'Elixir Of life' On Easter Island

By dsorbello at Aug. 2, 2011, 12:36 a.m., 15359 hits

A drug has been discovered which scientists believe can reverse the effects of premature ageing and could extend human life by more than a decade.

Rapamycin, which has been nicknamed the “forever young” drug, was created from a chemical found in the soil on Easter Island, one of the most remote places on Earth and 2,000 miles off the coast of Chile.

It was used in experiments on children suffering from Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS), a rare genetic condition in which ageing is hyper-accelerated and sufferers die of “old age” at around 12 years.

HGPS causes a dangerous process whereby a protein called progerin builds up in every cell of the body, causing them to age prematurely.

Rapamycin cleaned the cells of progerin, which swept away the defects and left healthy cells.

Researchers in the United States, who include Francis Collins, a pioneering genetic scientist and collaborators from Harvard Medical School, are expected to start looking at whether the drug could be used more widely, after similarities between HGPS and the normal ageing process were uncovered.

Rapamycin is already used to suppress the immune system in organ transplants.

Dimitri Krainc, one of the study's co-authors, said: “Even a small activation of this ‘debris removal’ system would extend the health and life-span of our cells and organs.”

The work was reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

http://beforeitsnews.com/story/767/877/Elixir_Of_life_On_Easter_Island.html

Posts [ 2 ] | Last post Aug. 2, 2011, 12:36 a.m.

#1 - July 21, 2011, 4:50 p.m.

MikeMaybury

In a few years time it will be found that there are serious side effects. Why do the pharmaceutical firms continue to look for wonder drugs to overcome the results of our simply bad lifestyles? Money and profits, of course!
A simple wholefood vegetarian diet, that is friendly not only to your own body, but to animals and the environment is all that you need for a very happy and healthy life. I've only reached 76, which is not really old age, but freedom from aches and pains, and taking no drugs is a start.
Waking every morning, persorming all the usual function without problems, walking and enjoying life every day is enough for me. No room for more details here.

#2 - Aug. 2, 2011, 12:36 a.m.

Erich

Scientists believe the antifungal agent rapamycin, found on the South Pacific island, produced by soil bacteria, has life-extending properties.

They predict further research on the compound could lead to a genuine “anti-ageing” pill that keeps people young.

Rapamycin was first discovered in the 1970s in soil samples from the South Pacific island famous for its ancient monoliths.

Today it is used as an immunosuppressor to prevent organ rejection in transplant patients.

Researchers in the USA fed the drug to ageing mice and increased the life expectancy of males by 28 per cent and females by 38 per cent.
Dr Arlan Richardson, director of the Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies in Texas, where much of the work was carried out, said: “I've been in ageing research for 35 years and there have been many so-called ‘anti-ageing’ interventions over those years that were never successful.

”I never thought we would find an anti-ageing pill for people in my lifetime; however, rapamycin shows a great deal of promise to do just that.“

The mice were given rapamycin late in life, when they were 20 months old - or 60 in human years.

The compound blocks activity of an enzyme called TOR which regulates cell metabolism, cell growth and protein manufacture in response to environmental cues.

Reducing TOR function had already been shown to extend the life of yeast, nematode worms and flies, but the effect had never before been seen in mammals. Previously, the only way to extend the life of a rodent had been to severely restrict its diet.

The drug had to be reformulated to make it stable enough for the mice to digest in their food.

Professor Randy Strong, one of the researchers from the University of Texas, said: ”We believe this is the first convincing evidence that the ageing process can be slowed and lifespan can be extended by a drug therapy starting at an advanced age.“

While news of the experiment was welcomed, a not of caution was sounded about the research, published in the journal Nature.

Dr Lynne Cox, an expert on ageing at Oxford University, said: ”This is a very exciting study where a single drug with a known cellular effect increases the life expectancy and lifespan of mice.

“It is especially interesting that the drug was effective even when given to older mice - equivalent to 60-year-old humans - as it would be much better to treat ageing in older people rather than using drugs long term through life.

”In no way should anyone consider using this particular drug to try to extend their own lifespan as rapamycin suppresses immunity. While the lab mice were protected from infection, that's simply impossible in the human population.

“What the study does is to highlight an important molecular pathway that new, more specific drugs might be designed to work on. Whether it's a sensible thing to try to increase lifespan this way is another matter: perhaps increasing health span rather than overall lifespan might be a better goal.”

— Last Edited by Erich at 2011-08-02 00:37:39 —