Scientists at the University of Liverpool have made a discovery that could reshape how we think about aging. They found that rilmenidine, a common drug used to treat high blood pressure, may actually help animals live longer and stay healthier as they age.
This finding could eventually lead to new treatments for age-related diseases—and it’s especially exciting because the drug is already approved and widely used.
Aging happens to all of us. As we grow older, our bodies begin to wear down. We become more vulnerable to diseases like heart problems, diabetes, and dementia. For years, scientists have searched for ways to slow this process and keep people healthier for longer.
One of the most well-known methods is calorie restriction—eating fewer calories while still getting the nutrients we need. In animals, this has been shown to extend lifespan and improve health. But in humans, it’s hard to stick to, and it doesn’t always work the same way.
That’s why researchers have been looking for drugs that can copy the effects of calorie restriction. Some of these, like metformin, rapamycin, and resveratrol, have shown promise in lab studies. However, they often come with serious side effects or aren’t effective when taken by mouth. This makes them difficult to use in everyday life.
Now rilmenidine is offering a new path forward. In the University of Liverpool study, scientists gave rilmenidine to animals of different ages. The results were impressive: the animals not only lived longer but also showed signs of better health—similar to those seen in animals on calorie-restricted diets.
Even animals that started the treatment later in life showed improvements. This suggests rilmenidine could help not just with preventing aging, but possibly with reversing some of its effects.
The researchers also identified the part of the body that rilmenidine seems to work on: a specific receptor in cells called I1-imidazoline receptor nischarin-1. This receptor appears to play a key role in how the drug helps extend lifespan and improve health. Targeting this receptor may be a new way to design treatments that slow the aging process.
What makes rilmenidine stand out from other drugs is its safety and ease of use. It’s a pill, not an injection, and it’s already used safely by many people to control high blood pressure. This means researchers can move more quickly into human studies, since the drug’s safety profile is already well known.
As the world’s population ages, finding ways to help people live longer, healthier lives is more important than ever. Age-related diseases take a huge toll on individuals, families, and healthcare systems. Even small steps toward slowing down aging could have big effects on public health.
This research is still in the early stages, and more studies are needed to see if rilmenidine works the same way in humans. But the results are encouraging. By repurposing a drug that’s already available, scientists might be able to fast-track new treatments for aging-related problems.
The hope is that in the near future, medications like rilmenidine could help people not just live longer—but live better.
If you care about blood pressure, please read studies about blood pressure drug that may increase risk of sudden cardiac arrest, and these teas could help reduce high blood pressure.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about nutrient that could strongly lower high blood pressure, and results showing this novel antioxidant may help reverse blood vessels aging by 20 years.
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