Reviewing the Data on Human Use of Rapamycin

Rapamycin and some of the later rapalog derivatives such as everolimus, all of which function via inhibition of mTOR, are arguably the best of the present crop of geroprotective drugs capable of modestly slowing aging and extending life in animal studies. The effects of rapamycin in mice are robust and repeatable, though never as large as we'd all like them to be. Like many of the other interventions that modestly slow aging in animal models these small molecule drugs mimic some of the effects of calorie restriction, and likely produce benefits largely through increased efficiency of the cell maintenance processes of autophagy. Better recycling of damaged and unwanted proteins and structures leads to better cell function, fewer senescent cells, and better tissue function. From what is known of the differences between mice and humans in the use of calorie restriction as an intervention, the effect on life span of any strategy based on upregulation of autophagy via pathways relevant to calorie restriction is likely smaller in humans than it is in mice. In the case of rapamycin, there is human data for short-term and mid-term effects on health, but nothing useful for life span. Rapamycin has been widely used for decades in various contexts, and a fair-sized population of self-experimenters is presently using rapamycin at the established anti-aging dosage, somewhere in the vicinity of 5mg taken orally once per week. One thing that is clear from the human data is that rapam...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs