William Atkins
Thursday, 09 July 2009 19:27
Science -
Biology
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A drug called Rapamycin is injected into humans to help lessen the rejection of a new organ. However, U.S. scientists found that it significantly extends the lifespan of invertebrates, and now mammals (mice). They are excited because further research may produce a way to delay the onset of cancer and other aging disease and, thus, produce longer lives in humans.
The ground-breaking result and exciting discovery is summarized in a paper published online on July 8, 2009, in the journal
Nature.
Its lead authors are David E. Harrison, of The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, United States; Randy Strong, of the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A., and Richard A. Miller, of the Department of Pathology and Geriatrics Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A.
The
Nature paper is entitled “
Rapamycin fed late in life extends lifespan in genetically heterogeneous mice.” (doi:10.1038/nature08221)
Earlier the U.S. scientists found that the drug extended the lifespan of invertebrates, such as yeast and fruit flies. However, they did not know if it would do likewise in mammals.
They decided to try an experiment to see if Rapamycin would also extend the lifespan in elderly mice that are about two years old, or equivalent to about 80 years old in humans.
Rapamycin, also called Sirolimus, is a bacterial material that is used to prevent rejection in organ transplantation; in other words, an immunosuppressant drug. Kidney transplant patients have especially found the drug to be useful in helping to prevent rejection.
It was originally found on Easter Island (an island also called Rapa Nui, from which it derives its name).
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