 |
| Fat Chance: Obese Mice Given Resveratrol- Mimicking Drug Live 44% Longer |
A designer drug for obese mice suppresses typical obesity-related co-morbidities has given new energy to the notion that the aging process of humans can be significantly slowed.
by The Health Traveler, August 19 2011
Researchers at the National Institute on Aging have discovered that a resveratrol-mimicking drug , SRT-1720, reduces liver fat and improves insulin receptivity when given to obese mice. The obese mice taking the drug added 44% to their lifespan. Clinical trials for humans are now underway.
“SRT-1720... is good evidence that this compound has a positive effect on the physiology of the obese animal, and that is definitely promising for humans”
~Jan Viig, Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx
More Evidence of the Health Benefits of Calorie Restriction
SRT-1720 was designed to essentially mimic resveratrol, the ingredient in red wine (and purple grape juice) thought to activate protective proteins called sirtuins, which gives mice on low-calorie diets a longevity boost.
Since it takes very large doses of resveratrol to obtain the longevity benefits, chemically simulated resveratrol mimics such as SRT-1720 were developed to activate sirtuin at much lower doses.
Sirtuins have been in the longevity reearch spotlight for some time, but studies by Pfizer, among others, did not prove out a relationship. But the National Institute of Aging study is more robust, following large groups of mice for over three years.
Although the drug improved the lifespan of obese mice, it did not not reverse the effects of obesity altogether. In the study, the treated fat mice lived longer than the untreated ones, but had a significantly shorter lifespan than the normal weight mice. SRT-1720 enabled the obese mice to enjoy more of their available life span without actually increasing the normal lifespan, itself.
It is not yet known if SRT-1720 prolongs the lives of normal weight mice; however given SRT-1720 drug did not extend the maximum life span of the obese mice, the researchers said it would be "surprising if it did so with lean mice."
However, the scientific world is watching with interest. Brian Kennedy, president of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging says that sirtuins could turn out to be “key modulators of aging.”
Further Reading
- Resveratrol
- What is Resveratrol?
- Resveratrol and Cancer: What is the Relationship?
- Is Weight Loss Surgery a Drastic Solution to the Problem of Childhood Obesity?
- Maternal Obesity Crisis: Very Overweight Moms 3x More Likely to Die Within One Month of Birth
- The 13 Most Dangerous Complications of Obesity
No comments:
Post a Comment