The Anti-Aging Effects of Rapamycin on Humans
MGEN Associate Teaching Professor Ram Hariharan says rapamycin, which has been shown to extend the lifespan of mice, flies, worms, yeast, has the potential to be among the first generation of anti-aging drugs for humans.
This article originally appeared on Northeastern Global News. It was published by Cynthia McCormick Hibbert. Main photo: The immunosuppressant rapamycin is being studied for its anti-aging benefits Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University
Breakthrough in anti-aging: Rapamycin shows potential to extend lifespan and improve health, expert says
People looking to slow or reverse the symptoms of aging can find remedies ranging from restricted diets and ice baths to an alphabet soup of vitamins.
Should they look no further than the tablet form of rapamycin, a molecule isolated from soil bacteria on Easter Island that’s been shown to extend the lifespan of mice, yeast, worms and flies?
Ramkumar “Ram” Hariharan, a computational biologist on Northeastern University’s campus in Seattle, says rapamycin has the potential to be among the first generation of anti-aging drugs.
“Among all the anti-aging interventions that are currently being talked about, rapamycin seems to be a best bet,” says Hariharan, a data scientist and associate teaching professor and director of College of Engineering programs in Seattle.
Ram Hariharan, computational biologist and director of the College of Engineering in Seattle, says rapamycin “seems to be the leader among the different anti-aging interventions.” Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University
“Rapamycin has been shown to be effective in extending the mouse lifespan by 15 to 20%, even when started during mouse middle age,” he says.
Health span versus life span
Clues to how it could affect the human lifespan are expected to come from a study of how rapamycin affects treatments for periodontal disease, a gum condition associated with aging that has been considered treatable but incurable, Hariharan says.
While the FDA will examine the effects of rapamycin on study participants’ periodontal disease, other researchers will work with the principal investigator to look for markers of biological aging.
“The jump from mouse to human will require proper clinical trials, with human subjects,” Hariharan says.
“You cannot expect to measure life span,” since tracking 70 to 100 study participants to the end of their lives is not practical, he says.
“The way that people are trying to solve that problem is by looking at proxy markers of aging,” such as epigenetic changes to DNA that alter gene expression during the aging process, Hariharan says.
When it comes to humans, it’s also important to consider health span versus life span, he says.
“No matter what you do, you may not be able to extend the human lifespan beyond 120 or 125 years,” Hariharan says.
“But we may be able to add more life to those years so you can go all the way to 100 and the last 10 years would be much better with the intervention than without intervention.”
Adding to the excitement around rapamycin are mouse studies that show its potential to reduce Alzheimer’s disease and cardiac disease.
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