Rapamycin prolongs life as effectively as calorie restriction

According to a new study by the University of East England and the University of Glasgow, the anti-aging drug rapamycin has the same life-prolonging effect as calorie restriction.

Calorie restriction has long been considered one of the most reliable ways to increase lifespan in various species.

But if fasting for hours on end seems unpleasant, science may offer another path to a longer and healthier life.

The study “Rapamycin, not metformin, provides the same life extension in vertebrates as calorie restriction: A meta-analysis published in the journal Aging Cell provides compelling evidence that rapamycin, a compound originally developed as an immunosuppressant, provides comparable life-prolonging benefits in eight vertebrate species, not including humans.

Co-lead researcher Dr. Zahida Sultanova from the School of Biological Sciences at the University of East Anglia (UEA) said: “Dietary restriction — for example, through intermittent fasting or reducing calorie intake — is the gold standard for extending life. But most of us find it difficult to maintain over the long term.

We wanted to find out whether popular anti-aging drugs such as rapamycin or metformin could have a similar effect without the need to reduce calories.”

The research team analyzed data from 167 studies on the lifespan of eight vertebrate species, including fish, mice, rats, and primates — the largest study of its kind.

They studied the effect of dietary restriction on longevity, as well as the effect of rapamycin and metformin, which are advertised as life-prolonging drugs.

The team found that rapamycin extends lifespan almost as consistently as reducing food intake, while metformin, a drug for type 2 diabetes, has no such effect.

Key findings:

• Dietary restriction — from intermittent fasting to calorie reduction — consistently prolonged the lifespan of all vertebrate species analyzed in this study.
• Rapamycin prolonged lifespan to the same extent as dietary restriction.
• Metformin did not show a clear life-prolonging effect, although it is widely used to treat type 2 diabetes.
• The increase in lifespan was the same for males and females and did not depend on the type of dietary restriction.

As scientists continue to search for ways to improve our health and help us live longer, rapamycin may be one of the most promising agents — potentially bypassing the problems of long-term calorie restriction while offering similar benefits.

These results do not mean that we should all start taking rapamycin. But they strengthen the case for further research into aging and raise important questions about how we approach longevity therapy.

Rapamycin and metformin are currently being tested in humans, with results yet to be known.

The authors note that rapamycin may have negative effects on the immune system, and further research is needed on its safety for humans, although recent studies show that low doses of rapamycin do not have serious negative effects on healthy people.