Anti-ageing drug could let you live to 120 in good health

[audreyh1]

Ha! I'll dance on your graves with my 120 year old diabetic body.

Fair enough!

 

[robnplunder]

Bring on the long life drug. I've been waiting and saving money for it. Hopefully, it's not $750 a pill kind of drug. Spending that kind of money on a pill will kill me.

 

[braumeister]

Well, since two of the most notable life extension treatments known are this and extreme calorie restriction, it would seem that a starving diabetic would be the epitome of longevity. Any takers?

 

[harley]

Bring on the long life drug. I've been waiting and saving money for it. Hopefully, it's not $750 a pill kind of drug. Spending that kind of money on a pill will kill me.

I can see it now...gangs of old people robbing heroin addicts to get money for their Metformin.

 

[audreyh1]

Another article about the TAME clinical study from this summer: Anti-ageing pill pushed as bona fide drug : Nature News & Comment

 

[MichaelB]

I can see it now...gangs of old people robbing heroin addicts to get money for their Metformin.

I think it'll be gangs of young people hijacking the shipments so that the old people will quit hanging around.

Bring on the long life drug. I've been waiting and saving money for it. Hopefully, it's not $750 a pill kind of drug. Spending that kind of money on a pill will kill me.

I'm guessing more like $12K per year, and once you start you can't stop or all the benefit is lost.

 

[Bir48die]

Sounds good - looked up metformin and found this under side effects:
Gastrointestinal

Very common (10% or more): Diarrhea (53.2%), nausea/vomiting (25.5%), flatulence (12.1%)

Already have the flatulence thing down. Do I really need more?

 

[audreyh1]

I think it'll be gangs of young people hijacking the shipments so that the old people will quit hanging around.


I'm guessing more like $12K per year, and once you start you can't stop or all the benefit is lost.

I was curious. An article from 2010 suggested cost of Metformin (which is a generic) should run about $18 a month, and lower if bought from a discount pharmacy.

 

[NW-Bound]

Bring on the long life drug. I've been waiting and saving money for it. Hopefully, it's not $750 a pill kind of drug. Spending that kind of money on a pill will kill me.

Apparently, you missed an earlier post.

From the article in the link:

Scientists think the best candidate for an anti-ageing drug is metformin, the world's most widely used diabetes drug which costs just 10 cents a day.​

Better stock up now before they raise the price.

I just watched a NatGeo documentary on this and other research into anti-aging drugs. The program talked much more about better quality of life prior to the grim reaper than extremely long lives. Currently the FDA will authorize a drug to treat a particular disease but have never authorized a drug to treat a spectrum of diseases which is what anti aging drugs aim to do. i.e. Improve and extend life by delaying the onset of diseases such as diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's etc.

If we get to the stage of much healthier lives prior to death instead of a steady decline in health then healthcare costs will actually go down. The program ended with the FDA approving clinical trials for metformin as an anti aging drug, as currently it cannot be used for anything other than diabetes.

If something prolongs your life by keeping diseases at bay, then how would you die fast?

If the effect of the pill is to slow down the biological clock then you will live longer in good health, but when old age catches up with you, it seems reasonable to me that your lingering stage will also lengthen. In other words, if an average person now lives 70 years in good health then suffers a decline for 10 years till death, the new pill will let him have a good life for, say 90 years, but the decline will also be longer at 13 years. It still seems like more than fair trade, non?

 

[MichaelB]

I was curious. An article from 2010 suggested cost of Metformin (which is a generic) should run about $18 a month, and lower if bought from a discount pharmacy.

Buying drugs that have been on the market and raising the price by 20X or more is not uncommon. Examples are Daraprim and Cycloserine. Pricing in the US drug market is based on value, not cost. How much would people pay for this drug?

 

[NW-Bound]

Another article about the TAME clinical study from this summer: Anti-ageing pill pushed as bona fide drug : Nature News & Comment

A salient paragraph from the above link follows. I added the underline.

Barzilai and other researchers plan to test that notion in a clinical trial called Targeting Aging with Metformin, or TAME. They will give the drug metformin to thousands of people who already have one or two of three conditions — cancer, heart disease or cognitive impairment — or are at risk of them. People with type 2 diabetes cannot be enrolled because metformin is already used to treat that disease. The participants will then be monitored to see whether the medication forestalls the illnesses they do not already have, as well as diabetes and death.
​

So, they are giving the drug to people who are already sick, and see if it prolongs their life relative to the sick cohorts who do not get the drug.

If you do not have cancer, heart disease or cognitive impairment, no Metformin for you. Pssst... Got some money?

 

[ejman]

Oh Dear!. I better wait until 70 to start collecting SS now that I will have another 40 years or so beyond the average life span to collect. And no doubt SS will be paid (with full COLA - no less) no matter how long people live or how many people make it into the + 120's - can't loose!

 

[robnplunder]

Buying drugs that have been on the market and raising the price by 20X or more is not uncommon.

Certainly. A global demand and marketing creativity will jack up the price of these pills for sure. The question is, can I afford it? Or, do I want to live that long when I am broke?

Instead of this type of drug, what if someone invents a drug that can put you in a dream (not coma) and extend your life to 500 years? It will be like living in a Matrix world, Neo. What if someone can control the dream to fill it with what you requested? Hmm, I am saving money for that one.

