Longer Life in a Pill May Already Be Available at Your Local Drug Store - Singularity HUB
This year, the FDA green lighted an audacious proposal that seeks to test in 3,000 volunteers a drug that — based on animal studies — could extend human lifespan by up to 40 percent and decrease chances of getting age-related diseases. The double-blind, multi-centered trial, Targeting Aging with Metformin (TAME), is the first that pushes aging as a bona fide disease — one that may eventually be tamed with drugs.
“We think this is a groundbreaking, perhaps paradigm-shifting trial,” said Dr. Steven Austad, scientific director of the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR).
Without a doubt, TAME is an odd one in the realm of clinical trials. Spearheaded by Dr. Nil Barzilai, an ebullient scientist based at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, TAME receives no support from the pharmaceutical industry. The brainchild of a team made up solely of academics, TAME is sponsored by the nonprofit organization AFAR.
Even more of a head scratcher is this: if the drug were to work in humans — making it the first scientifically proven longevity pill, an elixir worth billions — none of the team members stand to make any money. This is because metformin, the star of the trial, is a generic diabetes drug that costs only a few cents a dose.
It’s not about the money; it’s something far bigger.
What we’re talking about here is an idea that fundamentally changes how we look at aging and disease, saidDr. S. Jay Olshansky, a biodemographer at the University of Illinois and TAME team member.
The idea is this: rather than tackling the top medical killers — cancer, cardiovascular disease, dementia — individually, we should instead focus on slowing or reversing the single most prominent risk factor associated with all those diseases — age.
It may be as close to a silver bullet as we’ll get.
Complete story at site
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If this is so, it's a big story and a big boost, people. I volunteer for the study! Pick me!
This year, the FDA green lighted an audacious proposal that seeks to test in 3,000 volunteers a drug that — based on animal studies — could extend human lifespan by up to 40 percent and decrease chances of getting age-related diseases. The double-blind, multi-centered trial, Targeting Aging with Metformin (TAME), is the first that pushes aging as a bona fide disease — one that may eventually be tamed with drugs.
“We think this is a groundbreaking, perhaps paradigm-shifting trial,” said Dr. Steven Austad, scientific director of the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR).
Without a doubt, TAME is an odd one in the realm of clinical trials. Spearheaded by Dr. Nil Barzilai, an ebullient scientist based at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, TAME receives no support from the pharmaceutical industry. The brainchild of a team made up solely of academics, TAME is sponsored by the nonprofit organization AFAR.
Even more of a head scratcher is this: if the drug were to work in humans — making it the first scientifically proven longevity pill, an elixir worth billions — none of the team members stand to make any money. This is because metformin, the star of the trial, is a generic diabetes drug that costs only a few cents a dose.
It’s not about the money; it’s something far bigger.
What we’re talking about here is an idea that fundamentally changes how we look at aging and disease, saidDr. S. Jay Olshansky, a biodemographer at the University of Illinois and TAME team member.
The idea is this: rather than tackling the top medical killers — cancer, cardiovascular disease, dementia — individually, we should instead focus on slowing or reversing the single most prominent risk factor associated with all those diseases — age.
It may be as close to a silver bullet as we’ll get.
Complete story at site
__________________________________________________
If this is so, it's a big story and a big boost, people. I volunteer for the study! Pick me!