Research

Hormonal

Metformin, an FDA-approved AMPK activator, shows promise for extending healthspan and reducing mortality in humans, though its effect on maximum lifespan in long-lived rodents remains unproven.

Metformin is a safe, widely used drug for type 2 diabetes that has been linked to reduced all-cause mortality and extended healthspan in animal models. While it shows promise for longevity, its effect on maximum lifespan in long-lived rodents is not yet proven. It is currently being tested in genetically heterogeneous mice to determine its full potential as an anti-aging therapy.

ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
Metformin extends both the life span and health span of the nematode C. elegans... Metformin extends the life span of short-lived, tumor-prone HER2/neu mice and female SHR mice... a long-term study in human patients found that treatment with metformin in patients with diabetes decreased mortality from all causes, including diabetes-related mortality, cancer, and myocardial infarction.
Dudley W. Lamming et al. · Journal of Clinical Investigation · 2013

Why this rating

Strong observational human data and animal healthspan data, but no definitive maximum lifespan extension in long-lived rodent strains yet.

Source

Rapalogs and mTOR inhibitors as anti-aging therapeutics

Dudley W. Lamming et al. · Journal of Clinical Investigation · 2013

DOI 10.1172/jci64099

narrative_reviewCited 540×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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