a few more years. This hope for the scientists that will occur from experiments, such as that made by British and Germans, who have announced that they discovered how a common psychoactive medicinal product, the lithium-used for bipolar disorder – can prolong the lifespan of small animals (flies).
The experiments conducted researchers of the Institute of Healthy Ageing, University College London, the German Institute Max Planck institute for Biology of Ageing, and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, headed by professor Linda Partridge, and made the relevant publication in the journal “Cell Reports”.
Lithium in low doses extended considerably -16% on average and up to 18% maximum – the life of the fly, but at high doses instead abbreviated it. In addition, the lithium at low dosage reduced the stress in the body of the flies and block fat production, things that -to a man -are equivalent to better health, in addition to longevity. The achievement was characterized as “encouraging”, because it can pave the way for the development of new drugs that prolong life. Some (optimistic) experts speak of developing a pill that can prolong a man’s life for a period that can reach even ten years.
Lithium, as shown by the by now long experience of exploitation in Psychiatry, and stop the “ups and downs” in the mood of bipolar (μανιοκαταθλιπτικών) patients, but also can have serious side effects at high dosage. The mode of action of the brain is not yet fully understood.
The flies seem to extend their life, by blocking the action of the protein GSK-3. The next step, according to the researchers, will be to do similar tests in larger animals (rats and then monkeys). The ultimate goal is an anti-aging drug suitable for people, which we could take in the middle age, with the prospect not only to live a decade longer, but also had us to be more healthy. But the scientists explained that such a pill of lithium or some other substance is at least a decade or more to become a reality (if, in fact, happen…).
Lithium has been used in the past as a tonic, as also for the treatment of gout (gout) and migraine. In modern medicine, in addition to stabilize the mood, tested for memory enhancing.
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A pill will gives us 10 years of extra life?
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