MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Christian Sell, PhD Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Drexel University College of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: In terms of background, the drug rapamycin targets a pathway that scientists know is critical for growth and development but is also a key regulator of lifespan in many model organisms such as worms, flies, and mice. This pathway is known as the mTOR pathway. Rapamycin is already in use clinically, it is given to people who have received organ transplants to prevent rejection and is also in trials to treat some forms of cancer, at very high doses. Many studies in mice have shown that rapamycin delays aging and prevents age-related disorders such as the decline in heart function and cognitive function. Based on this work, there is a strong expectation that these results will translate into humans, but no studies have been done due to concerns regarding potential side effects of rapamycin when the drug is given orally to prevent rejection. Our previous studies have shown that a very low dose of rapamcyin can reduce the aging of human cells and improve cell growth, while the high does used for organ transplant patients actually block cell growth.  We decided to test the impact of low dose rapamycin on aging in the skin because we could treat people safely. Previous studies have shown that the drug does not get into the blood stream when high doses were given topically to people with a rare genetic disorder, so we knew that the low doses used in our study would not get into the bloodstream and would be safe for the patients. (more…)