Longevity & AgingNine Repurposed Drugs That Could Slow Aging and Extend Healthy Lifespan
Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences reviewed nine repurposed drugs for their potential to combat aging itself, not just individual age-related diseases. The drugs—aspirin, atorvastatin, enalapril, metformin, canagliflozin, liraglutide, acarbose, N-acetylcysteine, and dasatinib plus quercetin—work through key longevity pathways including mTOR, AMPK, NF-κB, and SASP. In model organisms, these compounds show evidence of extending healthspan and lifespan by reducing chronic inflammation, improving metabolic efficiency, and boosting cellular stress resistance. The review highlights a paradigm shift: treating aging as a single modifiable biological process rather than managing its downstream diseases one by one. Major translational hurdles remain, including species differences, sex-specific responses, and the absence of validated aging biomarkers.
