A research group of the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging from Cologne, Germany, just demonstrated (in laboratory mice) that a brief exposure to rapamycin has the same positive effects as permanent treatment, opening new doors for potential application in humans.
Rapamycin, an immunosuppressive drug initially used to prevent rejection in organ transplants, is one of the substances at the center of researchers' attention, because has been shown to extend lifespan and improve health. The current approach goes in the direction of administering it for life.
The research
In the laboratory study, German scientists tested different time windows of short-term drug administration in fruit flies. They found that a short 2-week window of rapamycin treatment in young adult flies protected them from age-related pathology in the gut and prolonged their lives. A corresponding short time window, 3 months of treatment starting at 3 months of age in young adult mice, had similar beneficial effects on gut health.
Why is it very, very important? The key scientific challenge is to avoid negative side effects of a possible "lifelong" administration of rapamycin. For this reason, discovering that short and early treatments obtain similar results is truly a great shock.
Effects of taking rapamycin: in summary
As often happens in these cases, it is not yet clear to what extent these findings can be transferred to humans. In any case, the implications of this discovery are clear. If subsequent analysis data confirm these, we will be able to obtain the benefits of rapamycin without having to worry about potential side effects. This is a big step forward towards extending healthy life.
The research was published in the latest issue of the scientific journal Nature, and I link it here.
