Longevity in a Pill

A pill that dramatically increases lifespan does not yet exist. But scientists are working with compounds like NAD+, thought to promote longevity. More drugs will be coming that will slow down cell death and activate telomere maintenance and other antiaging mechanisms.

These drugs include metformin, a generic diabetes treatment that has been on the market for more than 60 years. Analysis of more than 70,000 diabetics taking metformin saw a 17% reduction in mortality compared to the general population. Researchers believe metformin will have similar or better results in nondiabetics, but so far advocates have not been able to raise the funds for a clinical trial to test this hypothesis. Another repurposed longevity drug to watch: rapamycin, an mTOR inhibitor that is prescribed to prevent organ rejection and has been shown in animal studies to extend life