[Note: Avi got some of the details wrong here, Rapamycin has improved lifespan by up to 26% and over 29 labs have confirmed lifespan improvements, TAME trial has not been funded, etc. but the generalities and the cost information is correct]
6 drugs under $1/day being tested to slow aging (plus 1 expensive outlier with the biggest result):
Rapamycin ($0.30/day) - Extended lifespan 12-15% in mice. 7 labs confirmed. Human trials ongoing for immune aging.
Acarbose ($0.30/day) - Extended male mouse lifespan 22%. Diabetes drug since 1995. Slows glucose spikes.
Metformin ($0.10/day) - TAME trial (3,000 people, 6 years) testing whether it delays age-related disease. Most prescribed diabetes drug in history.
Glycine ($0.05/day) - An amino acid. Extended mouse lifespan 6%. Costs less than coffee. Available without prescription.
Captopril ($0.15/day) - Blood pressure drug. Extended mouse lifespan in ITP. Mechanism: reduces angiotensin damage.
Henagliflozin ($0.30/day) - SGLT2 inhibitor. First drug to lengthen telomeres in a randomized trial (90.5% vs 65.6%).
Trametinib (expensive, ~$200+/day brand, no generic yet) - Combined with rapamycin: 30% lifespan extension. FDA-approved cancer drug. Included because it produced the biggest aging result ever seen in combination.
None are approved for aging. All are in trials or have strong animal data. Total daily cost of the first six: $1.20.
I posted information about a rat lifespan study along with a study reference and link. And rather than having the courtesy to click on it and take a look, you responded with a curt “Wrong” and a link to a third-party website listing lifespan data for worms and mice.
Sorry wrong is not correct but a 2011 study that isn’t in DrugAge might be irrelevant. Here it’s a non-peer reviewed abstract report. If the result was so good, surely they would have published it?
Actually “Wrong” was probably the correct assessment:
Prior to this rigorously designed study conducted by the Interventions Testing Program, a 2011 report documented that glycine supplementation could enhance longevity in male Fisher 344 rats (Brind et al., 2011). Although glycine at different doses was reported to extend median lifespan by up to 28.4% and maximum lifespan by up to 30.8%, an analysis using the Wang/Allison method (Wang et al., 2004) found that maximum lifespan was only significantly extended by an 8% dose (Miller et al., 2019).
The rat study was the basis for the ITP testing in mice. If the ITP team had seen no merit in the findings, they likely would not have prioritized glycine for formal testing. Although the subsequent ITP study was more rigorously designed and conducted across three independent testing sites, it was performed in mice, so it does not invalidate the earlier rat results. Moreover, rats are a valuable model for gerontological research because they are larger, have longer lifespans than mice, and often show stronger physiological parallels to humans. For example, cardiovascular and renal function. I did specify 8% glycine above.
On the glycine discussion: among those of European descent, I believe 10-11% are BHMT-08 (rs651852 (A,A), as I am. This genotype may want to consider modifying its glycine and several related supplement parameters. I found the topic to be a deep dive contingent on so many specific related issues that it is better undertaken by the individual rather than posting a generic analysis here.
Henagliflozin has shown some impressive benefits. I have been trying to obtain some for testing, but it only seems to be available in China. The drug shown in the chart is another “flozin”. Any ideas ?
