The cure for old age is already in pharmacies! The medicine for old age is Metformin. Cure for old age by Altai scientists

The science fiction story about a privileged class of centenarians appearing on the planet may soon become a reality. The latest results of research by scientists, including Russian ones, show that science is closely involved in life extension. But not everyone will be able to take advantage of this opportunity...

According to scientists, the difference between a person’s biological and true age can be up to 20 years. In Russia, according to the director of the Research Institute of Gerontology, Academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences Vladimir Shabalin, “a more advanced biological age in relation to the chronological age” is more common. That is, most of our people are actually older than their years. This age is determined in different ways. For example, the patient is examined in detail, then several dozen functional indicators are summed up and a coefficient is determined. However, many scientists are trying to find some kind of universal indicator, a kind of “marker of aging.” The hormone melatonin can serve as one of them. At the Research Institute of Medical Primatology in Adler, the former Sukhumi nursery, where active research on life extension was carried out back in the Soviet years, unique results were obtained on primates. It turned out that melatonin levels, especially at night, fall over the years. Using this indicator, a group of Ukrainian chronobiologists (there is already such a specialty!) determined the biological age of people. However, perhaps it is not age that should be assessed, but the pace of aging. This idea was prompted by the results of a just completed unique study, in which several thousand truck drivers participated. It turned out that this is the fastest aging profession.

Program or error of nature?

If biological age can be measured, then it can be changed. And the very fact that it can, in principle, differ among people the same age suggests that age is not a dogma. And this has already been proven in numerous experiments. The debate now is about something else: why the body ages. There are two answers to this seemingly natural question, which divide scientists into optimists and pessimists. Perhaps the most radical optimist today is considered to be the director of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Biology named after Moscow State University, Academician Vladimir Skulachev, who leads a major project to combat old age at the cellular level. “The pessimistic point of view, shared by most gerontologists in the world, is that aging is the inevitable accumulation of errors in a living organism,” he explains. “Like any mechanism, the body must eventually wear out, rust and break down. From this point of view Gerontology is a flawed science because it describes a gradual decline without a chance to radically increase life expectancy. But there is another hypothesis: aging is a programmed stage of our development, a program embedded in genes. It is not beneficial to the individual, and therefore should be rejected by natural selection. And If this is so, then a wonderful opportunity opens up to “break” this program, push back the boundaries of aging and be the master of your destiny, deciding whether to live or die.”

This is not said by a science fiction writer, but by a serious scientist who enjoys authority in the world. An article by Vladimir Skulachev and his American co-authors, “Programmed Altruistic Aging,” was recently published in the largest scientific journal Nature - however, it met with opposition: they had to endure a tough fight with reviewers, which lasted about seven months. And this is not just a theory. As already mentioned, Skulachev is leading a major project, the goal of which is to create a means that can influence the aging program embedded in living organisms. It is financed by one of the major Russian oligarchs, Oleg Deripaska. Skulachev, who has worked at Moscow State University all his life, admits that he has never received such generous funding and such ideal working conditions. “We managed to attract 18 different institutes; in principle, I can invite any specialists, and we can afford to pay them decently for their work,” he says.

Scientists are trying to reverse the aging program with the help of synthetic molecules that will prevent the accumulation of reactive oxygen species in cells. The project has only lasted two years, but the results are fantastic. It turned out that mice that received the substance synthesized by scientists (a tiny amount of it dissolves in drinking water, millionths of a milligram) live 25% longer than their counterparts. The remedy developed by biologists is also effective in the fight against especially senile diseases, for example, retinal dystrophy. At the Veterinary Academy in Moscow, old blind dogs, cats, and horses were treated with its help. Today, out of 13 dogs whose lens did not react to light, 9 have regained their sight. Vision has returned to 3 out of 4 cats. Finally, the horse, which 8 months (!) ago became completely blind, began to see again.

A total of 12 age-related diseases were either slowed down, stopped, or reversed. Skulachev is convinced that medicine for animals will be available in pharmacies next year, and clinical trials on humans will begin at that time. And yet, speaking the other day to a narrow circle of scientists and journalists in a scientific cafe dedicated to this topic, he warned: “I would not like to promise that “one of these days” a “pill for old age” will be created.” I decided to talk about it, to reverse people's pessimism about the inevitability of aging."

