Posted on 05/16/2016 12:38:40 PM PDT by Gennie
SEATTLE — Ever since last summer, when Lynn Gemmell’s dog was inducted into the trial of a drug that has been shown to significantly lengthen the lives of laboratory mice, she has been the object of intense scrutiny among dog park regulars.
To those who insist that Bela, 8, has turned back into a puppy — “Look how fast she’s getting that ball!” — Ms. Gemmell has tried to turn a deaf ear. Bela, a Border collie-Australian shepherd mix, may have been given a placebo, for one thing.
The drug, rapamycin, which improved the heart health and appeared to delay the onset of some diseases in older mice, may not work the same magic in dogs, for another. There is also a chance it could do more harm than good. “This is just to look for side effects, in dogs,” Ms. Gemmell told Bela’s many well-wishers.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
It is immunosuppresive. Basically they say it is good for preventing,or slowing down old age cancer so you live longer. The trade off is that becaue it supppresses the immune system your risk of infections can increase.
It is interesting but needs more research. If you can stay infection free or dont have big allergy problems it may be a good thing.
Doesn’t testosterone and GH work to make you younger?
Nah. I’m just having my head frozen at Alcor.
Testosterone and HGH apparently can help maintain youthful appearance, but the concern is that growth of certain cancers may be encouraged by the use of them.
Wow, he’d sure be handy after a wind storm.
“Good boy! Now, fetch us something to cook!”
Although the dogs in this study received a non-immunosuppressive dose and the drug had an effect in a matter of days or weeks so something else is going on. Wish there was more funding for clinical trials in healthy human adults. If more of these animal studies turn out well people are going to start taking it regardless of FDA approval.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5411365/
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