CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Researchers in Massachusetts are testing drugs that mimic the properties of a substance in red wine called resveratrol that is believed to combat aging.
Preliminary tests show resveratrol has the same effect as cutting calorie intake by a third which scientists say boosts the life spans animals by as much as 40 percent, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The focus of coming up with a drug that has the same effects as resveratrol is not to extend life but rather to develop therapies for diseases since the Food and Drug Administration doesn't recognize aging as a problem.
However, if a drug can retard aging, it might delay the onset and possibly the progression of age-related diseases, says University of Illinois epidemiologist S. Jay Olshansky.
Interest in resveratrol began three years ago when a group at Harvard reported that it boosted the life of yeast cells by 70 percent.
Today, Cambridge-based Sirtris Pharmaceuticals and Elixir Pharmaceuticals are among companies working on development of drugs that mimic calorie restriction.