But not everyone agrees with him. Director of the Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology Vladimir Khavinson believes that we can talk not about canceling the aging program, but about increasing human life expectancy to the so-called species limit - 120 years. For many years he has been developing drugs that prolong life, so-called geroprotectors (two of them are sold in pharmacies). They are created on the basis of peptides - short proteins. One is from the calf thymus (the central organ of immunity), the other is from the pineal gland (a small gland in the brain that controls the entire endocrine system). “Aging means a decrease in protein synthesis in the body, and by introducing peptides isolated from these vital organs, we restore the functions of the system. But we correct not the mechanism, but the consequences,” explains Khavinson.

However, judging by the results presented in scientific publications, they correct them very successfully. Fifteen experiments were conducted on animals and at least two on humans. One was conducted over six years in St. Petersburg, in a boarding school for the elderly, and involved two groups of 80-year-old subjects (25 people each). Those who received the drugs had a 2-fold increase in life expectancy. A 12-year similar experiment, which involved 700 people aged 70 years, was conducted in Ukraine. By the way, Khavinson himself, according to him, has been taking his medications since he was 44 years old - by modern gerontological standards, this is the stage when “young age” passes into middle age. And the gerontologist’s office is hung with photographs of celebrities who visited his institute. In general, Russia, according to the scientist, is a leader in this area thanks to its scientific traditions. During Soviet times, gerontologists had the rare opportunity to experiment on primates in Sukhumi and achieved an amazing rejuvenation effect.

Nevertheless, in the West practically no one knows about our work. “Such results deserve the highest recognition,” said American molecular biologist Eugene Nudler, who currently heads the joint Russian-American laboratory Geronlab, created with funds from the Dynasty Foundation. “But I would like them to be reproduced by an independent laboratory. "Today, not a single synthesized substance has been registered in the world that reliably prolongs the life of laboratory animals, not to mention humans. The results of our laboratory are much more modest. We work with worms - nimatodes, which live for a couple of weeks; it is easy to study the mechanisms of aging on them."

Potentially ageless creatures

The reason is that many studies, including those on humans, do not appear in the open scientific press. Vladimir Skulachev’s project, for example, is an investment project, which means that until a patent application is filed, scientists cannot make the results public. They have submitted three applications so far. Investors, of course, intend to profit from these developments in the future, and, therefore, experiments on life extension will be conducted behind closed doors, and anti-aging treatments will not be available to everyone. There is only one question left - why is this necessary? Here too, scientists disagree. Some believe that the development of means of extending life is violence against nature, which will provoke a population explosion. Others say that, on the contrary, evolution relies on the development of intelligence, which fully manifests itself in old age.

Many clients visit my clinic every day. Analyzing their lifestyle and diet, examining the stomach and intestinal tract with an endoscope and treating diseases, I have a constant desire to help all these people establish a harmonious relationship with their own body.

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The consequences of every day we live are imprinted on our bodies. This may sound harsh, but I will still say: most of the diseases from which a person suffers are the result of ignorance; people simply do not know how to take care of their body, given to us by Nature itself. And too often we don't hear his voice.

If you don't see the point in good food and good water, if you waste vitality and enzymes because you are too busy to pay attention to the body, sooner or later illness will fall on you. Such a life accelerates the aging of cells and deprives the body of energy, especially in adulthood.

What does my body want now? Is it satisfied? Annoyed? Angry? What worries him? What hurts? Please listen to him more often. This will change your whole life. You will understand more clearly what I am talking about in this book and will be able to practice its messages. We should not assume that pain and illness are inevitable and that we will experience physical and mental decline as we reach old age. You can change your destiny, wake up and hear the voice of your own body! As a doctor, I wish this for you with all my heart. And your body wants the same.

What you eat today will become the building material of all the cells of your body and brain tomorrow. It will influence what you think and what you say. By taking the Shinya Biozyme program and activating your intestines, you will soon experience changes not only in your health, but also in your consciousness. And I am not exaggerating at all when I say that your whole life will change.

You are looking for the answer - and it is hidden inside, in the digestive tract. The microcosm of the intestinal tract is the place to start on your journey to health. Our eating habits greatly impact every aspect of our lives. If the intestines function stably, then the mind is stable. You will forever be left with feelings of disappointment, anxiety, irritation, and you will notice that you look at everything much more positively.

