How a Common Blood Pressure Drug Could Slow Aging and Extend Lifespan—even Later in Life
Published in the journal Aging Cell
DOI: 10.1111/acel.13774
Introduction
Aging is the single greatest risk factor for most chronic diseases—cardiovascular conditions, cancer, neurodegeneration, and more. As science advances, researchers are now probing whether aging itself can be slowed or modified through pharmacological intervention. In a groundbreaking study published in Aging Cell, scientists have discovered that a well-known blood pressure drug, rilmenidine, can extend lifespan and improve health markers in both young and aged animals.
What makes this finding especially compelling is that the drug proved effective even when treatment was started later in life, highlighting its potential as a real-world therapeutic agent to delay aging and promote longevity.
What is Rilmenidine?
Rilmenidine is an antihypertensive drug commonly prescribed in Europe for managing high blood pressure. It is part of a class of drugs that act on I₁-imidazoline receptors, which are found in the brain and peripheral tissues. These receptors regulate blood pressure and sympathetic nervous system activity.
But rilmenidine does more than just lower blood pressure. Recent studies have uncovered its role as a caloric restriction mimetic—a compound that simulates the benefits of dietary restriction without the need to drastically cut calories.
The Study: Design and Breakthroughs
The research team, led by experts from the University of Liverpool and collaborating institutions, used a combination of Caenorhabditis elegans (a model organism commonly used in longevity research) and mouse tissue models to assess rilmenidine's potential anti-aging effects.
Key Findings:
Increased Lifespan: Rilmenidine extended the lifespan of C. elegans when administered both early and late in life, proving that the drug’s benefits are not limited to preventive use alone.
Improved Healthspan: Worms treated with rilmenidine showed improved mobility, resistance to oxidative stress, and enhanced cellular cleanup mechanisms such as autophagy.
Mammalian Relevance: When tested on mice, rilmenidine induced gene expression changes in liver and kidney tissues that mimic those seen with caloric restriction—a known intervention for lifespan extension.
Dependence on Nish-1 Receptor: In worms, the longevity effects were found to depend on the Nish-1 receptor, the functional analog of the human I₁-imidazoline receptor. This confirmed that the drug’s target plays a direct role in its life-extending effects.
How Does Rilmenidine Mimic Caloric Restriction?
Caloric restriction (CR) is one of the most consistent and powerful non-genetic interventions known to extend lifespan in a wide range of species. CR activates several cellular pathways that promote resilience, reduce inflammation, enhance DNA repair, and improve metabolic function.
Rilmenidine appears to mimic CR by:
Activating autophagy, a process where damaged cellular components are broken down and recycled.
Enhancing stress resistance and reducing oxidative damage.
Modulating metabolic and inflammatory pathways via I₁-imidazoline receptor signaling.
This allows rilmenidine to offer similar benefits to CR without requiring extreme dietary changes, making it a potentially practical tool for aging populations.
Benefits in Later Life
One of the most striking aspects of this study is rilmenidine’s effectiveness when administered during late stages of life. Unlike many longevity interventions that must be initiated early, rilmenidine still significantly prolonged lifespan and improved stress resilience when given to older organisms.
This opens the door to late-life therapeutic interventions, something highly valuable given that many individuals only become interested in anti-aging therapies well into adulthood.
Implications for Human Aging
Rilmenidine already has an established safety profile as a blood pressure medication, with mild and manageable side effects such as dizziness or fatigue. This positions it as a low-barrier candidate for repurposing in human aging trials.
Key Human-Health Potential:
Widespread Availability: Already in clinical use in parts of Europe and Asia.
Cost-Effective: Inexpensive compared to experimental longevity drugs.
Translatable Mechanism: Targets conserved cellular pathways shared between species.
What’s Next?
1. Clinical Trials in Humans
The next logical step is to conduct human clinical trials, especially in middle-aged and older adults, to determine whether rilmenidine can improve biological aging markers and reduce disease incidence.
2. Combination Therapies
Researchers may investigate how rilmenidine works in conjunction with other known longevity agents such as metformin, rapamycin, or NAD+ boosters, possibly amplifying its benefits.
3. Biomarker Tracking
Future studies should track changes in biomarkers of aging—like epigenetic clocks, inflammation levels, and mitochondrial health—to better quantify the drug’s anti-aging effects.
Conclusion
The discovery that rilmenidine, a drug already on the market for managing hypertension, can extend lifespan and delay aging—even when started later in life—is a major milestone in geroscience. With a known safety profile and powerful effects on lifespan and cellular health, rilmenidine emerges as one of the most promising candidates for repurposing as a longevity therapy.
As the global population continues to age, the ability to delay biological aging through safe, scalable pharmacological interventions could transform public health and redefine what it means to grow older.
References
Calvert, S. et al. (2023). Rilmenidine mimics caloric restriction and extends lifespan in animals. Aging Cell, DOI: 10.1111/acel.13774
ScienceDaily coverage
