Eight Candidate Drugs Fail to Extend Lifespan in Mice
Graded Preliminary — a controlled mouse experiment at three sites; animal results do not automatically apply to people, and the statistics were not corrected for many comparisons.
Animal study. Findings may not carry over to people, which is why the grade is capped at Preliminary.
- Design
- Animal study
- Participants
- —
- Duration
- —
- Funding
- US National Institute on Aging (NIH); US Department of Veterans Affairs
None of the eight compounds tested, including astaxanthin and pioglitazone, made mice live longer.
Plenty of compounds are tipped as ways to live longer, often based on results in worms or in a single lab. A large US testing program put eight of them to the test in mice. None made the animals live longer, in males or in females. The list included astaxanthin and the diabetes drug pioglitazone.
The program tests each compound at three labs at the same time, using genetically varied mice. The animals got the compounds in their food, starting between 7 and 20 months of age. Three of them had extended lifespan in earlier rounds of the program. At different doses or with a later start, they showed no benefit this time. Females given pioglitazone from seven months lived 6.2 percent shorter on average. Females given the related drug mitoglitazone, started late, also lived shorter. A similar drawback for astaxanthin disappeared once one lab was left out, because untreated females there had lived unusually long.
The authors conclude that dose and starting age matter a great deal. They urge caution with promising results from a single lab. What this means for people was not studied.
Disclaimer: Research summaries are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your health routine.