. A research team at the Max Planck Institute for the Biology of Aging in Cologne, Germany, has now shown in laboratory animals that short exposure to rapamycin has the same positive effects as lifelong treatment. This opens new doors for potential application in humans. Researchers are increasingly focusing on combating the negative effects of aging. Lifestyle changes can improve the health of older people, but these alone are not sufficient to prevent the diseases of older age. Repurposing existing drugs for “gerontology” provides an additional weapon to prevent age-related decline. Currently, the most promising antiaging drug is rapamycin, a cell growth inhibitor and immunosuppressant commonly used in cancer treatment and after organ transplants. “At doses used clinically, rapamycin can have unwanted side effects, but for the drug’s use in preventing age-related decline, these should be absent or minimal. Therefore, we wanted to know when and how long we should give rapamycin to achieve the same results as lifelong treatment,” explains Dr. Paula Juricic. She is the lead researcher of the study in the department of Prof. Linda Partridge, director at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging.
Short exposure only
Scientists have tested different time windows of short-term drug administration in fruit flies. They found that a short 2-week period of rapamycin treatment in young, adult flies protected them from age-related gut pathology and extended their lifespan. A similarly short period of 3 months of treatment starting at 3 months of age in young, adult mice had similar beneficial effects on gut health when they were middle-aged. “These brief drug treatments in early adulthood produced as strong protection as continuous treatment started at the same time. We also found that rapamycin treatment had the strongest and best results when given in early life compared to midlife. When the flies were treated with rapamycin late in life, on the other hand, it had absolutely no effect. Thus, rapamycin memory is mainly activated in early adulthood,” explains Dr. Thomas Leech, co-author of the paper.
One step closer to applications
“We found a way to bypass the need for chronic, long-term rapamycin, so it could be more practical to apply in humans,” says Dr. Yu-Xuan Lu, also a co-author of the paper. Professor Linda Partridge, senior author of the study, comments: “It will be important to find out whether it is possible to achieve the geoprotective effects of rapamycin in mice and humans with treatment starting later in life, as ideally the treatment period should minimized. It may also be possible to use intermittent dosing. This study opened new doors, but also many new questions.” Reference: “Long-Term Geroprotection by Brief Rapamycin Treatment in Early Adulthood from Persistently Increased Intestinal Autophagy” by 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 and Linda Partridge, 29 August 2022, Nature Aging.DOI: 10.1038/s43587-022-00278-w Research for this study was conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging and was funded by the CECAD Cluster of Excellence for Aging Research.
title: “The Remarkable Anti Aging Drug Offers Positive Health And Longevity Effects With Short Exposure Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-24” author: “Anthony Wallace”
Short exposure to rapamycin has the same antiaging effects as lifelong treatment.
Imagine being able to take a drug that prevents the decline that comes with age and keeps you healthy. Scientists are looking for drugs that have these effects. The current most promising antiaging drug is rapamycin. It is known for its positive effects on lifespan and health in experimental animal studies. It is often given for life to achieve the maximum beneficial effects of the drug. However, even at the low doses used to prevent age-related decline, negative side effects can occur. Furthermore, it is always desirable to use the lowest effective dose. A research team at the Max Planck Institute for the Biology of Aging in Cologne, Germany, has now shown in laboratory animals that short exposure to rapamycin has the same positive effects as lifelong treatment. This opens new doors for potential application in humans. Researchers are increasingly focusing on combating the negative effects of aging. Lifestyle changes can improve the health of older people, but these alone are not sufficient to prevent the diseases of older age. Repurposing existing drugs for “gerontology” provides an additional weapon to prevent age-related decline. Currently, the most promising antiaging drug is rapamycin, a cell growth inhibitor and immunosuppressant commonly used in cancer treatment and after organ transplants. “At doses used clinically, rapamycin can have unwanted side effects, but for the drug’s use in preventing age-related decline, these should be absent or minimal. Therefore, we wanted to know when and how long we should give rapamycin to achieve the same results as lifelong treatment,” explains Dr. Paula Juricic. She is the lead researcher of the study in the department of Prof. Linda Partridge, director at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging.
Short exposure only
Scientists have tested different time windows of short-term drug administration in fruit flies. They found that a short 2-week period of rapamycin treatment in young, adult flies protected them from age-related gut pathology and extended their lifespan. A similarly short period of 3 months of treatment starting at 3 months of age in young, adult mice had similar beneficial effects on gut health when they were middle-aged. “These brief drug treatments in early adulthood produced as strong protection as continuous treatment started at the same time. We also found that rapamycin treatment had the strongest and best results when given in early life compared to midlife. When the flies were treated with rapamycin late in life, on the other hand, it had absolutely no effect. Thus, rapamycin memory is mainly activated in early adulthood,” explains Dr. Thomas Leech, co-author of the paper.
One step closer to applications
“We found a way to bypass the need for chronic, long-term rapamycin, so it could be more practical to apply in humans,” says Dr. Yu-Xuan Lu, also a co-author of the paper. Professor Linda Partridge, senior author of the study, comments: “It will be important to find out whether it is possible to achieve the geoprotective effects of rapamycin in mice and humans with treatment starting later in life, as ideally the treatment period should minimized. It may also be possible to use intermittent dosing. This study opened new doors, but also many new questions.” Reference: “Long-Term Geroprotection by Brief Rapamycin Treatment in Early Adulthood from Persistently Increased Intestinal Autophagy” by 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 and Linda Partridge, 29 August 2022, Nature Aging.DOI: 10.1038/s43587-022-00278-w Research for this study was conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging and was funded by the CECAD Cluster of Excellence for Aging Research.
