Rutgers and U.S. researchers say compound may prevent damaged proteins from accumulating.
In a study involving more than 44,000 animals published in the journal Nature Communications, researchers from Rutgers, The University of Oregon, and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in California tested 10 different compounds from multiple species of roundworms that featured more genetic diversity than can be found between mice and humans. Scientists found that Thioflavin T was the most effective of all drugs tested because it increased the lifespan in all species and doubled it in one.

“These worms may have been the same basic animal but, like humans, their genes had a lot of variation which means that they could have responded to interventions differently,” said Monica Driscoll, co–principal investigator and distinguished professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, School of Arts and Sciences.

Up until now, chemical compounds that have been found to extend life in worms and mice have been most often studied in animals with specific – and somewhat uniform – genetic backgrounds. But Thioflavin T worked in all the genetically diverse species, possibly by preventing damaged and misfolded proteins which in humans contributes to age–related diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s.

“We found this one compound did have a positive effect on all the strains, which is important if you want to find the best candidate intervention for healthy aging across a large swath of the population.”