Acombination drug therapy that inhibits the TORC1 pathway involved in immune responses boosted the health of people 65 years and older, according to research published in Science Translational Medicine yesterday (July 11).
“This study is the first step to suggest we may be able to target some of the fundamental pathways contributing to aging to promote healthy aging, including healthy immune function, in older people,” coauthor Joan Mannick, the chief medical officer at resTORbio, Inc, tells WBUR.
As part of the study, led by the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, researchers administered one or two drugs or a placebo for six weeks to 264 people 65 years or older. Both drugs fight cancer, with one already approved and used to prevent transplant rejection. The two drugs inhibit the activity of a key molecule called mTOR that signals through a cellular pathway, TORC1, involved in aging and the immune system, among ...
