Anti-Aging Drugs – Prospect of Longer Life?

Abstract

Background: Aging is a natural part of human life. However, recent discoveries indicate that pharmacological approaches used for the improvement and possibly, for the delay of the aging process, might shed a new light on this topic. This might obviously contribute to the extension of the active life of older people and maintenance of their quality of life, which could consequently reduce both social and economic burden of each country, especially the developed ones. Objective: The purpose of this study is to explore pharmacological discoveries which may help to the delay or improvement of the aging process. More specifically, the authors focus on three anti-aging drugs candidates: metformin, rapamycin and resveratrol and one anti-aging component NAD+ precursors whose randomized control trials on animals have appeared to provide some efficacy in this respect and they seem to be promising in the aging process of human beings. Methods: This was done by conducting a literature review of available sources describing the issue of aging process with special focus on those anti-aging drug candidates. Results: The results of this study indicate that promising anti-aging candidates seem to be metformin, especially as far as cardiovascular or cancer mortality is concerned, and NAD+ precursors since they appear to promote better organ function, increased physical resistance, disease resistance and prolonged life expectancy. Conclusion: There is a call for more longitudinal clinical trials, which would prove the efficacy of the promising anti-aging drugs candidates in humans.