Flushing harmful zombie senescent cells from the body that have become old, fatigued and have ceased to divide has become one of the more prominent proposals in the anti-aging sphere. The hypothesis has generated a stream of animal data to support the theory, and now the Mayo Clinic has results from a human study that suggests they have found drugs that can do the same.

While the main goal of the Phase I trail was not to show the effects of reducing senescent cells in the body the researchers were eager to show that the anti-aging senolytics that were tested in animal studies can work the same way in humans as “so far, there has been no direct demonstration of senescent cell clearance by senolytic drugs in peer-reviewed published human clinical trials,” the authors wrote in EBioMedicine, despite the publication of the first human data in January.

Dasatinib and quercetin were given to 9 patients with diabetes related chronic kidney disease for 3 days in this trial. The drugs cleared participants systems in a matter of a few days, but the effects persisted and the authors reported, “Key markers of senescent cell burden were decreased in adipose tissue and skin biopsied from subjects 11 days after completing the 3-day course of D + Q, as were key circulating SASP factors, compared to before administration of these senolytic drugs.”

The complex interplay of various processes and mechanisms that contribute to aging means it’s unlikely we’ll discover a single “magic bullet” to prevent age-related diseases. But new research led by University College London and the Max Planck Institute for Biology and Ageing is potentially as close as anything we’ve seen. The scientists have been able to extend the lifespan of fruit flies by 48 percent using a triple drug combination made up of drugs already used in people.

“As life expectancies increase, we are also seeing an increase of age-related diseases so there is an urgent need to find ways to improve health in old age,” says study co-lead author, Dr Jorge Castillo-Quan. “Here, by studying fruit flies which age much more rapidly than people, we have found that a combination drug treatment targeting different cellular processes may be an effective way to slow down the aging process.”

The three drugs making up the combo include lithium, which is used as a mood stabilizer, trametinib, a cancer drug that inhibits MEK1 and MEK2 enzymes, and rapamycin, an immune system regulator produced by bacteria that was first found in a soil sample from Easter Island and has been found to improve learning and memory in mice.

Sajad Zalzala wants to enable off-label uses of common drugs, like Metformin, to slow aging.

Steven Gundry, MD, author of The Longevity Paradox: How to Die Young at a Ripe Old Age, explains how he boosted patients’ lifespan and healthspan by combining conventional medicine with nutritional therapy.

Researchers are working to get to the bottom of longevity, unlocking the secrets to extending our lifespans well into our 100s… and beyond.
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Harvard Professor David Sinclair thinks longevity, or extending our lifespan, is the “greatest unsolved problem in biology.”

The global life expectancy is currently hovering somewhere around 72 years old and women typically live longer than men and the age tends to be higher in developed countries and lower in impoverished nations.

Some experts argue that the tools we currently have when it comes to extending our lifespans are as simple as diet and exercise, but a healthy diet is only going to get you so far. So scientists are seeking out clues in the natural world that could help us side step growing old, some scientists even think that many of the ailments we refer to as diseases could be thought of as the symptoms of aging.

So, in addition to improving our nutrition, sleep, social life, access to health care, and so on, what else can we do to increase our chances of immortality?

Find out more on this episode of How Close Are We?