Implications of the anti-aging drug

Conclusion

Rapamycin is a successful example of anti-aging drug which seems to bring positive impact on lifespan extension. Scientists are still considering the best way to maximise its benefits with a lowest dosage without serious side effects that has an outcome equivalent to a lifelong treatment. The fruit fly and mice study shows that rapamycin treatment had the best effect when the drug was given at a young age compared to no effects when given at an older age (ScienceDaily, n.d.). This suggests that early adulthood is a critical period of rapamycin consumption as it increases the survival rate of memory and effector T cells (developed from bone marrow stem cells that protect the body from infection in the immune system) during contraction phase when majority of effector T cells die by apoptosis. Higher number of T cells survived implies better immune system to fight against pathogenic invasion, leading to stronger body and thus longer lifespan.

Nevertheless, there are still questions raised about this antiaging drug, such as the right dosage of rapamycin as it varies in situations — low dosage required in the mTOR pathway but high dosage required in the IIS pathway (for insulin and insulin-like peptide cell signalling). Is it possible to strike a balance of dosage to maximise the positive effects with the least side effects?

On the other hand, a recent study (UCL, 2019) conducted by UCL researchers suggested that effectiveness of rapamycin depends on the biological gender. They gave rapamycin to both male and female fruit flies and surprisingly, only female fruit flies had an extended lifespan and decelerated emergence of age-related intestinal diseases. Female fruit flies were found to have increased autophagy in gut cells but not in male gut cells that already had a high autophagy activity from the start of experiment which could not further rise up after the drug treatment. Understanding the sex-specific nature of rapamycin allows us to explore alternatives that can work on both sexes: maybe a combination of drug treatment such as a mixture of lithium, trametinib and rapamycin can extend the lifespan more than using rapamycin alone. This is supported by the latest UCL study that fruit flies which received a combination of drug treatment lived 48% longer than those without any drug treatment. The combination of drugs may compensate the side effects of each other and eliminate our concerns over undesirable side effects of rapamycin such as anaemia, high blood pressure and elevated potassium level in the blood.

All the technological innovations are fascinating and recent studies mentioned above have demonstrated encouraging results in finding ways for longevity that can inspire other scientists to join this new age-related exploration field. By conducting more research on some long-lived species such as the bowhead whale, which are warm-blooded mammals that can live up to 200 years with similar genetic makeup as humans, we may find more evidence to support the idea of how epigenetic clocks may affect our lifespan and apply the knowledge to modify the current proposal of epigenetic engineering. Yet, humans are a complex system that requires different components interact and work together. Should the root cause of aging be solely reduced to the loss of DNA information and critical instructions in epigenome? There may be other factors involved that have not been discovered which may allow or prevent anti-aging to be possible. In addition, there are social implications of reverse aging technology as it might eventually lead to overpopulation if everyone’s lifespan was extended (Farnam Street, n.d.). Though it may become a burden on society due to resource scarcity, it may also be an advantage if the increasing population is productive and more people with wisdom and knowledge can survive longer and contribute more to the society.

To conclude, I believe that seeking for technological advancement to extend lifespan is beneficial, but at the same time, we should also put more focus on the quality of life — how we can live out a meaningful and fruitful life by incorporating healthy habits such as balanced diet and exercising rather than extending the lifespan without living well. Maybe in a few years or decades, we can witness the first person who lives for more than 120 years utilising epigenetic engineering or anti-aging drugs, turning the ‘Elixir of Immortality’ into reality.

Discussion questions

1. Do you think epigenetic engineering is applicable on humans after several animal trials?

2. Should the government put more funding into epigenetic research and bulk production of rapamycin to increase people’s lifespan? Why do you think so?

3. How do you think anti-aging research will impact our lives and why?

Interested in learning more?

Here’s a video you may enjoy:

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