No pill to prevent ageing yet
Two major drug companies, Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline, are nowhere close to developing a pill that can halt the march of old age. Drugs that may treat the disease by interfering with the biochemistry and physiology of ageing are being tested, but the latest research suggests that they may not work as first thought.
Compounds in the drugs include resveratrol, present in red wine, which is thought to prevent the cellular damage that underlies ageing. There are also several chemicals being tested that are intended to mimic resveratrol’s effects by activating a protein called SIRT1, which is implicated in ageing. Some researchers think that these drugs increase this protein’s activity, but there may be errors in the research.
GlaxoSmithKline is hoping that resveratrol and similar drugs will treat age-related disorders such as type 2 diabetes and cancer. However, a laboratory test designed to measure how much drug activity boosts the activity of SIRT1 may be providing false positives.
Pfizer, in their own search for anti-ageing drugs, tested resveratrol and three other anti-ageing compounds using more sensitive methods and found that none of the compounds work as expected. And, the drugs also seemed to have unintended side effects that could make them less useful in humans. Another team also concluded that resveratrol doesn’t activate SIRT1.
The controversy continues.
Chemical Biology & Drug Design, DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-0285.2009.00901.x
The Journal of Biological Chemistry DOI:10.1074/jbc.m109.088682
