A life-expanding drug has been discovered which could change how we age

Experts have made a huge breakthrough in anti-ageing after discovering a drug that has lifespan-extending properties.

Whether it’s a daily skincare routine or “hacking” your biological age with strict eating and sleeping habits, anti-ageing and longevity is all the rage in the wellness industry.

Now experts have uncovered a drug they believe can help alleviate ageing and its harmful effects on the body.

The drug in question is called IU1 and experts believe it can help slow the process known as “proteostasis”, which is the disruption of protein homeostasis.

Protein homeostasis is the process that occurs in the body to maintain proper cell function. As we get older, the mechanisms within our cells to help detect and get rid of misfolded proteins slow, causing stress to our cells and ushering in some of the age-related diseases and chronic conditions linked to old age.

However a team of researchers from Chung-Ang University and the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology in South Korea identified IU1 and found it was able to preserve these systems, allowing them to perform better for longer.

In the study, which was published in the journal Autophagy, researchers tested the drug on fruitflies, which have similar age-related muscle deterioration to humans but over a much shorter lifespan.

They found that age-relation muscle weakness in fruit flies treated with the drug was improved and increased their lifespan.

Professor Seogang Hyun from Chung-Ang University, one of the study authors explained: “Reduced protein homeostasis is a major characteristic of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. The results of our study might lay the groundwork for the development of treatments for various age-related diseases.”

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