A common drug, Lithium used in psychiatry to help stop mood swings could hold the key to long life, according to latest research.
Lithium supplements could slow down ageing, scientists have suggested after noticing that fruit flies lived 16 per cent longer when given low doses. Salts made from the chemical are already used as a mood stabiliser to treat conditions like bipolar disorder, but researchers at University College London(UCL) and Harvard University discovered that it can also protect cells against damage.
It is thought lithium delays ageing by blocking a molecule called glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) which is linked to cell death and diseases like diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. It also promotes a molecule which boosts cell health.
Both molecules are found in humans, and if the same effect was seen as in fruit flies it could extend the average life by around 13 years and help humans live in good health well into their 110s and 120s.
The scientists now want to test lithium on larger animals and eventually humans. The study, published today in Cell Reports, shows that male and female flies live longer than average when given low doses of lithium during adulthood or later in life, regardless of their genetic make-up.
At low doses, few adverse effects were seen in the flies as they continued to feed normally and produce healthy offspring.
Different doses of lithium chloride were given to 160 adult flies to measure the effect on lifespan. Higher doses reduced lifespan but lower doses prolonged life by an average of 16 per cent and maximum of 18 per cent compared to a control group given salt.
The benefits of lithium were also seen when it was used as a one-off treatment.
“We found low doses not only prolong life but also shield the body from stress and block fat production for flies on a high sugar diet,” said co-author Dr Ivana Bjedov from the UCL Cancer Institute.
Claire Bale, Head of Research Communications at Parkinson’s UK, which part-funded the study, said: “This research has the potential to not only help create a healthier older generation, but also provide significant insights into how we could potentially treat or even prevent conditions of ageing like Parkinson’s.”
Source: thetelegraph