Slowing ageing using drug synergy in C. elegans

Pharmacological interventions that target human ageing should extend individual healthspan and result in dramatic economic benefits to rapidly ageing societies worldwide. For such interventions to be contemplated they need to comprise drugs that are efficacious when given to adults and for which extensive human safety data are available. Here we show that dramatic lifespan extension can be achieved in C. elegans by targeting multiple, evolutionary conserved ageing pathways using drugs that are already in human use. By targeting multiple synergistic ageing pathways, we are able to slow ageing rate, double lifespan and more than double healthspan while avoiding developmental and fitness trade-offs. To the best of our knowledge this is the largest lifespan effect ever reported for any adult-onset drug treatment in C. elegans. This drug-repurposing approach, using drugs already approved for humans to target multiple conserved aging pathways simultaneously, could lead to interventions that prevent age-related diseases and overall frailty in a rapidly ageing population.