Ibuprofen as an anti-aging medicine
Could the well-known ibuprofen serve as an anti-aging medicine? A recent study by scientist Michael Polymenis of the University of Texas (USA) concludes that this popular medicine to treat pain and fever is capable of extending the life of yeast, worms and even flies. The work has been published in Plos Genetics magazine. The research team proved that regular doses of ibuprofen extended the lifespan of multiple species up to 15% more: «first we use bread yeast, which is an established aging model, and we saw that the yeast treated with ibuprofen lived longer. Then we tried the same process with the worms and the flies and saw the same prolongation of the useful life. In addition, these organisms not only lived longer, but also seemed healthy, «explains Polymenis.
Taking into account the equivalence for humans, if this treatment could be done for us, we would have around 12 years of extra healthy life. This is the first step of an interesting experiment that would use this over-the-counter drug since 1980 and which is included in the «List of Essential Medicines» of the World Health Organization (WHO).
«We’re not sure why it works, but it’s worth exploring further. This study was a proof of principle to show that common medicines, relatively safe in humans, can extend the useful life of very diverse organisms. Therefore, it should be possible to find others such as ibuprofen with better capacity to prolong life, with the aim of adding years of healthy life to people, «says Polymenis.
