Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly say their weight-loss drugs reduce molecular markers of age. Patients taking GLP-1 drugs had reduced biological age compared to those on placebo, with differences varying by clock type and organ tested. Overall, the difference was around "two to three years," according to Nikolaj Roed, a global project leader at Novo.
Steve Horvath, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, who invented aging clocks, says "Two years is a pretty strong effect." He adds the data could show these drugs are "geroprotectors" that slow or reverse biological aging. The findings were shared at the Aging Research & Drug Discovery conference.
Vadim Gladyshev, a Harvard biologist, says "In an unhealthy population, I do think it's an anti-aging drug. But in a healthy population, no one knows." The drugs improve kidney function, reduce blood pressure, and cut overall death risk. Alejandro Aguayo-Orozco, a senior scientific director at Novo, confirmed that semaglutide moves aging clocks, with as much as 4 years slowdown in heart protein clocks.
The studies boost aging clock science. Novo took blood from 10,052 people, half on drug, half on placebo, and used proteomic clocks. Eli Lilly performed similar research on tirzepatide.
Source: MIT Technology Review · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing