What if there’s a drug to extend your life? A drug to slow down aging. One that staves off diseases and debilitating conditions of old age. That would be wonderful. Too good to be true, isn’t it?
The good news is that anti-aging medications have moved from the realms of science fiction and are inching closer to reality. Several promising research projects are underway as scientists move closer to unravelling the molecular processes of ageing and discovering a drug that helps retain youthfulness.
The team at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Science, Imperial College London, and Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore have developed a drug that increased the lifespans of laboratory mice by nearly 25%. The drug is being tested in humans to see whether it can replicate the anti-ageing effect.
Here’s what we know about the experiment and the drug.
What was the focus of the research?
The research targeted interleukin-11 (IL-11), a protein that accelerates old age. In a discovery published in the journal Nature, researchers from Singapore’s Duke-NUS Medical School showed that anti-IL-11 therapy could counteract the effects of ageing and increase lifespan.
■ Interleukin-11 is a 178-amino acid nonglycosylated peptide that serves as a growth factor and an immune regulator, the report in Nature said.
■ The protein has been linked to chronic inflammation, organ tissue scarring, metabolism disorders, muscle wasting and cardiac fibrosis.
■ IL-11 levels in the human body increase with age as it drives inflammation and “flips several biological switches that control the pace of ageing,” a BBC report said.
How did scientists stumble upon IL-11’s effect on ageing?
In 2018, researchers showed that IL-11 is a pro-fibrotic and pro-inflammatory protein after running tests on a sample of tissues.
“I ran some experiments to check for IL-11 levels. We could clearly see that the levels of IL-11 increased with age. We found these rising levels contribute to negative effects in the body, such as inflammation and preventing organs from healing and regenerating after injury,” says Anissa Widjaja, co-corresponding author from Duke-NUS Medical School.
What was the experiment that extended lifespans?
The researchers conducted two experiments. In the first, genetically modified rats without IL-11 were used and the deletion of the protein extended the animals’ lifespans by more than 20%.
More startling results came from the second experiment, where mice were injected with a drug that prevented the IL-11 protein from causing harmful effects in the body. Male and female rats had an increased lifespan of up to 25%. “Treatment with anti-IL-11 from 75 weeks of age until death extends the median lifespan of male mice by 22.5% and of female mice by 25%,” the report in Nature said.
What was the impact of the anti-ageing drug?
The mice treated with the anti-IL-11 drug retained their youthful appearance and were healthier, stronger and developed fewer cancers than the unmedicated mice. With just 25 weeks of therapy, the mice had no grey hair, improved vision, lowered cholesterol levels, improved metabolism and muscle strength, and reduced cancer risk.
The 75-week-old animals (equivalent to a 55-year-old human) lived for an average of 155 weeks, compared to the 120 weeks for those not treated.
What did the scientists say?
“Stifling inflammation could slow age-related declines in health,” says Stuart Cook, co-corresponding author from the UK’s Medical Research Council Laboratory of Medical Science. ‘The treated mice had fewer cancers, and were free from the usual signs of ageing and frailty, but we also saw reduced muscle wasting and improvement in muscle strength.”
Ilaria Bellantuono, professor of musculoskeletal ageing at the University of Sheffield, told the BBC: “Overall, the data seems solid; this is another potential therapy targeting a mechanism of ageing, which may benefit frailty.”
Is the anti-IL-11 drug used in human trials?
“Anti-IL-11 treatments are currently in human clinical trials for other conditions, potentially providing exciting opportunities to study its effects in ageing humans in the future,” says Cook. “Our aim is that one day, anti-IL-11 therapy will be used as widely as possible so that people the world over can lead healthier lives for longer.”
How does the anti-IL-11 drug work?
The drug offers protection against chronic illnesses and age-related loss of muscle mass and strength. The therapy also reduced the rate of telomere shortening.
Telomeres sit at the end of each chromosome. As people grow older, telomeres become shorter, making people susceptible to illnesses like cancer, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Will this anti-ageing drug work on people?
There’s no way to know. Clinical trials in humans are underway, and scientists hope the drug’s effect on mice can be replicated.
■ They release chemicals that can trigger inflammation.
■ Senescent cells have been linked to age-related conditions, including cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s and dementia, and osteoarthritis.
■ They have also been a factor in the declines in eyesight, mobility, and thinking ability.
What are the other drugs that are being studied for anti-ageing properties?
Metformin, a drug to treat type-2 diabetes, and rapamycin, which is given to prevent organ rejection after a transplant, are also being researched for their anti-ageing properties.
The California-based biopharmaceutical company Rubedo Life Sciences is conducting human trials for its drug RLS-1469, which targets senescent cells which cause age-related diseases.
Senolytics are a new class of drugs that target senescent cells, also known as zombie cells, linked to ageing. Some senolytics have received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to treat conditions like cancer.
Is there a drug that prevents ageing in humans?
To date, no drug prevents or slows ageing in humans. “There’s nothing you can buy over the counter or in a prescription drug that has been proven to slow ageing in people,” says Richard Miller, an ageing expert at the University of Michigan.
But anti-ageing drugs no longer belongs to fiction. A breakthrough is imminent.