Recent research has revealed one paradoxical conclusion: If you eat very little, you will live much longer. True, these experiments were carried out not on people, but on other mammals: monkeys, rodents and dogs. They showed that a severely calorie-restricted diet (but within the limits of adequate nutrition for survival) dramatically reduces the risk of chronic disease and increases average life expectancy. It seems that the old saying is true: what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Do these results apply to humans? Researchers have not yet found indisputable evidence on this issue, but they have discovered: if the diet is harmonious, then calorie restriction for adult individuals leads to the same changes in metabolism that were observed in laboratory animals. These data showed that metabolic, hormonal and inflammatory risk factors for diabetes, cardiovascular disease and even cancer were reduced. What is the reason?

I am sure - in young winters. They easily adapt to acidic and high-temperature environments, being something of a special forces unit performing a dangerous mission. They manifest themselves whenever the body faces a genuine threat to its existence.

One such threat is undoubtedly hunger. The fight against it occupies most of the entire history of mankind. If it does not end soon, then digestive and metabolic enzymes are no longer able to maintain their functionality. And then the youths save us.

When the body is under stress, they work continuously to cleanse all its cells. Damaged proteins are quickly broken down through the process of autophagy and processed into essential nutrients. Waste and foreign substances are instantly removed. As a result, the body becomes cleaner, stronger and healthier than under normal, non-stressful conditions, when young people “sleep”. That is why our ancestors, despite the fact that they ate worse than us, still remained strong and healthy. They were constantly in a state that activated the work of youths.

Of course, this state of affairs had not only positive aspects. When fasting exceeded a certain limit, stress on the body and mind increased, and enzymes were irreplaceably lost. Combined with a constant deficiency of essential nutrients, this led to a significant reduction in life expectancy.

I am Japanese American and am well aware of the history of the country of my birth. There were, of course, periods of peaceful and “well-fed” prosperity (for example, Edo). But in general, the Japanese rarely ate their fill. And we learned to benefit from it!

And it's not a matter of life expectancy. It doesn't matter how many years you add to it. It's important how you live it. And this directly depends on the performance of young people. Is it possible to increase their activity? I'm sure yes. This requires a turn to a more natural, natural way of life, which does not always provide the opportunity to eat from the belly.

This advice may not be pleasant for everyone to hear, but I am convinced that by periodically fasting, you will certainly increase your vitality. Start now and your youth will awaken to cleanse and energize your cells.

Or just eat in moderation. Stop eating before you feel completely full. Eliminate on-the-go meals and snacks. Stay hungry more times during the day. To activate the youth enzymes, it is necessary to fast, even if for a short time and infrequently. Remember: the key to increased vitality is not to eat this or that, but to eat less. Vitality is elusive, it cannot be expressed in numbers - in terms of calories and nutrients - but it is tightly linked to the work of youth enzymes inside your cells.

This could be the ultimate anti-aging treatment with new insights into how to stay forever young and healthy.

©Hiromi Shinya

Our expert is an employee of the Oncology Research Institute named after. N. N. Petrova, President of the Gerontological Society at the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Anisimov.

In fact, “pills for old age” have already been invented, and the day is not far when doctors will prescribe them to us.

Against diabetes and more

In the 70s of the last century, our scientists put forward the idea that drugs from the biguanide group, which are prescribed to patients with diabetes, can prolong life. Studies were conducted on laboratory rats, and it turned out that the drug has another effect - it inhibits the development of tumors.

A quarter of a century later, employees of the N. N. Petrov Oncology Research Institute found that a drug from this group, metformin, increases the life expectancy of mice and inhibits the development of breast cancer in them. At the same time, American and English scientists announced the results of their research. They analyzed the health status and life expectancy of 70 thousand patients with diabetes who took metformin. Their risk of developing cancer was 35-40% lower than those who did not take this drug, and they lived 15% longer.

Recently, American scientists announced plans to study how metformin affects older people without diabetes, but with other diseases: atherosclerosis, cancer... Observation will take place over 3 thousand volunteers over 70 years of age in 15 medical centers. But metformin has already been recognized by the American Drug Administration (analogous to our Pharmaceutical Committee) as a geroprotector. And in the USA it is already prescribed as a medicine that delays aging.

