Anti-aging drug as treatment for Type 2 diabetes?
Technology review has an interesting article about a new compound that may soon be tested as a treatment for Type 2 diabetes.
The drug is being developed by Sirtris Pharmaceuticals. It's essentially a super strong version of resveratrol, which is normally found in plants and is contained in red wine. The drug activates an enzyme called SIRT1 possibly producing an effect in the body that's similar to reducing caloric intake substantially.
Tests on mice with the new compound found the drug "improved insulin sensitivity and blood glucose levels in three rodent models: diet-induced obese mice, genetically obese mice, and a rat model of type 2 diabetes." According to the article clinical testing may start in 2008.
I've recently started drinking an occasional glass of red wine because of the possible health benefits. Maybe in about five years I can just pop a pill instead! Though I think I'll likely stick with the red wine.
Labels: research, sirtris, trial, wine
posted by Bernard @ 9:10 AM
6 Comments:
Bernard,
I heard the whole overhyped story on NPR news this morning. You've had diabetes long enough to know how often mice have been cured of every form of diabetes. Little murine research translates into anything that helps people.
The reporting is helping these guys raise money, but it is very unlikely that any pill is going to miraculously cure all the diseases of aging. And what other side effects might be caused by this powerful new drug is a huge question. You can't ask mice how they feel, how their thinking is going, or, for that matter, how their limbic systems are doing.
Jenny
The TR article does point out that the mice cure doesn't mean the treatment will work with humans.
And I'm truly not trying to hype up anything. I thought it sounded like interesting research (and a really long shot).
I've not been listening to NPR much these days, so that's an interesting coincidence. I guess stuff written up in Nature gets a lot of attention.
Bernard,
I think it's not so much that the research appeared in Nature, as that it expresses the idea that Science has found the Elixir of Youth.
Frankly, the more time I spend at the old folks home with the people who have lived into be in their 90s, the more grateful I am that I probably won't make it that far.
There are a LOT worse things than a swift heart attack. Ironically, the people who are the physically healthiest seem to be those who get the horrible brain rot syndromes.
Every time I come home from the Alzheimer's unit, I am tempted to hit Dunkin Donuts and eat half a dozen just to be sure I don't live that long.
it will be interesting to see how these studies play out. By the way you can also get resveratrol from grape juice from red grapes. I don't think the concentration in any food or drink is considered high enough to have a significant effect. (I haven't read the paper though. That's what I had read previously.)
I am not sure about red wine or mice but a friend of mine told me that he had started taking resveratrol based on a doctors suggestion about six weeks ago. My friend was experiencing chronic fatigue
and was having trouble sleeping. I asked him how it was working out and he said that he was taking a type of resveratrol called biotivia transmax and that after two weeks the results were subtle but undeniable. He said that he had more energy during the day, had a reduced appetite and was more alert throughout the day and was sleeping less but waking up more refreshed. So based on his experience I decided to give it a try. I have had similiar results after just one week. It is only recently that I have heard about it anti-aging benefits.
There is something to this resveratrol, I have no idea if I will live longer but I can tell you that I am living better now.
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