New Drug Combo May Increase Lifespan

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, have found a combination of drugs that could treat age-related diseases and raise the quality-of-life for the elderly, The Times of London reports.

"It may be possible to delay, prevent and alleviate age-related diseases as a group, instead of going after them one at a time," said Dr. James Kirkland, a co-author of the paper that was published in the journal EBioMedicine.

The researchers gave nine subjects, each of whom had a diabetes-related kidney disease, a combination of drugs that are usually given to treat cancer and a substance that's typically found in fruits and vegetables. The subjects later had a 30% reduction in senescent cells, which secrete damaging chemicals as they build up in fat tissue and in the blood. Senescent cells are linked with several chronic conditions that typically affect people in old-age, including arthritis, osteoporosis, diabetes, and dementia, and can be found in large numbers in wrinkled skin and cataracts.

"We increase lifespan as a side-effect of these drugs. What we're looking for is to improve quality of life," Dr. Kirkland said. "We don't want to have people living to 130 and feeling like they're 130. It would be good if they could live to 90 and feel like they're 40."

Despite the apparent success in this trial, the researchers note that this is a "new" field and they "must conclude with a note of caution," since the possible side-effects of this treatment are unknown.

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