Anti-Aging Cocktail Extends Mouse Lifespan by About 30 Percent

Scientists in Europe tested a combination of two cancer drugs—rapamycin and trametinib—on mice and saw their lifespans grow by about 30%. Here's what they found, in plain, easy-to-read English:

• Drugs used

  • Rapamycin: Already approved for some cancers and to prevent organ rejection. In animal tests, it alone lengthened mouse lifespans by about 17–18%.

  • Trametinib: Also a cancer treatment, previously shown to extend fruit-fly lifespans by up to 10%. In mice, it added about 7–16% to their lives.

• Combined treatment

  • When given together, rapamycin and trametinib increased mouse lifespans by roughly 26–35%.

  • Importantly, this extra time was healthy time—the treated mice showed:

    • Slower growth of tumors in the liver and spleen

    • Less chronic inflammation in the brain, kidneys, spleen, and muscles

    • More activity in old age, lower body weight gain, and slower heart decline

• How the drugs work together

  • Both drugs target the same cellular "growth" pathway (called Ras/Insulin/TOR) but at different spots.

  • Gene tests showed that some beneficial changes only happen when both are given together—not just because of a higher overall drug dose.

• Side effects

  • Combining the two did not add any new side effects beyond what each drug is already known to cause on its own.

• What this means for people

  • Don't expect a magic pill that lets you live to 130. But there is real hope:

    • These drugs could help people stay healthier, with less disease, as they age.

    • Both are already approved for human use in the US and EU.

    • Early studies hint that rapamycin might even extend women's fertility by a few years.

  • Human clinical trials of the drug combination could start soon to see who benefits most and how best to use them.

Study reference: Partridge L. et al., "The geroprotectors trametinib and rapamycin combine additively to extend mouse healthspan and lifespan," Nature Aging, May 14, 2025.

• 使用的藥物

  • 雷帕黴素（Rapamycin）：已獲准用於某些癌症治療及器官移植後排斥反應預防。動物實驗中，單獨使用可使小鼠壽命延長約17–18%。

  • 曲美替尼（Trametinib）：也是一種癌症藥物，先前在果蠅實驗中顯示壽命可延長約10%。在小鼠中，單獨使用可增加約7–16%的壽命。

• 聯合用藥效果

  • 同時給予雷帕黴素和曲美替尼後，小鼠壽命約延長26–35%。

  • 更重要的是，延長的時間也是健康時間，治療組小鼠表現出：

    • 肝臟和脾臟腫瘤生長延緩

    • 大腦、腎臟、脾臟和肌肉慢性炎症減少

    • 老年活動力更高，體重增長較少，心臟功能衰退較慢

• 聯合用藥的機制

  • 這兩種藥物都作用於細胞「生長」信號通路（Ras/Insulin/TOR），但作用點不同。

  • 基因表達分析顯示，只有在同時使用時，才會產生某些獨特的有益變化，而不僅僅是因為劑量總量增加。

• 副作用

  • 聯合用藥並未引入超出單獨用藥已知範圍的新副作用。

• 對人類的意義

  • 不要指望有吃了就能活到130歲的神奇藥丸，但這項研究帶來希望：

    • 這些藥物或可延緩人類的衰老，幫助我們在晚年保持更健康、更少疾病。

    • 雷帕黴素和曲美替尼均已在美國和歐盟獲批用於人類。

    • 初步研究甚至顯示，雷帕黴素可能將女性的生育期延長數年。

  • 未來幾年內，人類臨床試驗可能會啟動，以確定誰最能受益，以及最佳使用方式。

研究參考：Partridge L. 等，《雷帕黴素與曲美替尼聯合使用能協同延長小鼠健康壽命》，發表於《Nature Aging》，2025年5月14日。