Research

Hormonal

Rapamycin extends maximal lifespan in mice primarily by suppressing lethal neoplastic disease (cancer) rather than by slowing the fundamental rate of biological aging.

While rapamycin extends mouse lifespan, current evidence suggests this is due to cancer suppression, not a general slowing of aging. Symptomatic benefits (like improved cognition) are observed but appear to be independent of age. Human translation requires caution as cancer risk profiles differ, and symptomatic benefits may not imply slowed biological aging.

GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
Current available evidence seems to best fit a model, wherein rapamycin extends lifespan by suppressing cancers. In addition the drug has symptomatic effects on some aging traits, such as age-related cognitive impairments.
Dan Ehninger et al. · Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences · 2014

Why this rating

Based on multiple high-quality longitudinal studies in genetically heterogeneous and inbred mouse strains with cause-of-death analysis.

Source

Longevity, aging and rapamycin

Dan Ehninger et al. · Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences · 2014

DOI 10.1007/s00018-014-1677-1

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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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