Lung cancer patients were given drugs in a trial and their gray hair turned dark. Gray hair reversal could be a sign of serious rejuvenation.
The drugs used were Nivolumab, Atezolizumab and Pembrolizumab.
They seem like a good candidate for the Ora Biomedical Million Molecule Challenge, and also something I think LEVF should consider. I’ve already emailed both of them about this, just in case they weren’t aware of these compounds.
Response from Aubrey at LEVF:"Short answer is that I agree regarding the MMC, but for LEVF this is insufficient evidence. These antibodies may simply be relieving the systemic pressure on all tissues that is exerted by the cancer, and allowing cells such as melanocytes to recover function that was being suppressed. Note that the patients who got colour were also the ones who responded the best in terms of their cancer.
Cheers, Aubrey"
Only issue is these appear to be intravenous drugs, not oral. Makes the study more difficult.
These should be thoroughly tested: Individually, grouped up in 2s, all 3 at once and each one of those paired with rapamycin, and separately rapamycin/acarbose.
A link to the article:
What makes this potentially so promising is that graying hair is the number 1 sign of aging according to the 2019 study “A defined human aging phenome.”
Pembrolizumab seems to work in similar ways as Nivolumab by acting as a PD-1 Inhibitor.
I really like the idea of trying to look upstream of mTOR. This is also what the mTOR screening project is going to do. Step by step forward!
PS. This reminds me also about Linda Partridge research which was quite interesting where she combined a Rapamycin with the MEK inhibitor Trametinib. I talk a little about it in this post.
In general, it’s remarkable how many cancer meds in this class turn up in anti-aging literature. Maybe where there’s a lot of smoke, there’s some fire too. Worth investigating. I hope the ITP doesn’t go away with the recent cutbacks .
Yes, it’s very interesting. One important thing here is dosing to get it right. It would be very interesting to test many current drugs at low doses to see if there could result in longevity effects.
I really hope ITP and CITP will survive. It would be a big failure to close these programs down.
Response from Aubrey at LEVF:"Short answer is that I agree regarding the MMC, but for LEVF this is insufficient evidence. These antibodies may simply be relieving the systemic pressure on all tissues that is exerted by the cancer, and allowing cells such as melanocytes to recover function that was being suppressed. Note that the patients who got colour were also the ones who responded the best in terms of their cancer.
I feel like given the new context of longevity studies, the hallmarks of aging and proposed methods of reversing the hallmarks there will be a lot of things in the past which will have new meaning and opportunity.
Yes. Still worth looking into imo, because I cannot think of an example of something else that reverses gray hair. I’ve heard people claim things can reverse gray hair, but I’ve never seen evidence.
Interesting. I don’t like oral minoxidil due to heart problems that can come with it, but it would be interesting to see this used in a cocktail in MMC. There might be other things it can be combined with to offset the heart effects and this might give some additive beneficial effects.
Pericardial effusion is the main concern with oral minoxidil. I wonder if, among other things, the inclusion of a SGLT2 inhibitor (known to reduce fluid buildup) could offset that negative effect.
Minoxidil + the most promising SGLT2 inhibitor also would be a good MMC candidate.
I’ve come up with the same conclusion.You need something to deal with the fluid buildups on loniten, particulary on higher doses which are interesting for elastin production.
By the way anyone with any other molecules they think has a systemic effect on the body that results in gray hair reversal please post it here. I’m working on something and that information would be useful. Thank you.
My cat is on imatinib and there is a small chance it’s darkening her hair. Having said that, I think her old immunotherapy agent might have lightened it, so this is not necessarily a result of imatinib, but google says there is a chance.
And while I don’t know of any systemic effect, I’ve read latanoprost (glaucoma eye drops) might darken hair
Quick AI search:
Yes, latanoprost, a medication used for glaucoma, can cause hair to darken, including eyelashes, eyebrows, and scalp hair. This effect, known as hypertrichosis and pigmentation, can occur in a significant portion of patients, ranging from 25% to 58%. The darkening is thought to be related to latanoprost’s ability to stimulate melanogenesis, the process of melanin production.
Reading it up it is a tyrosine kinase. AIUI things that inhibit the Janus Kinase which is a particular tyrosine kinase result from time to time in hair redarkening. I think it all comes down to the normal acetylation control on gene expression. Janus Kinase operates through NFκB/SLC25A1.
Currently reading through all of the proposals by all of the finalists of the XPrize Healthspan competition and one of them is talking about using the exact type of compounds from the study!
Summary of study: PAI-1 (Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1) is a protein that plays a significant role in cellular senescence and aging. Research has shown that elevated levels of PAI-1 are associated with various age-related diseases, including thrombosis, arteriosclerosis, obesity, diabetes, and major depressive disorders. Studies have also demonstrated that PAI-1 is not only a marker but also a key mediator of cellular senescence, and that its inhibition can prevent age-related pathology and morbidity. The development of novel small molecule-based therapies targeting PAI-1 normalization or inhibition provides a promising approach to controlling cellular senescence and age-associated pathologies.
Key points:
PAI-1 is a protein involved in cellular senescence and aging
Elevated PAI-1 levels are associated with various age-related diseases
PAI-1 is a key mediator of cellular senescence
Inhibition of PAI-1 can prevent age-related pathology and morbidity
Novel therapies targeting PAI-1 normalization or inhibition show promise in controlling cellular senescence and age-associated pathologies.
Protection Against Fibrosis
PAI-1 promotes fibrotic tissue remodeling in the heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys.
In aging, fibrosis contributes to organ stiffness and loss of function.
PAI-1 inhibitors may preserve tissue elasticity and regenerative capacity.
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