Who's next?

Another substance - melatonin - can be called a geroprotector. It was opened in 1958. This is a hormone that is produced in our body at night, in the dark, and is a regulator of sleep and biorhythms. In the 70s of the last century, our scientists found that melatonin, administered as a drug to rats and mice, prolongs their life.

Melatonin is already prescribed in the United States as an anti-aging agent. In Russia, it, like metformin, is already used in the treatment of cancer. And the use of melatonin as a geroprotector that delays aging is a matter of the near future.

St. Petersburg scientists are now testing a number of drugs that can prolong our lives. Among them are aspirin in small doses, resveratrol - a polyphenol found in grape seeds and red wine... The same studies are underway in the USA and other countries. People now live longer, and it is necessary to extend their working period, and push old age to the very edge of life.

Every woman, no matter what age she is, wants to attract the admiring and greedy glances of men. She wants the powerful feminine charms to work as before. She wants to be as young and beautiful as before.

But for some reason, most women do not notice that today, more than ever, the world offers them in abundance all kinds of remedies for aging skin of the face and body, diets, workouts and much more - and all for the sake of making a woman feel as long as possible. yourself young, healthy and beautiful.

I think you’ve probably met women who, at the age of 40, seem to have not been touched by all the delights of aging: on their face there are only “crow’s feet” of wrinkles, emphasizing only the cheerfulness and gaiety of their nature, their skin is smooth, clean - not a hint of pigmentation. She seems to glow from within. Such women also usually have enviable hair: long, shiny and thick hair, which they did not cut off once under the burden of worries, but kept to the envy of their friends and in addition to their charming image. And, of course, the figure. As a rule, she is not thin, but she is so fit that she is not ashamed to walk along the beach in a swimsuit. And without a pareo!

And there are other women...

And the main difference between these two types is the presence of desire. Not in someone’s investments or personal huge expenses, but in the great desire to live my whole life brightly beautiful and healthy. With such motivation, not only willpower will appear, but also time and opportunities. And, in fact, nothing more is needed.

If you feel the seed of desire emerging, then go ahead! It's never too late to start.

Below is a selection of tips - remedies for aging skin of the face and body. After carefully studying it, you will notice that by following these recommendations, you will be able to improve not only the condition of your face and body skin, hair and nails, but you will also be able to improve your health and shape your figure. Moreover, you will notice the first results within 2-3 weeks.

Proper nutrition

In order for your face to be beautiful, to restore its freshness and healthy appearance, start not with masks, but with adjusting your diet. Switch to a proper and healthy diet. Always give up fast food, mayonnaise, ketchup, “universal” seasonings, fried and spicy foods. Allow yourself sweets as little as possible, add less salt to food (salt retains fluid in the body and this causes swelling).

Start baking and stewing your usual meats. Fill your diet with fresh fruits, berries, nuts and vegetables - they contain an incredible variety of vitamins and beneficial elements that will very soon put your face in order. By the way, eat as much seafood as possible, as they contain natural collagen. In particular, oysters, mussels, crabs, shrimp and seaweed will be extremely beneficial for skin aging.

Take your vitamins
Make it a rule to regularly take vitamins and vitamin complexes in tablets.

To prevent aging of the skin of the face and body, it is extremely important to regularly consume vitamin E. It promotes the synthesis of substances that accelerate cell regeneration processes, i.e., its renewal, which is especially important for smoothing the surface of the epidermis and restoring its elasticity. Vitamins of groups A, B, C and D are also useful here. By the way, these same vitamins will help you improve the condition of your hair and nails.

Quit smoking and alcohol

These habits have a strong impact on accelerating skin aging. Smoking causes blood vessels to narrow, and as a result, cells do not receive the required amount of oxygen and nutrients. Because of this, the face becomes sallow or pigmented. Alcohol disrupts metabolic processes throughout the body, which significantly affects the condition of the face.

Use high-quality and natural cosmetics

Use base and essential oils. Some of them are able to smooth out even deep wrinkles, thanks to the content of a huge amount of vitamins and elements necessary for nourishing and moisturizing the skin. You can apply the oil to your face either in its pure form or as part of homemade creams and masks, which will be exclusively of natural origin, without adding questionable elements, as is often the case with dermatocosmetics.

