Rapamycin, But Not Resveratrol or Simvastatin, Extends Life Span of Genetically Heterogeneous Mice

A GENTSthatcanextendthe lifespanofmiceareof interestfortworeasons:theycanprovidenewmodels of delayed aging to teach us more about what controls agingrateandhowagingleadstodisease;andinaddition, they serve as a first step toward eventual development of pharmaceuticals to slow aging and retard diseases in humans. The National Institute on Aging Intervention Testingprogram(ITP)haspreviouslyreportedsignificant increases in life span caused by aspirin and nordihydroguaiareticacid inmalemice(1)andbyrapamycinin bothmaleandfemalemice(2).ThedesignoftheITP(3) emphasizestheuseofgeneticallyheterogeneousmiceto mitigate against idiosyncrasies that can complicate inter-pretationofdatafromasingleinbredorF1hybridstock…