X-Message-Number: 31806
From: "Kennita (Go Cryo!)" <>
Subject: Re: Rapamycin Extends Lifespan Of Old Mice: 28 To 38 Percent ...
Date: Fri, 10 Jul 2009 07:42:31 -0700
References: <>

> From: 
> [Note: A special more bioavailable microencapsulated form of  
> rapamycin was used.]
>
> http://www.uthscsa.edu/hscnews/singleformat.asp?newID=3138
> ...
> Today in the journal Nature, The University of Texas Health Science  
> Center at San Antonio and two collaborating centers reported that  
> the Easter Island compound - called "rapamycin" after the island's  
> Polynesian name, Rapa Nui - extended the expected lifespan of middle- 
> aged mice by 28 percent to 38 percent. In human terms, this would be  
> greater than the predicted increase in extra years of life if cancer  
> and heart disease were both cured and prevented.
>
> The rapamycin was given to the mice at an age equivalent to 60 years  
> old in humans.
>
> The studies are part of the National Institute on Aging (NIA)  
> Interventions Testing Program, which seeks compounds that might help  
> people remain active and disease-free throughout their lives. The  
> other two centers involved are the University of Michigan at Ann  
> Arbor and Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine.

I consider myself fortunate to have been born at the end of the Baby
Boom, so that I gain the benefit of the motivated work of so many
people. It seems to me that Michigan, Texas, and Maine might be
useful places for cryonicists to live. (musing) It might make a
splash if someone from Cryonics Institute landed a job at the
Michigan center.
> ...
> "In addition," Dr. Sharp said, "the findings have immediate  
> implications for preventive medicine and human health, in that  
> rapamycin is already in clinical usage."
>
> ...
> The original goal was to begin feeding the mice at 4 months of age,  
> but because of the delay caused by developing the new formulation,  
> the mice were not started until they were 20 months old - the  
> equivalent of 60 years of age in humans.

> The teams decided to try the rapamycin intervention anyway.
>
> "I did not think that it would work because the mice were too old  
> when the treatment was started," Dr. Richardson said. "Most reports  
> indicate that calorie restriction doesn't work when implemented in  
> old animals. The fact that rapamycin increases lifespan in  
> relatively old mice was totally unexpected."

... As though we had planned it... :-)
>
>
> Added Dr. Strong: "This study has clearly identified a potential  
> therapeutic target for the development of drugs aimed at preventing  
> age-related diseases and extending healthy lifespan. If rapamycin,  
> or drugs like rapamycin, works as envisioned, the potential  
> reduction in overall health cost for the U.S. and the world will be  
> enormous."


That, of course, assumes that the interventions we want to use
after those work are less expensive, and/or that they square the
curve. What they don't mention is that the reduction in health
cost may be dwarfed by the increase in productive capacity as
experienced older workers are able to continue contributing as
they desire.

> ...

Live long and prosper,
Kennita

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