Discover herbs

Chamomile, calendula, hops, linden, and mint are extremely effective against skin aging. Cosmetic ice prepared from a herbal decoction is considered one of the most effective remedies for skin aging. In addition, herbal infusions are used as the main component of homemade lotions and creams.

As for cosmetics, when choosing them, pay attention to the labeling
It is important that it matches the type and stage of aging of your skin.

If you are over forty, then choose creams containing antioxidants (vitamin C, vitamin E, coenzyme Q-10), as they effectively remove harmful substances from the body and protect the dermis from free radicals. But in the later stages of aging, use creams that contain copper-containing peptides. These substances help activate the natural processes of skin renewal, which helps smooth out even deep wrinkles and partially restore elasticity.

Drink plenty of water

In order to speed up metabolic processes, be sure to moisturize it not only from the outside, but also from the inside. Every day a woman should drink at least 1.5 liters of water. And not liquids, such as teas, coffee, juices and drinks, but water. From now on, start your morning with a glass or two of water.

Play some sports

Sport - is life. Those who play sports not only have a toned body and a fresh face, but their medical records are much thinner than those who categorically do not allow sports into their lives.

Homemade cosmetics with anti-aging facial remedies

Nourishing anti-wrinkle mask recipe
Take 1 tablespoon of honey, 2 tablespoons of aloe juice, 1 egg yolk and add 3 tablespoons of milk powder. Mix all ingredients well and apply the mask for 15-20 minutes. Wash your face with warm water.

Mask for aging skin

Mix 1 tablespoon of cosmetic Vaseline or lanolin with 2 tablespoons of aloe juice. Apply the mixture for 20 minutes. Rinse off with warm water.

Boil 1 jacket potato, then peel and mash it. Add 1 tablespoon of milk and sour cream and a teaspoon of glycerin and olive oil to the potato mixture. Mix well and apply the mixture for 20 minutes. Wash your face with warm water.

Take 1 teaspoon each of blue clay powder, honey, lemon juice and sour cream. Stir until smooth and apply the mask to your face and neck for 10-15 minutes. Rinse everything off with warm water.

Aloe is the most effective home remedy for aging skin

Aloe juice has always been used by the most prominent beauties in history. That is why, proven over thousands of years, it is still the number one remedy to combat any signs of aging.

Lubricate your face with aloe juice at least 2-3 times a week, replacing your night cream with it. You will notice results after two weeks of this practice. In order to prepare the juice you will need several leaves of 3-year-old aloe. Place them in the refrigerator for 2 weeks, because it is at low temperatures that aloe becomes most beneficial. Taking the leaves out of the refrigerator, rinse them thoroughly with boiled water, and then use a knife or something sharp to remove all the pulp and squeeze it through several layers of gauze. The resulting juice must be boiled for another 3 minutes.

Peeling is an effective remedy against facial aging

Peeling is one of the most effective means in the fight against skin aging. This procedure helps exfoliate layers of dead cells, accelerates the processes of cell regeneration and the production of collagen and elastin fibers. In other words, peeling restores elasticity to the skin, helps smooth out even deep wrinkles, and improves tone.

Exfoliation recipe: Take 1 teaspoon of ground coffee (already brewed) and a little of your cleanser. Massage your face with the mixture for a minute. Then rinse with warm water and apply nourishing cream. Do peeling at least once a week and then after a month you will notice the results.

Molecular biologist, leading researcher at the Faculty of Bioengineering and Bioinformatics, Moscow State University. Lomonosov Maxim Skulachev talks about what aging is and when we can learn to control it. The conversation is conducted by Victoria Lisenko.

Maxim Skulachev.

Naked mole rat.

Naked mole rat.

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Maxim Vladimirovich, if humanity finds a cure for old age, does this mean that we will become immortal?

No, and this is important to understand. We are often called “fighters for immortality,” but I don’t know how to achieve it. Aging is only one of the causes of human death. Another thing is that it now makes the largest contribution to our mortality. If, for example, Russians stop aging and dying from age-related causes altogether, then they will live approximately 300–350 years. I don’t know what immortality is, but there is nothing contrary to biology in a very long life. We are simply designed in such a way that we live less than we want. It is possible to radically extend a person’s life, but how correct is it to call it immortality... In the end, the Sun will go out and that’s it, how can we continue to live? ( Laughs).

