Drug is being used on middle age dogs to see the effects in only a few years!!!

"Scientists are targeting a new set of recruits to test anti-ageing drugs: pet dogs. And according to their plans, not any old pooch will do. The researchers want to concentrate their trials on large canines. Golden retrievers, labradors and German shepherd dogs will do nicely.

The researchers are particularly interested in using pet dogs to test rapamycin. Developed as an anti-rejection drug for patients who have just undergone kidney transplants, rapamycin has recently been shown to extend the lives of mice by more than 10%.

Since this discovery was made in 2009, researchers have started projects aimed at establishing trials on humans to see if the drug could have a similar impact on men and women by protecting them against diseases of old age such as cancer and heart conditions. However, they acknowledge these could take many years to set up, gain ethical approval and then produce results.

"If you give rapamycin to 20-month-old mice when they are in their equivalent of our middle age, you can see pretty profound benefits in terms of rejuvenating their bodies and increasing their lifespans", said Dr Matt Kaeberlein, of the University of Washington in Seattle. "That is why we are so excited about the drug".

"The crucial point is that at that age, a mouse is the equivalent age of a nine-year-old dog. So if we now start giving the drug to middle-aged dogs, we have a chance of finding out in only a few years that it works on larger animals. The equivalent for that age for humans is 60. However, it will take much longer to obtain results from humans to see if the drug is working or not."

The fact that pet dogs experience some of the same environmental influences as their owners is also helpful, he added. "We are doing this research to try to help dogs but we are well aware that what we learn could point the way to using rapamycin on humans. So anything we learn about other factors that influence the drug, usefulness is going to be important."

A successful outcome to dog trials would be twofold, added Kaeberlein. It would show that rapamycin could be added to pet food in order to extend the lives of household dogs. In addition, it would provide support for pressing ahead with trials of rapamycin on human volunteers. The dog trials would also provide key data on dosage and other parameters when designing trials using men and women as subjects.

Rapamycin acts on a protein that is involved in cell growth and has an anti-inflammatory impact on the body. It was also the first drug shown to extend lifespan in a mammalian species.

"As organisms age, inflammation can increase and that is related to many disorders," added Kaeberlein. "But that is not the only thing that rapamycin does. It also turns on a process called autophagy which is in effect the process by which cells dispose of the garbage that builds up inside them."

As animals get older, that cellular process declines in efficiency. Rapamycin gives autophagy a boost and restores its function. "It helps clear out the rubbish in our cells," said Kaeberlein.

However, the drug, which is no longer protected by patent, is also associated with some severe side-effects. These include diabetes-like symptoms and complications of the lung. "These side-effects usually only occur when people take high doses of rapamycin during transplant surgery," said Kaeberlein. "The key point about the trial that we are planning is that we will use only very low doses of rapamycin which will be added to the dogs' food over long periods, probably years."

For their research, Kaeberlein and his colleague Daniel Promislow are preparing to use a few dozen dogs in a trial that they hope will begin some time next year. As to the dogs selected, the team are looking for "mid to large" dogs, they say. "These dogs tend to have lifespans of 11 to 12 years and also tend to get heart disease and cancer," said Kaeberlein. "These are conditions that rapamycin appears to be able to help ward off, so that makes them better subjects for our proposed trials."


www.theguardian.com/science/2014/nov/08/anti-ageing-drugs-tested-on-dogs-cancer-heart

Anti-aging?
Dogs?

Somebody needs to hook Michelle obama to an I.V. drip, STAT!

Makes sense. Combat the ill effects of China's poisonous dog foods sold at Walmart.

No way. I will never allow my dog to be a part of this experiment especially when the purpose of this drug is to just benefit humans.

I'd rather live life naturally

Living a longer, healthier life might make the dog happy!

yes, this is what we really need. to slow down the aging process.. for all of us to live longer... and longer.. and longer..

Every country would become the next China&India with uncontrollable population. Are going to slow down the birth rate while were at it?

How about this concept:

You live a normal life span.. then you die. You age gracefully and accept your age.

Just my opinion

The drug doesn't increase your lifespan that way. It cleans out the crap in your cells making it less likely you get inflammation which leads to heart disease, etc. It just makes you healthier so you live longer naturally. Most of us would live 10% longer anyway if we stuck to a healthier lifestyle.

So, you Humans are still searching for the fountain of youth.

Well, I found it for you.

by taking small doses of human growth hormone you can also slow down the aging process and hgh is already available

Actually, aging has also been linked with the length of telomeres (chromosome end tail "caps"). As cells divide, those telomeres get shorter. People with chromosomes where the telomeres retain most of their length when dividing tend to live longer lives... this explains why long living has a genetic link.

It's not a 100% link, but promising. There are drugs that enhance the production of telomerase (which restores telomeres); the downside is that those also seem to encourage growth of tumors. :(

I guess nothing in life is easy or free. Otherwise it wouldn't be called a life. ;-)

Yes, we discussed telomeres and telomerase in another thread discussing medical ways science may extend the potential human lifespan. The topic of this discussion is the drug mentioned above that cleans the crap out of your cells reducing the normal rate of inflammation and other cellular byproduct problems with cell aging.

The effect should be the theoretical lifespan maximum isn't increased but the healthy length of the one you have increases about ten percent. That is a significant boost, especially considering that much more of your later years could be spent healthy rather than otherwise.

There is also the unusual plan to test the effect on pet dogs which could speed the approval process of using the drug on humans for this purpose (the drug has previously been used on humans for other purposes).

Welcome to Mingle2.

Thanks metalwing!

I need to get caught up on the forums lol.

And to learn to stay on topic.

So, to comment on the study, I don't see a problem since it benefits the animals as well. And the side effects are well know and manageable with low doses.