A new drug that can extend the lives of animals by 25% gives scientists hope that it will allow humans to live longer.
Researchers from the Medical Sciences Laboratory at Imperial College London tested this new treatment, which works on a protein called Interleukin-11, on mice. BBC News.
The samples that received the drug were found to be healthier, stronger, and less likely to develop cancer than those that did not receive it.
The treatment is being tested on humans, but experts don’t yet know if it will have the same effects on lifespan in animals.
The London scientists, along with colleagues from NUS Medical School in Singapore, are working to better understand interleukin-11, a protein that builds up in the human body over time and is believed to be responsible for triggering new biological cycles in the body.
During their study, its results were published Nature magazine On Wednesday, scientists conducted two experiments, one in which mice were genetically modified so that they could not produce this protein, and the other in which they administered drugs that inhibited the secretion of this protein from 75 weeks of age (equivalent to 55 years in humans).
The lifespan of these mice was extended by 20 to 25% depending on their gender and which experiment they were part of.
They were found to be healthy and have strong muscular capabilities.
The drug, an antibiotic that attacks interleukin-11, is currently in clinical trials for cystic fibrosis patients.
Its efficacy in humans has yet to be proven while these trials are ongoing.
This treatment isn’t the first to try to slow down the aging process in humans.
Other drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes, such as metformin and sirolimus, are undergoing clinical trials in hopes of extending life expectancy.
