‘Dream come true’ drug could make women fertile for another 5 years and help them live 14% longer, scientists say

An existing pill could make women fertile for another five years and help them live longer, scientists say.

Columbia University researchers said the early findings from their drug trials were like “a dream come true.”

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The study tested whether the immunosuppressant rapamycin could help slow the aging of the ovaries, thereby delaying menopause and prolonging fertility.

The researchers also sought to assess whether the drug could reduce the risk of age-related diseases.

Currently, 34 women aged up to 35 participated in the research, known as The Validating Benefits of the Rapamycin for Treatment of Reproductive Aging (Vibrant) study.

Experts expect more than 1,000 women to join.

Yousin Suh, a professor of reproductive, genetics and developmental sciences at Columbia University who co-led the study, said rapamycin can slow ovarian aging by 20% without causing side effects.

The medicine can cause up to 44 side effects, from mild nausea and headaches to high blood pressure and infections.

But study participants reported having better memory and energy levels and said the quality of their skin and hair had improved, as The Guardian.

Prof Suh said: “The results of this study – the first in human history – are very, very exciting.

“This means that those with age-related fertility problems now have hope when they previously did not.

“These first results mean that we now have a clear vision of our ultimate goal: using rapamycin to extend ovarian lifespan and thus delay menopause, while also prolonging women’s lives and improving their health and quality. of life.”

Previous studies have suggested that the immunosuppressant – normally used to prevent rejection of organ transplants – could increase people’s life expectancy by between 9% and 14% by stimulating the immune system and organs that deteriorate in old age.

“In some ways, our results are too good to be true – except that because rapamycin is so well studied, we know they are true,” said Professor Suh. The Guardian.

“These results are like a dream come true.”

Participants received 5 mg of rapamycin per week for three months, a much lower dose than the 13 mg per day that transplant patients may be prescribed for years.

While previous research has focused on menopausal symptoms, this is the first to attempt to address ovarian aging, which, according to Prof. Suh, it is a “fundamental factor of aging in women”.

She said HRT can act as a plaster for aging that has already happened.

Meanwhile, women could take rapamycin in their 30s, when their ovaries have started to shrink but they are not yet showing symptoms, to slow the aging process, Professor Suh suggested.

“Our vision is that women aged 30 and over can make a simple visit to their GP if they want more freedom when they have children,” she said.

Ovaries tend to release about 50 eggs per month, according to researchers.

But women who took a small dose of rapamycin weekly released just 15 eggs a month, indicating that the drug may slow the aging of the ovaries.

Professor Suh and her co-lead Zev Williams, chief of the division of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, said this represents a 20% reduction in ovarian aging.

But it is not yet known whether eggs produced by longer-lived ovaries are more likely to contain genetic abnormalities.

Girls are born with a fixed number of eggs in their ovaries. During adolescence, they will have around 400,000, but this number decreases to around 25,000 when they reach the age of 37, the British Fertility Society it says.

Having more eggs means you have a greater chance of getting pregnant.

Women could stop taking rapamycin after menopause, Dr. Suh added, but may want to take it longer because of the drug’s broader health benefits.

All women involved in the study also continued to menstruate normally.

Dr Williams said: “The implication of this is that we have achieved the perfect dose: if we gave too much, the period would become irregular or stop.”

Vibrant will report its results in two years and conduct a larger phase two study.

Because rapamycin is an inexpensive generic drug – a prescription drug that has the same active ingredients as a brand-name drug – and is already widely used, Dr Williams said progress would be rapid once the evidence in its favor was established. .