5 replies to this topic

[DR01D]

sciencedaily: How Diabetes Drug Delays Aging in Worms

Dr Filipe Cabreiro from the Institute of Healthy aging at UCL, who led the research, explains: "Overall, treatment with metformin adds up to 6 days of life for the worm which is equivalent to around a third of its normal lifespan. It seems to work by altering metabolism in the bacteria that live in the worm, which in turn limits the nutrients that are available to the worm host and has a similar effect to restricting the diet."

However, when they added an excess of sugar to the diet, the team found that the life-extending effects of metformin were cancelled out.

[Chupo]

You might be interested in Berberine. It acts much the same as Metformin but is a natural supplement. http://www.naturalme....asp?article=61

It's also been shown to extend lifespan in fruit flies. http://www.scirp.org...x?paperID=21064

[DR01D]

You might be interested in Berberine. It acts much the same as Metformin but is a natural supplement. http://www.naturalme....asp?article=61

It's also been shown to extend lifespan in fruit flies. http://www.scirp.org...x?paperID=21064

Hi Chupo,

Thanks for the link! But actually I try to stick to a balanced, low calorie diet combined with lots of exercise and activity. IMHO that gets 90% of the job done.

I'm always fearful that a supplement might do more harm than good over the long term.

But I love to read about all the different things that people do and what scientists are testing because it's fascinating!

Edited by DR01D, 31 March 2013 - 06:02 PM.

[zorba990]

Allantoin should have similar properties
http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/22147657
Of course it's cheap as dirt and unpatentable so don't expect to see it used medically by
conventional medicine http://www.organic-c...-healing/Detail

Edited by zorba990, 31 March 2013 - 08:03 PM.

[Kevnzworld]

Re: Metformin
" Scientists discover how drug slows aging and cancer"

University of Montreal researchers have discovered a novel molecular mechanism that can potentially slows the aging process and may prevent the progression of some cancers. In the March 23 online edition of the prestigious journal Aging Cell, scientists from the University of Montreal explain how they found that the antidiabetic drug metformin reduces the production of inflammatory cytokines that normally activate the immune system, but if overproduced can lead to pathological inflammation, a condition that both damages tissues in aging and favors tumor growth.
" this is an important finding with implications for our understanding on how the normal organism defends itself from the threat of cancer and how a very common and safe drug may aid in treatment of some cancers and perhaps slow down the aging process. He adds, “It remains that determining the specific targets of metformin would give us an even better opportunity of profit from its beneficial effects. That's what we want to figure out next”.
http://www.nouvelles...and-cancer.html

[Michael]

On the other hand, metformin has flunked again in rodents. Don't take drugs or supplements or change your lifestyle based on lifespan studies performed on anything that doesn't have a skeletal system or breasts in one gender (or genders!).