Early Studies Show GLP-1 Drugs Slowing Biological Ageing

Boston (GNP): New research presented in Boston suggests that glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs, widely used for weight loss and diabetes, may also slow the body’s biological ageing. Scientists say the findings are early but could point toward longer healthy lives.

The idea builds on what these medications have already shown. Studies have linked them to lower risks of heart, kidney and liver disease and to reduced sleep apnoea and inflammation, all of which contribute to declining health with age. Researchers have now turned to biological markers of ageing to test whether the drugs affect the process itself.

Eli Lilly presented one of the new datasets at the Aging Research and Drug Discovery conference. It comes from the Surmount V trial, which randomly assigned more than 700 overweight adults without diabetes to tirzepatide or semaglutide for 72 weeks. The ageing analysis focused on 71 participants over 50 who took tirzepatide.

Researchers tracked epigenetic clocks, which show the biological age of organs and tissues rather than calendar age. Over the study period, a person would normally be expected to age 1.38 years. Among the tirzepatide group, biological ageing advanced by an average of 0.7 to 1.1 years across different clocks, and some clocks moved backwards.

Dr Kevin Duffin, Lilly’s vice president of aging research, was open about the limits. The study had no placebo group and the follow-up was short. He said the effects appeared to strengthen over time, and the company hopes to follow participants for longer.

The question of cause remains open. Duffin said the effects are mostly explained by blood sugar reduction and weight loss, which fits evidence that calorie restriction and weight-loss surgery also slow biological ageing.

Novo Nordisk’s findings point further. Its scientists measured changes in proteins among people taking semaglutide and reported that the heart’s biological age fell by two to four years compared with a placebo. The ages of the lung, kidney, brain and pancreas fell by one to four years. The researchers said weight loss, blood sugar control and inflammation did not fully explain the results, though the study is a preprint that has not yet been peer reviewed.

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Animal research adds to the picture. Scientists at the University of California at Berkeley gave semaglutide or a placebo to mice aged 20 months, roughly equal to 60 human years. The semaglutide group lived an average of 834 days against 742 for the placebo group.

A second group of mice on a diet cut by 25% also lived longer, but the semaglutide mice performed better in maze tests and blood sugar control. The work was published in the journal Nature.

Experts urge caution, particularly for healthy people considering the drugs for longevity. Dr James Kirkland, who directs the Center for Advanced Gerotherapeutics at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said the ageing tests are still in development. He noted they suit large groups better than individuals and can vary greatly from day to day.

Kirkland said, “My concern is that people could overread some of this stuff.” Dr Danica Chen of Berkeley said the mouse results show it is “more than just a calorie restriction and has additional benefits.”