Ibuprofen can banish headaches and soothe throbbing joints, but the drug may have another advantage. A new study shows that it increases longevity in laboratory organisms, raising the possibility that he does the same in people.
Researchers used to mock the idea of extending the service life, but it turns out to be surprisingly Easy at least in organisms such as mice and worms. Drugs that prolong the survival of these creatures aspirin and metformin antidiabetic compound, for example, are already in many of our medicine cabinets. Several studies suggest that ibuprofen is also worth a look. Ibuprofen suppresses inflammation, which underlies many diseases associated with age and may contribute to aging itself. In addition, those taking ibuprofen for a long time have a lower risk of developing both diseases associated with aging, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, multiple analysis found.
To ibuprofen to the test, biochemist Michael Polymenis of Texas A & M University, College Station, and colleagues gave the yeast, nematode worms and flies drug doses that are fruits comparable to what humans take. The spans all three types of organizations have increased if they received ibuprofen in life, the researchers report today PLOS Genetics . In yeast, for example, ibuprofen stretched the life of 17%, half of what researchers can produce cutting off the food supply of the cells (another approach to increase longevity). Worms survived about 10% of the drug, and flies earned about the same amount.
But it is not obvious why ibuprofen benefit these organizations. The drug comes from inflammation in people by blocking cyclooxygenase enzymes, which help synthesize inflammatory molecules promoting. Yeast and nematodes do not possess these enzymes, however, and they do not suffer from inflammation.
A clue may come from a previous study that showed the yeast medication poisons that can not make tryptophan, an amino acid, which cells need to make proteins. Polymenis and colleagues found that the tryptophan levels decreased in yeast cells exposed to ibuprofen. They also showed that the drug stimulates the destruction of a protein that allows cells to absorb tryptophan.
Ibuprofen is not a huge impact on the levels of tryptophan, although decreasing by approximately 15% to 20% in yeast. To explain how this slight decrease in tryptophan concentration promotes longevity, the researchers invoked a cons-intuitive mechanism. Many studies have shown that instead of killing the organisms, moderate amounts of stress such as intermediate doses of radiation or toxic chemicals to increased lifespan. A slight tryptophan deficiency triggered by ibuprofen might work the same way, the researchers believe. "We figure it is still a type of stress that seems to be conducive to life," says Polymenis.
"They show convincingly that ibuprofen prolongs lifespan in these model organisms" says molecular biologist Ellen Nollen the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. It is not proof of the involvement of tryptophan as persuasive, noting that the drug has changed the levels of several amino acids in the yeast cells. Ibuprofen could also promote longevity through its effects on these molecules, she said.
"There are two new good ideas here," said gerontologist Richard Miller of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, which is one of the participants in the US National Institute on Aging Program of intervention trials (ITP), in which researchers from three institutions are gauging if a variety of compounds modifies the increase of mouse life. one is the revelation that "some anti-inflammatory drugs that people take may have beneficial effects which are not related to inflammation, "he said. the other is the possible involvement in aging proteins that carry the amino acids in cells, which could lead researchers to new ways to wring the life.
Nollen and Miller say the study supports ibuprofen tests in mice. the ITP has evaluated a related drug, nitroflurbiprofen, and found no change in the durability. However, Miller notes, these results exclude studies on ibuprofen because both drugs are slightly different.
So far, researchers have not shown that any drug prolongs life. For people who are anxious, Miller warns against extrapolating the results of the study, especially because the side effects of the use of long-term ibuprofen can include bleeding from the stomach fatal. "I think anyone who says," Whatever works in yeast is something I want to take, 'is asking for trouble. "
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