Hypertension drug extends lifespan and slows down aging, study finds
Revolutionary Discovery: Blood Pressure Medication Unveils Potential to Prolong Lifespan and Combat Aging in Animal Studies
In a groundbreaking revelation, the hypertension medication rilmenidine has exhibited the ability to decelerate the aging process in worms, suggesting a tantalizing prospect for human longevity and vitality in later stages of life.
Prior investigations have indicated that rilmenidine emulates the impacts of caloric restriction at a cellular level, a phenomenon known to extend lifespans across various animal models while preserving nutritional integrity.
The pivotal question remains: can these findings be extrapolated to human physiology, or does it pose potential risks? This remains a contentious subject under ongoing scrutiny. The quest for achieving analogous benefits sans the burdens of stringent calorie reduction could herald novel approaches to enhancing elderly health.
A recent study, published in January, showcased remarkable outcomes: both young and elderly Caenorhabditis elegans worms administered with the drug – typically employed to manage hypertension – exhibited prolonged lifespans and demonstrated elevated levels across multiple health parameters, mirroring the effects of calorie restriction, as envisaged by researchers.
Molecular biogerontologist João Pedro Magalhães, from the University of Birmingham in the UK, remarked, “For the first time, we have been able to show in animals that rilmenidine can increase lifespan.”
“We are now keen to explore if rilmenidine may have other clinical applications,” he added.
The C. elegans worm serves as a model organism due to its genetic resemblances to human counterparts. Nonetheless, despite these genetic affinities, it remains distantly related to humans.
Subsequent examinations revealed that the gene activity associated with caloric restriction manifested in the kidney and liver tissues of mice treated with rilmenidine. Essentially, the alterations linked with caloric restriction, purported to confer health advantages, were also evident with a hypertension medication commonly utilized by many.
Furthermore, researchers identified a pivotal biological signaling receptor named nish-1, instrumental in rilmenidine’s efficacy. Targeting this specific molecular structure in forthcoming endeavors could pave the way for extending lifespan and attenuating the aging process.
“We found that the lifespan-extending effects of rilmenidine were abolished when nish-1 was deleted,” elucidated the researchers. “Critically, rescuing the nish-1 receptor reinstated the increase in lifespan upon treatment with rilmenidine.”
Low-calorie diets, albeit effective, pose challenges with adherence and are fraught with side effects such as hair loss, dizziness, and diminished bone density. However, it’s still early days; nevertheless, there’s optimism that this hypertension medication could yield commensurate benefits as a low-calorie regimen while being gentler on the body.
What underscores rilmenidine’s potential as an anti-aging remedy is its oral administration, widespread prescription, and infrequent, relatively mild side effects (including palpitations, insomnia, and drowsiness in isolated cases).
While substantial strides are yet to be taken to ascertain rilmenidine’s efficacy as an anti-aging intervention for humans, the preliminary findings from worm and mice studies augur well. Our comprehension of rilmenidine’s capabilities and mechanisms has significantly expanded.
“With a global populace rapidly aging, the ramifications of delaying aging, even marginally, are profound,” emphasized Magalhães.
The research findings were published in Aging Cell.
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