Popular drug to end early pregnancies could also extend lifespan, scientists say
Scientists say mifepristone, used in cancer and reproductive care, could pave the way for anti-aging treatments.
New research from biologists at the University of South California (USC) Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences reveals that mifepristone, a drug best known for its use for ending early pregnancies, might also extend lifespan.
The findings could pave the way for anti-aging treatments.
Mifepristone, which is also used to treat Cushing’s disease and certain cancers, has caught the attention of scientists exploring ways to promote longer, healthier lives.
I don't wish to throw a damper on it, but, it won't surprise me if in a few years many side effects (even death) come to light, like most #BigPharma #pharmaceuticals (aka #drugs)
Those pesky side effects.
Big Pharma has given us every reason to trust us. So has the FDA and CDC.
In a study involving fruit flies, John Tower, a professor of biological sciences at USC Dornsife, compared the effects of mifepristone to rapamycin, a drug that has demonstrated the ability to increase the lifespan of various animals.
The study, published in the journal Fly, showed that both drugs independently extended the lifespan of fruit flies.
Interestingly, combining the two drugs does not offer additional benefits and a slightly reduced lifespan, suggesting they act through the same biological pathway.
Researchers focused on mitophagy to understand how mifepristone and rapamycin might extend lifespan.
Mitophagy is like a cellular “cleanup” process in which damaged or dysfunctional mitochondria — the cell’s energy producers — are broken down and recycled. Impaired mitophagy has been linked to aging and age-related diseases, while increased mitophagy is believed to be a factor in rapamycin’s life-extending effects.
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