The small naked mole rats you study live orders of magnitude longer than other rodents of similar size. Sometimes they are even called immortals. If they did not die fighting the world, other diggers and predators, what would their life expectancy be?

No one knows. The experiment has been going on for more than 30 years, and the oldest digger is still alive. That is, it is 30+. But there are very few such long-livers among diggers. Another thing is that the majority die from causes independent of age - mainly due to fights with other diggers. But it is believed that the maximum lifespan of these rodents is approximately 30-35 years. For such a small animal this is an absolutely fantastic figure. In theory, he should have lived for two or three years, if we go by the culture of other animals.

Will it turn out that with the creation of a cure for old age, there will be a risk of stopping the development of the human race in the future?

I still believe that aging is an evolutionary tool that is needed only for ordinary biological, primitive evolution. We used it when we were running screaming through the jungle, but now we don't need it. Therefore, with the abolition of aging, nothing terrible will happen to us as a biological species. Another thing is that we don’t know what’s next. Humanity had certain main causes of death. And we eliminated them one by one. Sanitation is one of the latest inventions to eliminate another leading cause of death. If we learn not to grow old, I do not rule out that some other reason will emerge. What will it be? Perhaps something completely terrible. This, unfortunately, is unknown.

How will your research impact the fight against cancer?

Cancer is an age-dependent disease. The likelihood of getting it increases sharply with age, and why this happens is unknown. I am not sure that there is a common cause for cancer and all other diseases of aging. There is probably a common reason in terms of the large biological clock that measures a person’s age. There are certain marks that “decide” that it is time to start the growth of a cancerous tumor or, for example, a cardiovascular disease. It is possible that cancer and aging are two parallel programs embedded in us, which reliably limit our life expectancy, a very important parameter of the species. Within a species, animals are not allowed to live one for five years and another ten times longer.

The anti-cancer system of elephants is better developed than that of humans. Is it possible to somehow borrow their natural ways of fighting the disease?

- an amazing example of how the body adjusts its sensitivity to cancer in a certain way. If elephant cells had the same sensitivity to cancer as mouse cells, then there would be no elephants in principle, because an elephant has many more cells. How much anti-cancer protection can be borrowed from elephants is a difficult question. So far, it has been discovered that elephants have extra copies of cancer-protective genes. A person cannot yet insert extra copies of such genes into his genome, but perhaps it is actually possible to do this in a less radical way.

We carry it out. We have several drugs. We take one active ingredient, and then, depending on its packaging and method of use, different medicines are obtained. One of these medications is eye drops. They have already passed the full certification cycle in Russia and are at the final stage of clinical trials in the USA. We will conduct new tests as we have many new ideas on how to improve these drops. We also have a topical remedy for wound healing, which is also being tested now. And the most interesting drug is a very concentrated solution of our mitochondrial antioxidant for oral administration - a potential cure for aging. (Mitochondrial antioxidants are antioxidants that accumulate and act directly in the mitochondria, which are considered the main sources of harmful reactive oxygen species in the cell. Therefore, if oxidative stress inside the mitochondria is prevented, reactive oxygen species will not be released from the mitochondria into the cytoplasm of the cells, and fatal damage to the cell itself there won’t be – Ed.). This drug has passed the first stage of clinical trials. There were 35 healthy volunteers who took it. The most important thing we looked at at this stage was whether they would get worse, whether there would be any side effect. So far this has not been observed.

A person begins to age after puberty. Once the aging process starts, is it irreversible?

Difficult question. It is not completely known. It seems to me that it is completely irreversible. But we should learn to at least slow it down. In fact, a person remains in very decent condition for a very long time - up to 40, 50, sometimes 70 years, if you are lucky with your genes. Therefore, it is never too late to stop the aging process. It is difficult to reverse it; in some respects it can be done, but this is rather an exception.

That is, the anti-aging medicine will need to be taken before you start aging, or you can and after?

Clinical studies will show this. And we will answer this question for a very long time. It is necessary to conduct tests at different ages, with different course durations. This is a huge job.

The thirty-five volunteers who took part in the trial were of different ages?

