Weight-loss drugs show signs of slowing biological aging, say drugmakers
3 hours ago
- Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly found that GLP-1 weight-loss drugs reduce biological age by around 2-3 years based on molecular aging clocks.
- Benefits include improved kidney function, lower blood pressure, and reduced mortality, beyond just weight loss.
- Aging clocks (proteomic and epigenetic) showed consistent slowing, with heart protein clocks indicating up to 4 years of age reduction.
- The drugs are speculated to be geroprotectors that may slow or reverse biological aging, though evidence for healthy individuals is lacking.
- Side effects include muscle loss, and experts caution against use in non-overweight populations without further study.
- A U.S. agency (ARPA-H) funded a $38 million study to test semaglutide’s anti-aging effects in healthy people over 60.