Scientists intrigued by drug that extends mice’s lifespan while keeping them young

In a new study, lab mice given an experimental drug were jokingly nicknamed “supermodel grandmothers” because they looked very young even though they were aging beyond their expected lifespan.

As the BBC Trials of a drug that is supposed to knock out a protein known as interleukin-11 — which early in development helps build our bones but later in life causes the kinds of inflammation that trigger many of the diseases of aging — have already had intriguing success in mice, according to some studies.

Published in the journal NatureA paper on research by scientists from Imperial College London, Duke-NUS in Singapore and the MRC Lab of Medical Sciences found that when given a drug that purges interleukin-11, mice became thinner, had healthier fur and had significantly lower levels of cancer than their age-matched counterparts.

The drug also, according to a press release from the British government’s research arm, extended the median lifespan of male mice by 22.4% and female mice by 25%.

Researchers are now trying to determine whether the same results could be obtained in humans.

Currently, the drug, which contains a synthetic antibody targeting interleukin 11, is also being tested in human patients with pulmonary fibrosis, which causes breathing difficulties due to scarring of the lungs.

Although human trials are not yet complete, the researchers behind the initiative are optimistic about its potential.

“This research is an important step toward a better understanding of aging,” Professor Anissa Widjaja of Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore said in the press release. “We have demonstrated, in mice, a therapy that could potentially prolong healthy aging.”

His colleague and co-author of the Duke-NUS study, Stuart Cook, was even more enthusiastic, describing the drug’s possibilities as “tantalizing” in the UK press release.

Although he is trying not to go too fast, Cook told the BBC that he’s excited about the research because, if it ends up producing a similar anti-aging effect in humans, the drug would be “transformative” — and that he would take it himself if it did.

“There are a lot of fallacious explanations,” the cardiovascular specialist said, “so I try to stick to the data and those are the strongest ones.”

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