The Latest Portait of Dorian Gray

I have recently been reading and hearing about anti-aging medications that are just about to hit the market.  Snake oil has been for sale since currency existed, but now Big Phrama has taken a renewed interest in the concept of arresting and reversing the consequences of aging.  There is an unimaginable amount of money to be made for those that can prove that their elixir of life not only works to prolong the age of mice but also the lives of men.

A decade ago resveratrol was the silver bullet.  Studies showed that mice lived longer after ingesting red grape extract in various dosages but after millions of dollars were spent researching its effects on humans it turned out that people didn't benefit the way rodents did.  Needless to say this will not change my nightly dose of grape extract from the Loire River Valley but the conclusion drawn by Big Pharma and Wall Street is that the magic pill must be proven to benefit humans before being brought to market.  Of course this is no easy task because the FDA doesn't view aging as a disease.  Drugs that treat the symptoms of aging, such as heart disease and arthritis, can gain approval because there is a limited focus, but when a drug claims to address multiple diseases and disorders attributed to the aging, approval becomes a long and expensive task.

Speaking of "the aged" or "the aging" I hate these terms.  It sounds like we are fossils that require carbon dating and tweezers when being dealt with.  Besides isn't everyone aging?

Anyway, there is a drug that has existed since the 1980s that is close to hitting the market, which may be the first FDA approved anti-aging medicine.  The bacterium Streptomyces hygroscopicus  (S.h.) was isolated from a soil sample from Easter Island, of all places (Arthur C. Clark and Leonard Nemoy would feel vindicated), and has been used in various forms under different names to combat numerous ailments. The drug Rapamycin,which is S.h., was manufactured by Wyeth to suppress the immune systems of organ transplant recipients.  A derivative of this same bacteria has been used as a coating on the inside of cardiac stents to prevent blockages from forming and a similar compound has been marketed as an anti-fungal agent.  Extensive testing has demonstrated that this bio-agent postpones the onset of  heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer's and appears to "delay age-related decline in multiple different organ systems." It would seem that using an immune suppressing drug would be problematic for old folks who already have compromised immune systems, but apparently if  S.h. is given in small doses over a short period of time the immune system is improved not diminished.  This sounds remarkable. 

Novartis is the current manufacturer of the new version of S.h. that inhibits cell division which causes the cells to engage in autophagy: a recycling of old proteins left over from cell reproduction.  Instead of generating new cell growth this biological OCD like behavior disposes of harmful waste products.  What is interesting to me is that the same results are acheived through fasting.  Caloric restriction really does seem to be the key to longevity.  The advantage of this anti-aging drug is that you don't have to deal with the inconvenience of being hungry.  There are other drugs in the pipeline which address muscle loss, hearing loss and one that restores cartilage in joints - all potentially beneficial for the aging. 

Again we are on the brink of discovering something our bodies already knew.  Before the age of plenty our well programmed systems expected a lack of food and apparently required it for optimal health.  Now we are looking for another easy path to take us back to where we were but without the inconvenience.

The recurring theme of taking shortcuts to ease discomfort is a disturbing human tendency.  It is a quality that is not without its merits, but we continue to push the envelope without considering the long term consequences.  Because our bodies are so good at adapting to new microbes and we have so little understanding of the role of the millions we currently carry around with us wouldn't it be safer to modify our habits instead of medicating?  The belief that we can gain without effort has recently lead us into war with two countries and by privatizing our forces and eliminating the draft, the majority of us don't have to feel the pain of prolonged combat while we continue to enjoy the ease that fossil fuels afford us.  But there are long term consequences associated with these choices and we are now feeling them.

Novartis' new S.h. drug may be a boon to the pharmaceutical industry and may help thousands of patients in the short term but at some point we have to stop taking pills for conditions we can control on our own through diet, exercise and education.

Please watch President Eisenhower's January 17th, 1961 speech concerning the "military and industrial complex" and substitute "medical and industrial complex" for the former phrase.