In a rigorous 40-month study, researchers have found that a low-cost diabetes drug slows aging in male monkeys and is particularly effective at delaying the effects of aging on the brain.
The results suggest that metformin, a commonly used medication, may delay humans’ aging process.
Monkeys receiving metformin every day showed slower age-related brain decline compared to those not given the drug.
Furthermore, their neuronal activity resembled that of monkeys about six years younger (equivalent to around 18 human years), and the animals had enhanced cognition and preserved liver function.
Anti-aging effects
This study, published in Cell on September 12, said that metformin slows the pace of aging across diverse male primate tissues.
Metformin has been used for over 60 years to reduce blood sugar levels in individuals with type 2 diabetes. It is the second most prescribed medication in the United States.
The drug has long been known to have effects beyond treating diabetes, leading researchers to study it against conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and aging.
Data from worms, rodents, flies, and humans who have taken the diabetes drug suggest it may have anti-aging effects.
However, it was yet to be directly tested in primates for its effectiveness against aging, and it is unclear whether its potential anti-aging effects are achieved by lowering blood sugar or through a separate mechanism.
Guanghui Liu, a biologist who researches aging at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, and his colleagues conducted a study to test the drug on 12 elderly male cynomolgus macaques. The control group comprised 16 elderly monkeys and 18 young or middle-aged animals.
Slows aging of lung, kidney, liver, skin, brain
Every day, monkeys are given the standard dose of metformin used to treat human diabetes.
The animals were administered the drug for 40 months, equivalent to about 13 years for humans.
During the study, Liu and his colleagues sampled tissues and organs from 79 types of monkeys, imaged the animals’ brains, and conducted routine physical examinations.
By analyzing the cellular activity in the samples, the researchers created a computational model to determine the tissues’ biological age, which may differ from the animals’ chronological age.
The researchers noted that the drug decelerated the biological aging process of various tissues, such as the lung, kidney, liver, skin, and the brain’s frontal lobe. They also discovered that it reduced chronic inflammation, a primary indicator of aging.
The study wasn’t intended to determine whether the drug extended the animals’ lifespans. Previous research has not established an impact on lifespan but has shown that it lengthened healthspan—the number of years an organism lives in good health.
“Metformin has the potential to reverse the aging of organs in monkeys effectively,” Liu explained.
The authors have also identified a potential pathway by which the drug protects the brain. It activates a protein called NRF2, which safeguards against cellular damage triggered by injury and inflammation.
Although these results are encouraging, Liu says much more research will be necessary to study the drug before it’s validated as an anti-aging compound in humans.
Liu and his colleagues have initiated a 120-person trial in partnership with Merck, a biopharmaceutical company in Darmstadt, Germany, which developed and produced metformin.
The trial will determine whether the drug can delay aging in humans.
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