Key points from article :
Researchers demonstrate that animals treated with rilmenidine have increased lifespan and improved health markers.
Young and older animals treated with rilmenidine, a drug currently used to treat hypertension, showed increased lifespan and improved health markers.
The effects of the drug mimic those of caloric restriction.
A caloric restriction diet has been considered the most robust antiaging intervention, promoting longevity across species.
The researchers found that rilmenidine extends lifespan in C elegans by approximately 19% and improves healthspan.
They found lifespan and healthspan benefits in both young and old animals.
João Pedro de Magalhães, who led the research, said: “Repurposing drugs capable of extending lifespan and healthspan ... if rilmenidine may have other clinical applications.”
"It would be interesting to test rilmenidine in normal mice for longevity and antiaging effects", he added.
The research was carried out at Harvard Medicine and was published in Aging Cell
