Scientists may have found the drug to improve human lifespan
By: Team Ifairer | Posted: 15-07-2020
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Seeking a better understanding of how mifepristone works to increase lifespan, the research team looked at the genes, molecules and metabolic processes that changed when flies consumed the drug. They found that a molecule called juvenile hormone plays a central role. Juvenile hormone regulates the development of fruit flies throughout their life, from egg to larvae to adult.
Sex peptide appears to escalate the effects of juvenile hormone, shifting the mated flies' metabolism from healthier processes to metabolic pathways that require more energy to maintain. Further, the metabolic shift promotes harmful inflammation, and it appears to make the flies more sensitive to toxic molecules produced by bacteria in their microbiome. Mifepristone changes all of that.
According to the researchers, when the mated flies ate the drug, their metabolism stuck with the healthier pathways, and they lived longer than their mated sisters who did not get mifepristone. "Notably, these metabolic pathways are conserved in humans, and are associated with health and longevity," the study authors wrote.
Source: www.khaleejtimes.com