'Anti-Aging' Pill Makes Mice Mighty

Nov. 7, 2008 -- Eat more than you should. Stay skinny. Run twice as far. Those are the big claims coming from a new drug study from Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, Inc., based in Cambridge, Mass. This latest study clears the way for human clinical trials of SRT1720, often touted as an "anti-aging pill."

SRT1720 activates the same receptor as the much-discussed resveratrol, the chemical in red wine that may slow some effects of aging. Both resveratrol and SRT1720 are being tested as a way to treat type-two diabetes first, and possibly other age-related diseases, later.

"We are very excited by these results," said Michelle Dipp of Sirtris. "These compounds are mimicking calorie restriction and exercise while lowering levels of glucose and insulin in mice. It's a game changer."

The European scientists overfed two groups of mice by about 40 percent. For a person, that would be close to eating 3,000 calories a day, enough to pack on significant weight.

Related Content:

The mice were first divided into a control group and test group. The test group was given two doses of SIRT1720: 100 mg or 500 mg.

After 15 weeks of eating the high-calorie diet, the control mice gained significant weight. The mice taking 500 mg of the drug, however, gained no weight. The cholesterol levels of the mice on the drug also improved.

The animals' exercise habits were also recorded. Mice without SRT1720 ran for roughly half a mile. Mice given 100 mg ran roughly seven-tenths of a mile. And mice on 500 mg of SRT1720 were able to run a full mile, twice the distance of untreated mice.

Dipp won't speculate on the drug's upper limits, other than to say that tests have shown that above 500 mg, its effects plateau. SRT1720 has no known side effects.

The research, led by Johan Auwerx at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, was published this week in the journal Cell Metabolism.