Coated 200 mg ibuprofen tablets, CareOne brand, distributed by American Sales Company of Lancaster, New York (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Regular doses of ibuprofen could allow people to live up to 12 years longer.
In tests, the drug appears to hold back the ageing process as well as helping fight disease.
Ibuprofen, which is used every day at home by people to treat inflammation, pain and fever, may be the key to developing a long sought after anti-ageing drug.
Dr Brian Kennedy, president and chief executive of the Buck Institute for Research on Ageing in California, said: “There is a lot to be excited about.
"The research shows that ibuprofen impacts a process not yet implicated in ageing, giving us a new way to study and understand the ageing process.
“Ibuprofen is a relatively safe drug, found in most people’s medicine cabinets.
"There is every reason to believe there are other existing treatments that can impact healthspan and we need to be studying them.”
Lead researcher Professor Michael Polymenis of Texas A&M University agreed.
He said: “It should be possible to find other drugs like ibuprofen with even better ability to extend lifespan, with the aim of adding healthy years of life in people.”
In laboratory tests, ibuprofen was found to extend the lives of worms and flies by the equivalent of about 12 years in human terms. MORE