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e-decade.html

Scientists discover Easter Island 'fountain of youth' drug that can extend
life by ten years

By David Derbyshire
Last updated at 8:44 AM on 09th July 2009
In tests, the anti-ageing pill increased the life expectancy of animals by
38 per cent - scientists are now looking at its benefits for humans

Longer lives: In tests, the anti-ageing pill increased the life expectancy
of animals by 38 per cent - scientists are now looking at how it benefits
humans

A miraculous 'elixir of youth' which could extend the human life span by
more than a decade is being developed by scientists.

The anti-ageing pill was created from a chemical found in the soil of
Easter Island  -  one of the most remote and mysterious places on the
planet.

In tests on animals, the chemical increased life expectancy by a
staggering 38 per cent.

While the breakthrough sounds like something out of science fiction,
scientists say the discovery is a major leap towards longer lives for
everyone.

The drug, rapamycin, is already used to suppress the immune systems of
organ transplant patients.

It is also employed in heart operations and is being tested for its
anti-cancer properties.

The scientists believe that the drug could be developed within a decade.

Dr Arlan Richardson, who led the research at the University of Texas,
said: '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.'

An anti-ageing pill is a Holy Grail for medical research and its
development would have major repercussions for society.

In a world where people routinely live to 90 and 100, retirement ages
would need to creep forward into the 70s while extended life spans would
put enormous pressures on healthcare, housing and social services  -  as
well as marriages.

The implications of a such a pill also depends on the quality of those
extra years.
Enlarge   Graphic

If an ageing drug delays every aspect of getting old, then users could
enjoy 100 years of good health.

But if it simply postpones death, they could find their last few decades
blighted by failing eyesight, hearing loss, frailty and dementia.

Rapamycin was discovered in the 1970s during a worldwide search for new
antibiotics.

The chemical is produced by a microbe that lives in the Easter Island
soil.

In its current form, the drug is too dangerous to hand out as an
anti-ageing pill.

The compound suppresses the immune system and makes patients vulnerable to
any viruses and bacteria.

The existing version of the drug also increases the risk of cancer and
would need to be modified before using in human trials.

However, researchers believe the new discovery will lead them to similar
-  but less harmful  -  anti-therapies.

In the study, reported today in the journal Nature, scientists tested
rapamycin on nearly 2,000 laboratory mice aged around 600 days  -  roughly
the equivalent to a 60-year-old person.

Around a quarter of the mice were given a normal diet, the others the
Easter Island chemical.
If an ageing drug delays every aspect of getting old, then users could
enjoy 100 years of good health.

But if it simply postpones death, they could find their last few decades
blighted by failing eyesight, hearing loss, frailty and dementia.

Rapamycin was discovered in the 1970s during a worldwide search for new
antibiotics.

The chemical is produced by a microbe that lives in the Easter Island
soil.

In its current form, the drug is too dangerous to hand out as an
anti-ageing pill.

The compound suppresses the immune system and makes patients vulnerable to
any viruses and bacteria.

The existing version of the drug also increases the risk of cancer and
would need to be modified before using in human trials.

However, researchers believe the new discovery will lead them to similar
-  but less harmful  -  anti-therapies.

In the study, reported today in the journal Nature, scientists tested
rapamycin on nearly 2,000 laboratory mice aged around 600 days  -  roughly
the equivalent to a 60-year-old person.

Around a quarter of the mice were given a normal diet, the others the
Easter Island chemical.

The drug increased the maximum life span of the mice from 1,094 days to
1,245 days for females, and from 1,078 to 1,179 days for males.

From the point the mice began the treatment, the drug extended the
females' life expectancy by 38 per cent, and males by 28 per cent. Overall
it expanded their life span by 9 to 14 per cent.

What amazed the scientists is that the drug worked even though the mice
started to be given it only in middle and old age.

Until now, scientists have developed just two ways of extending the life
span of mammals.

One is to tinker with their genes, the other to restrict their diet.

Repeated studies have shown that cutting calories can make animals and
people live longer.

Experts believe that rapamycin  -  which acts on a protein in cells called
TOR  -  might fool the body into thinking that calories are being
restricted. British scientists described the findings as exciting  -  but
stressed that rapamycin weakens the immune system, exposing patients to
potentially dangerous diseases.

In its current form, an extended life span would come at the cost of
having to live in a germ-free tent.

Researchers want to find another more subtle drug target that extends
life, but which does not damage the immune system.

Dr Lynne Cox, researcher in ageing at Oxford University, said: 'In no way
should anyone consider using this particular drug to try to extend their
own life span as rapamycin suppresses immunity. While the lab mice were
protected from infection, that's simply impossible in the human
population.

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

'Whether it's a sensible thing to try to increase life span this way is
another matter: Perhaps increasing health span rather than overall life
span might be a better goal.'