Researchers at the University of Liverpool have made a surprising discovery. A common medicine used for high blood pressure, called rilmenidine, may help slow down aging and help people live longer, healthier lives.
Rilmenidine is a pill that many people already take to treat high blood pressure. It has been used for years and is considered safe, with only rare and mild side effects. Unlike some new anti-aging drugs still being tested, rilmenidine is already approved and in use, which means it could be tested for other uses more easily.
In this study, scientists gave rilmenidine to animals of different ages. They found that the animals lived longer and stayed healthier. Their bodies changed in ways similar to what happens with calorie restriction, which is known to slow aging in many animals.
Calorie restriction means eating a lot fewer calories while still getting the nutrients you need. This has been shown to extend life in animals, but it’s hard for people to follow. It can make people tired and may even weaken their immune system.
That’s why scientists have been looking for a drug that can copy the effects of calorie restriction—without needing to eat less.
This new research shows that rilmenidine might do just that. It works by acting on a special protein in the body called the I1-imidazoline receptor, also known as nish-1 in the study. This receptor seems to help the drug give the same benefits as eating fewer calories, without actually having to cut food.
What makes this finding exciting is that it’s the first time rilmenidine has been shown to extend lifespan in animals. The research team, led by Professor João Pedro Magalhães, believes this drug might be useful for more than just lowering blood pressure.
As people live longer around the world, it’s important to find ways to help them stay healthy for as long as possible. This is called improving “healthspan.” It means not just living longer, but also living better—staying active and independent, and avoiding diseases that often come with aging.
Using existing drugs to fight aging is becoming more popular in science. Because these drugs are already approved, they don’t need to go through the same long testing process as new drugs. This makes it faster and easier to study how they might help with aging.
The study was published in the journal Aging Cell. While more studies are needed to know if rilmenidine works the same way in humans, the researchers are hopeful. This drug—and maybe others like it—could one day help people live longer and healthier lives.
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies that early time-restricted eating could help improve blood pressure, and natural coconut sugar could help reduce blood pressure and artery stiffness.
For more health information, please see recent studies about added sugar in your diet linked to higher blood pressure, and results showing vitamin D could improve blood pressure in people with diabetes.
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