Fountain of Youth drug combination ‘could protect against ageing’, study finds

Scientists may be a step closer to discovering the Fountain of Youth after a drug combination extended lifespan by 30%…in mice. The two drugs are already used to treat cancer in humans and were found to reduce chronic inflammation and delay the onset of cancer in the animals.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne, Germany, said the combination could be a potential “geroprotector”, protecting against the adverse effects of ageing. Dr Sebastian Grönke said: “We hope that our results will be taken up by others and tested in humans.” The drugs used were trametinib and rapamycin, which both block the growth of cancer cells.

Mice treated with trametinib alone lived on average 5-10% longer, while those treated with rapamycin only lived 15-20% longer.

Together, the drugs typically extended the rodents’ life spans by 30%.

The brain tissue of treated mice showed less evidence of chronic inflammation, and the onset and development of cancer was delayed.

Co-senior author Professor Dame Linda Partridge, who also works at the UCL Institute of Healthy Ageing, said: "While we do not expect a similar extension to human lifespans as we found in mice, we hope that the drugs we're investigating could help people to stay healthy and disease-free for longer late in life.

“Further research in humans in years to come will help us to elucidate how these drugs may be useful to people, and who might be able to benefit."

The findings were published in the journal Nature Aging.

Weight loss drugs that mimic the action of hormone that make you feel full have also been hailed as a potential breakthrough in anti-ageing science.

Mounting evidence suggests the medications have benefits beyond those directly related to weight loss, which are thought to be linked to their ability to reduce inflammation.