A drug supplement that activates a protein involved in metabolic balance showed an extension in lifespan and improvement in the overall health of mice, according to a new study.
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| Rafael de Cabo, senior investigator, Laboratory of Experimental Gerontology, NIH |
The findings, published Feb. 27 in Cell Reports, may eventually help scientists develop therapies to minimize the effects of age-related metabolic and chronic diseases on the human body.
Researchers, led by Dr. Rafael de Cabo of the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health, found that activating the protein sirtuin 1 delayed the onset of age-related metabolic diseases. Scientists know that sirtuin 1, or SIRT1, plays an important role in maintaining metabolic balance in multiple tissues. Previous studies have shown that activating this protein can have a myriad of health benefits in different organisms, and drugs that increase SIRT1 activity have been able to slow the onset of aging and delay age-associated diseases in several animal models.
De Cabo and colleagues tested a small molecule that activates SIRT1, called SIRT1720, on mice. They gave the animals a standard diet plus a 100 mg dose of SRT1720 beginning at 6 months of age for the rest of their lives.
The SRT1720 supplement not only extended the average lifespan of mice by 8.8%, but it also reduced body weight and body fat percentage, and improved muscle function and motor coordination throughout the animals' lives, according to the researchers.
"[This research] illustrates that we can develop molecules that ameliorate the burden of metabolic and chronic diseases associated with aging," De Cabo said in a statement.
Further studies by de Cabo and his team revealed that the SRT1720 supplement also helped decrease total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels in mice. High levels of LDL-cholesterol, or "bad" cholesterol, put you at risk for heart disease and diabetes. The researchers found that SIRT1720 also had anti-inflammatory effects in various tissues in the animal subjects.
The research was conducted under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between GlaxoSmithKline's ($GSK) now defunct Sirtris and the National Institute on Aging.
- read the press release
- see the study abstract
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