 

[ejman]

Buying drugs that have been on the market and raising the price by 20X or more is not uncommon. Examples are Daraprim and Cycloserine. Pricing in the US drug market is based on value, not cost. How much would people pay for this drug?

I wonder if they'll start digging tunnels from Canada under the border to send this stuff in when our local patriotic drug companies rev up to the true value - forget about smuggling low margin drugs like cocaine or heroin like they do from the other border

 

[Alan]

If something prolongs your life by keeping diseases at bay, then how would you die fast?

If the effect of the pill is to slow down the biological clock then you will live longer in good health, but when old age catches up with you, it seems reasonable to me that your lingering stage will also lengthen. In other words, if an average person now lives 70 years in good health then suffers a decline for 10 years till death, the new pill will let him have a good life for, say 90 years, but the decline will also be longer at 13 years. It still seems like more than fair trade, non?

The scientists on the program were saying that their research on mice did not prolong their lives very much but kept them much fitter. For example they gave the drug to old mice who were poor performers running on a treadmill and other tests, and they quickly started performing as well as much younger mice.

Both myself and my wife have close relatives, including both our fathers, who lived into their mid 80's and were extremely healthy, then died very quickly. My dad dropped dead with a AAA, and FIL suddenly took ill and was diagnosed with aggressive cancer and died within 6 weeks. ( they both lived alone in their own house ).

2 years ago we visited a 92 year old uncle of DW while we were in the UK, and he was still super fit, living in his own house, sharp as a tack and very active still in his local dance club. 9 months later he dropped dead with a AAA.

 

[audreyh1]

Buying drugs that have been on the market and raising the price by 20X or more is not uncommon. Examples are Daraprim and Cycloserine. Pricing in the US drug market is based on value, not cost. How much would people pay for this drug?

But those are situations where only one company is producing the drug. When you have 45 companies producing the drug, seems less likely.

 

[ejman]

My apologies but when I google "dropping dead with AAA" I get some weird references to the American Automobile Association which I would guess is not what you meant?

 

[REWahoo]

My dad dropped dead with a AAA...

2 years ago we visited a 92 year old uncle of DW while we were in the UK, and he was still super fit, living in his own house, sharp as a tack and very active still in his local dance club. 9 months later he dropped dead with a AAA.

My first thought was to be happy I'm not a member of Triple A, then I realized you were actually referring to abdominal aortic aneurysm...

 

[Alan]

My first thought was to be happy I'm not a member of Triple A, then I realized you were actually referring to abdominal aortic aneurysm...

That's it exactly, and definitely the way I would choose to go. My grandmother died of that also. She was talking on the phone to my aunt and the line went dead. When my aunt went around to check on her she was dead in the chair.

No symptoms but when it bursts you are often dead in seconds.

 

[samclem]

For example they gave the drug to old mice who were poor performers running on a treadmill and other tests, and they quickly started performing as well as much younger mice.

But I'm an old mouse that doesn't want to go back on the treadmill.

They need to do a study to see if the these old mice were suddenly able to stay out all night drinking and not feel it the next day, play scratch golf, and chase the spouse mouse around the mouse house all day. Why don't our tax dollars go toward meaningful research?

 

[Alan]

But I'm an old mouse that doesn't want to go back on the treadmill.

They need to do a study to see if the these old mice were suddenly able to stay out all night drinking and not feel it the next day, play scratch golf, and chase the spouse mouse around the mouse house all day. Why don't our tax dollars go toward meaningful research?

I think they did do that research, but NatGeo documentaries only have a G rating

 

[Bestwifeever]

We already have a miracle drug that would could increase our lifespan to 120: Want to live to 120? Exercise more, eat healthily and take statins, say panel of experts | Daily Mail Online

 

[Fermion]

We are only a few decades from being able to download your entire brain pattern into a computer, so might as well just wait for that. Unlimited lifespan as long as you pay your power bill. Probably will eventually be able to reload into a lab grown brain/body but I don't see the point if enough sensory input is provided to the digital brain.

 

[NW-Bound]

We already have a miracle drug that would could increase our lifespan to 120: Want to live to 120? Exercise more, eat healthily and take statins, say panel of experts | Daily Mail Online

Alas, all that hard work does not really guarantee you will live to 120. Only a few lucky ones will. The average person will extend his life a mere 4 years.

The group, which independently monitors evidence that explain changes in life expectancy and advises policymakers, found doing so took the average lifespan from 80 to 84.

The 'What is ageing? And how do we delay it?' report states that at present few people live to around 110 - but by making these adjustments they predict that the healthiest individuals could live to 120.​

 

[NW-Bound]

We are only a few decades from being able to download your entire brain pattern into a computer, so might as well just wait for that. Unlimited lifespan as long as you pay your power bill. Probably will eventually be able to reload into a lab grown brain/body but I don't see the point if enough sensory input is provided to the digital brain.

I hope the computer hosting my brain thoughts will have a better OS than those in use now.

Else, a hiccup of the software or an infection by a virus may cause my thoughts to enter an endless loop or reach an indeterminate state worse than it is already.

Round like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel
Like a snowball down a mountain, or a carnival balloon
Like a carousel that's turning running rings around the moon
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face
And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind!
​