A common drug curbed the mechanisms of aging in a trial

General the drug used in the treatment of diabetes seems to slow down aging or rather its mechanisms. According to researchers, it protected the brains of primates in particular for several years.

However, the experiment was conducted on monkeys and not on humans. Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences gave metformin drug for Javan macaques. As primates, they are relatives of humans, but not great apes.

The experiment has been praised In the journal Nature. The study was published in an equally prestigious journal Cell in the journal.

Metformin has been used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes for years to lower blood sugar. It is also mentioned Valid in the treatment recommendation.

Parallel positive effects have been observed with metformin. It is related to the reduced risk of some cancers, states a summary of studies published at the beginning of the year.

For years, metformin has also been considered a candidate to slow down aging.

Metformin has been found to protect cells from damage caused by oxygen radicals, enhance the repair of genetic errors, prevent harmful protein accumulation and suppress inflammation.

It prevents arterial disease, stated a recently published study Immunity, Inflammation and Disease in the journal.

In animal experiments, metformin has been tried to slow down aging, among other things in rodents, with banana flies and with worms. For example, in mice, metformin has been found to improve the functional capacity of old individuals and extend life span.

The Chinese there were a dozen in the researchers’ monkey experiment males aged 13–16 years. It corresponds to the age of 40–50 years in humans. The animals were given daily metformin for a little over three years.

The control group received a dose without metformin. The group consisted of young 3–5-year-old and middle-aged 10–12-year-old monkeys.

Dozens of samples were taken from animal tissues and organs, monkeys’ brains were imaged and body functions were studied. Cell samples were used to determine the biological age of the monkeys, which could differ from years of age.

Metformin was concluded to slow the biological aging of several tissues, including the brain, lungs, kidneys, liver, and skin.

interpretation was ultimately that metformin-treated monkeys resembled brain structure and age-related markers bulletin including monkeys 5–6 years younger. In human age, it could be estimated to be equivalent to 15–18 years.

Thus, the results suggest that metformin slows down the aging-related changes in the brain, especially in male monkeys.

Whether the drug could treat human brain-degenerative diseases and other chronic diseases is still open, comments the professor of clinical molecular medicine Anu Wartiovaara from the University of Helsinki. He is familiar with the possibilities of slowing down aging.

This study has mainly measured tissue markers that have been found to be related to aging. Functional tests, memory and others changed modestly.

The authors of the study themselves admit that the study was small, only a small group of monkeys received metformin and there were no females involved.

The evidence of actual rejuvenation is thus lacking. And there is no certain information about what kind of parallel effects there would be in humans if the medicine were used in the same way.

Mortality was not assessed in the study. The condition of the monkeys was not monitored after stopping the administration of the drug. The animals were killed and the tissues were examined.

Thank you research can In the journal Nature from a medical researcher for being well done. In the reviewer’s opinion, it is also the most significant study on the effect of metformin on the mechanisms of aging after the mouse experiments.

The experiment may have been a step towards human trials. Chinese researchers are experimenting According to Nature, metformin to curb the mechanisms of aging in middle-aged and older men. They also want to test it in the planned one in the United States In the Tame study.

Metformin has therefore been used in medicine for a long time. A recent study encourages comparing the lifespan and diseases of patients who used metformin with non-users. Then we would also get results for women, Wartiovaara reflects.

Read more: Science has advanced to the point where we can stop aging – this is how it happens.