Has Holy Grail of longer life been found?

Published on Wednesday 8 July 2009 22:02

A COMPOUND found in the soil of a South Pacific island could hold the key to extending life, new research has suggested.

Tests in mice found that "rapamycin" from the ground of Easter Island helped the animals live longer.

If the results were able to be replicated in humans, it could mean an extra six years of life for men and nine for women, raising the prospect of a biochemical "elixir of life".

Scientists, writing in the journal Nature, believe the antifungal agent, produced by soil bacteria, has extraordinary life-extending properties.

They predict further research on the compound could lead to a genuine "anti-ageing" pill that keeps people young by tackling age-related diseases such as cancer and heart disease. The compound is already in clinical trials for cancer.

Rapamycin was first discovered in the 1970s in soil samples from Easter Island, famous for its ancient monoliths. It is currently used as an immuno-suppressor to prevent organ rejection in transplant patients.

Researchers in the United States fed the drug to ageing mice who were 20 months old – the equivalent to 60 years in humans. The treatment increased the life expectancy of male mice by 28 per cent and in females by 38 per cent.

In human terms, researchers said this was equivalent to the extra lease of life expected if both cancer and heart disease were prevented or cured.

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."

Rapamycin 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, flies and nematode worms, but the effect had never been seen in mammals.

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.

"This study has clearly identified a potential therapeutic target for the development of drugs aimed at preventing age-related diseases and extending healthy lifespan."

But other experts sounded a note of caution about the research, warning that the immuno-suppressive effects of rapamycin could be dangerous in the compound's current form.

Oxford University ageing expert Dr Lynne Cox said:

"What the study does is highlight an important molecular pathway that new, more specific drugs might be designed to work on."

LANGUAGE SKILLS KEY TO AVOIDING ALZHEIMER'S

YOUNG people with a way with words may be protected against memory loss from Alzheimer's later in life, a study suggests.

Scientists who examined the brains of 38 women after death found that those with superior language skills in their teens and 20s were less likely to have developed memory problems.

It made no difference whether or not the women had clinical symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.

Women with poorer language skills were more likely to have experienced memory declines as they aged.

Participants had been enrolled into the Nun Study – an on-going health investigation involving Roman Catholic nuns in the US.

After entering their convent in their late teens or early 20s, the nuns underwent regular tests of memory and mental skills until death.

Researchers analysed essays written by 14 of the women when they began their lives as nuns.

Their findings, published in the journal Neurology, showed those who could write essays expressing large numbers of ideas and complex language had a lower incidence of later memory problems.