A recent study published in the journal Aging Cell found that giving rilmenidine, a drug used to treat high blood pressure, to both young and old animals increased lifespan and improved general health markers.
Researchers have found that the high blood pressure drug rilmenidine may extend life and slow aging.
New research findings published in the journal on January 20 Aging cell, currently used to treat high blood pressure (high blood pressure), animals treated with rilmenidine at young and old ages increased life span and improved health indicators, mimicking the effects of caloric restriction. The prescription drug rilmenidine is sold under the brand names Albarel, Hypereum, Iterium, and Tenaxum.
In addition, the health benefits of rilmenidine treatment in roundworms are shown c. Beautifuls are mediated by the I1-imidazoline receptor nish-1, identifying this receptor as a target of longevity.
Unlike other drugs previously studied by the researchers for this purpose, the widely prescribed oral antihypertensive rilmenidine has the potential to be translated to humans in the future because its side effects are rare and mild.
To date, calorie restriction is considered the most powerful anti-aging intervention that promotes longevity[{” attribute=””>species. However, studies of caloric restriction in humans have had mixed results and side effects, meaning finding medications like rilmenidine that can mimic the benefits of caloric restriction is the most reasonable anti-aging strategy.
Professor João Pedro Magalhães, who led the research whilst at the University of Liverpool and is now based at the University of Birmingham, said: “With a global aging population, the benefits of delaying aging, even if slightly, are immense. Repurposing drugs capable of extending lifespan and healthspan has a huge untapped potential in translational geroscience. 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.”
Reference: “Rilmenidine extends lifespan and healthspan in Caenorhabditis elegans via a nischarin I1-imidazoline receptor” by Dominic F. Bennett, Anita Goyala, Cyril Statzer, Charles W. Beckett, Alexander Tyshkovskiy, Vadim N. Gladyshev, Collin Y. Ewald and João Pedro de Magalhães, 20 January 2023, Aging Cell.
DOI: 10.1111/acel.13774
This study was undertaken by researchers from the University of Liverpool, ETH Zürich, and Harvard Medical School, and funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, LongeCity, and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.