Waiting for the "old age pill"
"In 20 years we will have 20 drugs that slow down aging"
Interview with the head of the world's leading institute,
studying the issues of human agingNadezhda Markina, Newspaper.
En" about how many drugs against aging humanity will soon have and what principles they may have.
The conversation took place at the III International conference "Genetics of Aging and Longevity", which ends in Sochi and to which, despite the tense political situation, all the declared foreign speakers came.
– Do we understand the nature of aging today? There are a lot of different mechanisms, biochemical pathways that are involved in this. Which of them are the main ones?
– My answer is yes and no. Yes, we have found ways to change the rate of aging in laboratory animals. We can change their diet to make them live longer, we can modify their genes. We already have medicines that prolong the life of animals. That is, the progress is very significant. But at the same time, we sometimes do not understand why these things prolong life.
There are a large number of aging models. Most likely, there is a small group of mechanisms that cause key changes, such as inflammatory processes, changes in the configuration of protein molecules, DNA damage. A large amount of data has been accumulated in each of these areas, but we do not know how they integrate, we do not know which mechanisms are more important and in which tissues. I think we're just beginning to understand how these things are interconnected. We have already found out that at least some life-span-controlling pathways are universal, from yeast to mammals and probably humans.
– A large number of scientific groups around the world are engaged in the search for biomarkers of aging. What do you think are the most promising ones?
– I think it's a change in DNA methylation. There is very impressive data in this area. For example, you can look at the degree of DNA methylation and predict a person's age. But there are still a lot of questions. We don't know what age these markers predict, biological or chronological. This is very important to determine. If there is a chronological age, then we cannot interfere with it. But if the biological age, then those substances that, as we have shown, work on mice, we can give to people. And either they will reverse our biological clock, or slow it down.
– A few years ago, the cure for old age was a topic of science fiction and people did not take it seriously…
– I was serious.
– But now scientists all over the world are conducting serious scientific research to find drugs that slow down old age and prolong life. What areas of research, in your opinion, are the closest to success?
– I have worked a lot with rapamycin. For this drug, we have the maximum number of confirmations of its effect on prolonging life in animals. This drug already exists, people take it for other diseases, and we know how people respond to it. But rapamycin has a large number of side effects, and this, of course, reduces its value. We want to modify it to eliminate side effects. To date, we have managed to reduce these side effects in animal models.
But this is just one drug, and in 20 years we will have 20 drugs that slow down aging. We will have a great choice.
Aging, as we now understand, is the main cause of many age–related diseases. So if we manage to prolong life, we will protect a person from the appearance of these diseases.
– What is the mechanism of action of anti-aging drugs?
– Rapamycin acts through the biochemical signaling pathway TOR (target of rapamycin), which leads to the same effect as calorie restriction in the diet. Some other drugs act on the signaling pathway of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), directly or indirectly. But there will be other drugs that will work independently of these pathways, we don't know which ones yet.
– Do you have a forecast when they will appear?
– The sooner the better: I'm getting old. In general, it is difficult to say for sure, because there are still many problems, both scientific and regulatory. But I see how gradually all the results converge to one point. I think we'll see it happen pretty quickly. I hope.
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