'Supermodel grandma' drug may be secret to longevity, say scientists

Really support
Independent journalism

Click here for detailsclose

Our mission is to provide unbiased, fact-based journalism that holds power accountable and exposes the truth.

Every donation counts, whether it's $5 or $50.

Support us to deliver journalism without purpose.

Scientists have invented a new drug that extends life. mouse It can increase your body's immunity by up to 25% and may have a similar effect on humans.

The researchers say the findings raise the “enticing” prospect that the drug could have a similar effect in older people. human.

The treated mice had an average lifespan of 155 weeks, compared with 120 weeks for untreated mice. The treated mice were nicknamed “supermodel grandmas” in the lab because of their youthful appearance.

Scientists believe this discovery could have a positive impact on the future of healthy aging It reduces people's frailty and signs of aging.

The researchers found that the treatment significantly reduced cancer deaths in the animals, as well as many diseases caused by chronic inflammation and metabolic slowdown that are hallmarks of aging.

Essentially, the animals lived longer, healthier lives and studies showed few side effects.

Scientists from the Medical Research Council's Institute of Medical Sciences and Imperial College London have found that switching off a protein called IL-11 extends the healthy lifespan of mice.

In humans, levels of this protein increase with age, and previous studies have linked it to a variety of age-related symptoms, including chronic inflammation, metabolic disorders, muscle wasting and frailty.

Co-corresponding author Professor Stuart Cook from the UK Medical Research Council Institute of Medical Sciences (MRC LMS), Imperial College London and Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore said: “These findings are extremely exciting.

“Treated mice had less cancer and didn't show the typical signs of aging and frailty, but they also saw less muscle wasting and improved muscle strength.”

“In other words, the old mice that received anti-IL-11 were healthier.”

He added: “Previously proposed drugs and treatments to extend life either had bad side effects, were ineffective in both men and women, or extended life but not healthy lifespan, but this does not seem to be the case with IL-11.”

“Although these findings were only obtained in mice, they raise the intriguing possibility that this drug may have similar effects in elderly humans.

“Anti-IL-11 therapeutics are currently in clinical trials for other diseases, and there may be exciting opportunities to study their effects in older humans in the future.”

The scientists created mice lacking the gene that produces IL-11 (interleukin 11) and tested the effects of the protein.

This has increased the animals' lifespan by more than 20% on average.

The researchers also treated 75-week-old mice (equivalent to about 55 human years) with injections of an anti-IL-11 antibody, a drug that blocks the effects of IL-11 in the body.

The results, published in Nature, showed that the average lifespan of mice given the drug from 75 weeks of age until death was extended by 22.4% in males and 25% in females.

Co-corresponding author Associate Professor Anissa Wijaya from the Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore said: “Although our study was conducted in mice, studies of human cells and tissues have confirmed similar effects, so we are hopeful that these findings will be highly relevant to human health.”

“This study is an important step towards a deeper understanding of aging, and we have demonstrated in mice a treatment that has the potential to extend healthy aging by reducing frailty and the physiological signs of aging.”

The effects of IL-11 inhibition in humans are yet to be determined, but early-phase clinical trials are underway to understand the impact of this treatment in patients with fibrotic lung diseases.