The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and two collaborating centers reported that the Easter Island compound – called “rapamycin” after the island’s Polynesian name, Rapa Nui – extended the expected lifespan of middle-aged mice by 28 percent to 38 percent. In human terms, this would be greater than the predicted increase in extra years of life if cancer and heart disease were both cured and prevented.
Discovered in the 1970s, rapamycin was first noted for its anti-fungal properties and later was used to prevent organ rejection in transplant patients. It also is used in stents, which are implanted in patients during angioplasty to keep coronary arteries open. It is in clinical trials for the treatment of cancer.
Aging researchers currently acknowledge only two life-extending interventions in mammals: calorie restriction and genetic manipulation. Rapamycin appears to partially shut down the same molecular pathway as restricting food intake or reducing growth factors. Researchers write that “rapamycin may extend life span by postponing death from cancer, by retarding mechanisms of ageing, or both.” The effects of rapamycin may be due to its effect on an enzyme involved in cell metabolism.
“Whether it’s a sensible thing to try to increase life span this way is another matter: perhaps increasing health span rather than overall life span might be a better goal,” says Lynne Cox, a researcher in aging at the University of Oxford, England.
Warning: In no way should anyone consider using this particular drug to try to extend their own life span, as rapamycin suppresses immunity and the trials haven’t been conducted on humans yet.
