Pill linked to long life in mice

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Pill linked to long life in mice

The science of a long life.  A diabetes pill has anti-aging effects and extends the life of male mice, research suggests.

Scientists believe the drug, metformin, may mimic the effects of extreme calorie restriction.

This regime, which is based on eating a very low calorie diet, is thought to promote healthy ageing.

Readers this means that eating less will let you live longer, or overeating / obesity will shorten your life!

The human implications of the study are unclear, the researchers report in the journal, Nature Communications.

Rafael de Cabo, of the National Institute on Ageing in Baltimore, Maryland, US, said calorie restriction in laboratory animals had been shown to increase their lifespan.

His team is searching for interventions – such as a drug – that can mimic these effects.

Right now the best that we can say is probably what your grandmother told you… eat a good diet and exercise”

Metformin is one of the most widely prescribed treatments for type-2 diabetes, which occurs mainly in people above the age of 40. It is also used to treat metabolic syndrome, a combination of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity.

The scientists gave one of two different doses of metformin to middle-aged male mice and found that lower doses increased lifespan by about 5%, and also delayed the onset of age-associated diseases. But they said the higher dose of metformin was toxic and reduced the lifespan of mice.

Further studies were needed to determine if metformin has any effect on human health and lifespan, said Dr de Cabo.

While these are very promising results that need to be translated to humans via clinical studies.

My best current advice was to eat a good diet and exercise.

“Right now the best that we can say is probably what your grandmother told you,” he told BBC News.

Eat a good diet and exercise are the only two things that we know for sure that they work very well in humans.

‘Note of caution’
Prof Tom Kirkwood, associate dean for ageing at Newcastle University, said it is unclear what the study might mean for human health.

Metformin is a well-established drug that acts on metabolism and has long been used against type-2 diabetes. We’ve known for a long time that modulating metabolism in mice can extend survival and postpone age-related conditions, and there are sound reasons why this should be the case is a small, short-lived animal.

What we don’t know however is whether similar effects on lifespan might be produced in humans.

This is something that we cannot simply take for granted and the study’s authors do well to sound a note of caution.

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