No, young men. These were the very first human trials of the drug, so they are carried out on the most “durable” segments of the population. In fact, the experiment was not very interesting, because the dose of the drug was a single dose. The substance, as we now know, is eliminated from the human body quite quickly. And, naturally, it needs to be taken once or twice a day for many months, or even years. We are just getting started with this research. But I think our next tests will be carried out on older people, because they can clearly and quickly see the progression of all sorts of age-related problems. And seeing this progression stop is our main task. It is the elderly who are our target group of patients, to whom our medicine will initially be directed. Someday we will come to the question of what will happen if a 25-year-old young and healthy person starts taking it. But it’s very difficult to get 25-year-olds to do this - you have to be very afraid of getting old.

Is there something special about the gene pool of people who live very long lives? For example, Churchill lived to be 90 years old, while he was of impressive size, drank and smoked...

...And led an antisocial lifestyle. People who study life expectancy statistics very quickly figured out what it takes to live long - you need to have long-lived parents. As if we could choose them! (Laughs). Heredity clearly has a very strong influence on our life expectancy. But she's not the only one. In general, the action of genes is highly dependent on external factors. I'll go a little aside: there is a classic story of genetic analysis of criminals in American prisons. The results of a complete genome analysis of criminals and people who had never been to prison were compared. Scientists looked for the genetic characteristics of criminals and indeed identified a gene that is found in them 20% more often than in other people. It was a big sensation. But it turned out that this gene matters only if the criminal was raised in a single-parent family. And if there is both a mother and a father, then a person ends up in prison with the same probability as other people. This is how genes work.

Good heredity is an excellent chance to live a long time, but you need to be able to realize it, and how to do this is actually not completely clear. Churchill or Jeanne Calment, who lived to be 120 years old and is said to have smoked until she was a hundred years old, are not the only examples of long-livers with bad habits. Here we need to turn to statistics. There were even large programs to study the genomes of centenarians - people who have crossed the century mark - and to search for the longevity gene, but nothing really was learned. The only thing that is clear is that due to genetic predisposition, diet or lifestyle, these people, as a rule, are not prone to diabetes. They are fine with their sugar for two possible reasons. First: they, in principle, do not eat a lot and do not consume fast carbohydrates, which is typical for the classic Mediterranean diet, that is, they eat vegetables, meat, and fish. Second: they are genetically resistant - they eat any buns, but they just got such a set of genes that their insulin doesn’t care about it. But there is still digging and digging.

During the war, most people went hungry. Many of those who survived the siege of Leningrad lived to be 100 years or more. That is, the stress that the body experiences can have a positive effect on life expectancy?

Yes, it is a known fact that people who survived the war and went through terrible trials that should have broken them forever live a very long time. I would attribute this to several things. Firstly, no matter how monstrous it sounds, some selection took place: some survived, and some did not. Accordingly, from a purely biological point of view, it is possible that the fittest survived. But I don’t really believe in it, because very different people survived. And again, often the selection was not based on physical condition, but on intelligence: someone found a way to get food, someone - to plan its consumption correctly, or something else that had nothing to do with physical condition influenced.
Secondly, short-term, not very terrible stress prolongs life, and this has actually been proven by biology. If you force the animal to starve a little (just a little, and not so that he cannot move, not a “blockade” option) and give 25-30% less food than he wants, then he will live longer. This, by the way, is the only absolutely proven way to prolong the life of an animal. And it is already more or less known why this happens. They turn on special regulations that put the body into overdrive mode: in order to survive difficult times and not disappear, the body turns off certain bad mechanisms. The same effect occurs from physical activity - when you run from someone for a long time. Or, for example, poisoning by poisons, which the body managed to survive, also prolongs life. It is possible that during the war, stressful conditions were similar to such exposures. But I don’t really believe this either, because for animals, in any case, stress must be constant.
Unfortunately, people are very dependent on psychology. I think these people simply have a different attitude towards life. It was difficult to make them nervous. Most likely, after the war they simply became psychologically more stable. But this is all fantasy. I have no scientific data on this.

How soon is it planned to release a medicine for old age?

