Scientists hope to lengthen dog years through a drug that helps patients during organ transplants. This drug is said to extend the lives of fruit flies, worms and mice. They are now trying to see the effect it will have on a man's best friend.
As reported by Mashable, scientists who study aging are currently observing a group of 20 dogs in Seattle. These dogs that have become an early test subjects in a trial of a drug called rapamycin are older than six years old. How the drug works remains a mystery however this has been used for years to prevent rejection of transplanted organs. As mentioned earlier, it has said to lengthen the life spans of different species like worms, fruit flies and mice in laboratories. If this proves effective in dogs, scientists would likely test the drug on healthy human volunteers.
The dogs that are part of the study are only the large ones since they are said to age faster than small dogs. Initially, the researchers plan to follow 32 dogs. One quarter of the dogs will get a placebo to prevent bias in the owners who report regularly on their dog's health. Scientists will then examine the results.
It expected that in next few years, rapamycin may be used in human trials as researchers improve their understanding of the mechanisms of aging. Rapamycin is one of the several anti-aging drugs that exist today.
Some of the side effects were discovered during the experiment. At high doses, rapamycin can cause elevated blood sugar thus increasing the risk for diabetes. It can also cause mouth lesions known as canker sores. Initially, researchers were a bit wary as it works as an immune-suppressive cocktail for organ transplants, increasing the risk for infection. However a study published last year in Science Translational Medicine showed that a derivative of the drug has shown positive effects on human immunity following a flu shot.
If the drugs show positive effect on humans, scientists expect that there are still many details to work out, including what dose to give and how old the subject should be. In three to four years time, the dogs could probably shed light how the drug works.