Exploring Longevity Drugs for Dogs: A Step Toward Extending Human Lifespan
The research into longevity drugs for dogs is advancing rapidly, with
biotech firms and academic researchers collaborating to explore treatments
that not only improve canine health but also potentially extend human
lifespan. Loyal, a San Francisco-based biotech startup, has raised $125
million in funding for its drug LOY-002, which aims to slow the aging
process in dogs by reducing insulin-related frailty, possibly giving them an
extra year of healthy life. The company’s founder, Celine Halioua, believes
that the insights gained from dogs, who share similar age-related diseases
and environmental factors with humans, could serve as a valuable model for
human aging research.
At the same time, the Dog Aging Project, led by researchers at the University of Washington, is conducting a large-scale study to test rapamycin, a drug commonly used to prevent organ transplant rejection. Studies in mice have shown that rapamycin can increase lifespan and delay or even reverse age-related diseases. This project is particularly exciting as it is one of the first large-scale, long-term studies on aging in large animals, offering valuable data on how drugs can extend a dog’s healthy lifespan by up to three years. The study is also examining the impact of spaying and sterilization on aging, with hopes that the findings could have implications for human aging, particularly for women.
The potential to extend dogs’ lifespans is gaining traction within the gerontology community, as it provides an opportunity to test longevity drugs in animals that share more similarities with humans than lab mice do. Researchers like Prof Tom Rando from the University of California emphasize the importance of these studies, noting that understanding how to extend healthy lifespan in dogs could inform future human longevity treatments. However, the lack of a widely accepted human biomarker for aging presents a challenge, as without such markers, it is difficult to validate the efficacy of these drugs in humans. Scientists are calling for more work to identify biomarkers that will enable more accurate testing of longevity drugs in humans.
The research into canine longevity treatments has the potential to pave the way for groundbreaking advancements in human aging science, but it remains clear that significant challenges remain in translating these findings to human use. Nonetheless, the intersection of canine health and human aging research continues to hold promise for extending life and enhancing the quality of health in both species.
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