Another geroprotector
A cure for severe old age has been discovered
Scientists at the Buck Institute for Aging Research in the USA have found that alpha-ketoglutaric acid (AKG) helps to avoid age-related diseases and severe old age. Although the effectiveness of the compound has so far been proven in mice, experts hope that AKG can become a drug that prolongs active life in humans. The article with the results of scientific work was published in the journal Cell Metabolism (Shahmirzadi et al., Alpha-Ketoglutarate, an Endogenous Metabolite, Extends Lifespan and Compresses Morbidity in Aging Mice), the full text of the preprint is available in the bioRxiv repository..
Researchers have found that AKG, delivered to the body together with food in the form of calcium salt, prolongs the life of not only roundworms, but also promotes healthy longevity in mice.
Alpha-ketoglutaric acid is an important component of the tricarboxylic acid cycle (Krebs cycle) involved in cellular respiration, and is also necessary for many other cellular processes. It is known that in humans, the level of AKG decreases tenfold between the ages of 40 and 80. This compound cannot be replenished with food, but it is sold as a dietary supplement.
Scientists injected AKG to two cohorts of rodents who reached the age of 18 months. In the first cohort, the average life expectancy and survival of females (the age of death of 90 percent of individuals) it grew by 16.6 and 19.7 percent, respectively. A similar situation was observed in the second cohort, where these indicators increased by 10.5 and 8 percent, respectively. In males, the survival rate did not change significantly, but life expectancy increased by 9.6 and 12.8 percent in the first and second cohorts, respectively.
Survival of females and males in cohorts 1 and 2 and combined indicators for both cohorts – VM.
After 9 months of taking AKG, females showed a significant improvement in health, and males — after 11 months. This lasted for 33 months until the most recent measurement of the indicators. The phenotypic manifestation of such signs of aging as piloerection, loss of coat color and deterioration of its condition, gait disorder, hearing loss and others also decreased. Age-related changes in mice that did not receive AKG were expressed in an increase in the level of proinflammatory cytokines, which was suppressed in rodents receiving the drug.
According to the authors of the work, further research is required to check whether long-term use of AKG with dietary supplements can affect human aging.
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