Experiments with mice suggest a drug currently in clinical trials could increase human lifespans dramatically. Deactivating a protein called IL-11 reduced typical health problems associated with ageing and extended the lives of females by 25% and males by 22.5%. The discovery by scientists at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Medical Science and Imperial College in London, who worked with Singapore’s Duke-NUS Medical School, was published in the journal Nature. The mice treated with the drug were 75 weeks old – 55 years for humans. Side effects were minimal. The researchers believe the drug already already being tested as a potential weapon against fibrotic lung disease, may provide and opportunity to determine its effects “on ageing pathologies in older people”.
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