If we talk about our drug, then clinical trials need another three to four years. Pretty close, actually. But it won’t say “Cure for Old Age.” This will be a drug for some specific age-related diseases. To start with one. It will take another ten years to prove that it actually does something about the human aging process. I would say that there are 10-12 years left before the advent of a cure for old age—a drug that reliably slows down human aging, to be honest.
I outlined the situation with the development of our drug. But it may well be that we won’t get a cure because we are developing our own hypothesis, and it will not necessarily be correct. Then someone else will make the medicine, because I see that in the drug development industry, the search for a cure for old age has ceased to be a taboo - it is no longer the invention of a perpetual motion machine, but an objective reality. Everyone makes the same reservations that I do - that this is a hypothesis that needs to be tested, but everyone agrees that it is possible. And as soon as the word “possible” appears, then the cure begins to appear. This happened with drugs for cancer and HIV, and now aging has suddenly been added to this list. This means that someone will do it sooner or later. Yes, the first versions will not work 100%, perhaps not on the entire population, but on certain, for example, rapidly aging individuals, or vice versa, on those who lead an unhealthy lifestyle. But then upgrades will come and, in the end, it can end in a very interesting way.

Your American colleagues are also actively involved in research in the field of aging. Are they developing a similar approach? Would you like to join forces in the fight against a common enemy?

We have a couple of direct competitors whose research is focused specifically on mitochondria, because everyone agrees that they play a significant role in the aging process. And here we are approaching the same target from slightly different directions. True, they are a little embarrassed to say that they work with aging, and express themselves more cautiously - “age-related diseases”, but in fact it is clear what they are doing.
Most scientific groups in the world are developing other approaches. There are two main directions in the fight against aging: one is an attempt to turn on the same mechanisms that are turned on during fasting, but without fasting. Scientists are developing a substance so that when it enters the body, it thinks: “Oh, listen, I’m starving, I need to urgently mobilize.” This is quite promising. People are doing this, but have not yet moved on to clinical trials and are somewhere in the intermediate stage. Recently, another approach has emerged - the fight against senescent cells. Sometimes some of our cells decide that they are already old. Normally, such a cell should commit suicide, start the process of apoptosis and carefully disassemble into parts, but among them there are opportunists who say: “No, we won’t die, but we won’t work, we’ll just sit and be quiet.” These are senescent (or aged) cells. Now there are techniques that are aimed at destroying these cells in the body.
In the end, of course, a combined version of the drug will work, which will protect mitochondria, fight against old cells, and maybe even periodically turn on fasting and some kind of overdrive systems (by the way, they often work through mitochondria) . As a result, efforts will be combined. But not at this stage. For now, everyone must solve their own local problem. Of course, it’s a little painful that each group is looking for funding for itself, and we are completely separated, but that’s how life works.

How soon will the drug become available to mere mortals?

As soon as the drug is developed, that is, clinical studies are completed and the FDA (Food and Drug Administration - editor's note) or the Russian Ministry of Health allows it to be sold in pharmacies, it will be expensive for the duration of the patent. But very soon anyone will be able to produce it, and its price will fall. And I don’t think that this drug will be more expensive than some modern antibiotics. Of course, it will be some kind of tricky chemistry and a bunch of all sorts of complications, but in principle there is no reason to think that it will be like an extract from the horns of polar deer, of which there are only 300 on the entire Earth. So its availability period is the same as that of any other drug – approximately 10-20 years.

What advice would you give to the younger and older generations who are still trying to fight aging on their own?

There is no answer to how a person can individually deal with aging now. There are a whole host of biohackers who allegedly hacked something, but this is not very serious, with all due respect to these desperate and very brave people. But there are many known ways to shorten your life: eat a lot of sweets, drink alcohol, smoke, sit still and not exercise, and make the lives of others worse. We were always advised to lead a healthy lifestyle. I think it was Oscar Wilde who said, “I would do anything to regain my youth—as long as I don’t get up early, don’t do gymnastics, and don’t be a productive member of society.” Now, in order to lead a correct lifestyle, a new motivation is added: nothing can be more stupid than dying of old age a year before the invention of a cure for old age, right?
You need to behave adequately and think about what you are doing with your life, if only because it increases the chances of living until the moment when you can extend your stay in this world by taking a pill. And it’s a terrible shame to miss this chance.

But a person will die and will not know about the invention of this pill, which means he will no longer be offended?

Not certainly in that way. Trying to slow down the aging process when you are already decrepit will definitely be too late and therefore offensive. Such things need to be prevented a little earlier. Therefore, advice: watch yourself.