A surprising discovery from researchers at the University of Liverpool shows that a common blood pressure drug called rilmenidine might do more than just lower blood pressure.
It could also help animals live longer and stay healthier as they age. This exciting finding gives hope that some everyday medicines might be reused to fight aging and age-related diseases.
As people grow older, their bodies slowly stop working as well. This natural process can lead to more sickness and health problems. For years, scientists have been trying to figure out how to slow down aging and help people stay healthy in their later years.
One method that has shown results in animals is eating fewer calories, known as caloric restriction. Animals on this kind of diet tend to live longer and stay healthier. But for humans, eating much less can be difficult and may cause problems like low energy and a weaker immune system.
To find safer and easier options, researchers have tested several drugs, such as metformin, rapamycin, and resveratrol. These drugs have shown some good results in labs, but many come with issues. Some need to be injected, others don’t absorb well in the body, and many have side effects that make them hard to use.
Rilmenidine, on the other hand, is different. It’s an oral drug that people already take for high blood pressure. It has been used for a long time and is generally safe, even when taken for many years.
In the new study, researchers gave rilmenidine to animals at different stages of life—both when they were young and when they were older. The animals that received the drug not only lived longer but also had better overall health. Their organs worked better, and there were fewer signs of aging in their bodies.
Scientists discovered that rilmenidine works by acting on a specific part of the body called the I1-imidazoline receptor. This receptor helps the body respond in a way that’s similar to how it reacts when someone eats fewer calories. In simple terms, rilmenidine copies the good effects of eating less without actually reducing food intake.
This means that the I1-imidazoline receptor might be a useful target for future drugs that aim to slow down aging. Since rilmenidine is already on the market and known to be safe, it could be tested in humans much sooner than new drugs that haven’t been approved yet.
As more people around the world grow older, finding ways to help them stay healthy for longer is becoming more important. Even small improvements in health during old age could lower healthcare costs and help people live better, more active lives.
Of course, scientists still need to do more research. They need to understand exactly how rilmenidine works in the body and whether humans will get the same benefits as animals. They also want to explore whether this drug can help treat diseases that often come with aging, like heart disease, diabetes, or memory problems.
This new finding is part of a growing area of research called geroscience, which focuses on studying aging and how to improve health during later life. Using old medicines like rilmenidine in new ways might help speed up the discovery of treatments that help people live longer, healthier lives.
While there are still questions to answer, this study gives hope that aging might one day be something we can manage better—with the help of medicine that’s already in our pharmacies.
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies about vitamins impacts on high blood pressure people need to know, and how to manage high blood pressure and diabetes with healthy foods.
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