In 2020, AgelessRx and Dr. James P Watson at UCLA partnered to launch a new, large-scale clinical study (PEARL) to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Rapamycin on human longevity.
If you’re curious to learn more about Rapamycin, how it impacts the aging process, or simply interested in learning more about PEARL, read on…
What is Rapamycin?
Rapamycin is an FDA-approved medication, also known as sirolimus or Rapamume, that acts as an immunosuppressant. Most commonly, Rapamycin is used in transplant patients to prevent organ transplant rejection. At higher daily doses, it suppresses the immune system. With intermittent dosing, it is thought to support a healthier immune system and can help delay or reverse diseases of aging.
First discovered from bacteria on Easter Island, initial research suggests Rapamycin’s ability to enhance immunity and regulate glucose and insulin levels at various doses (daily and intermittent), however, the optimal dose for humans has yet to be confirmed by science. Hence, the need for a clinical trial like PEARL.
How can Rapamycin impact the aging process?
Rapamycin works as an mTOR inhibitor. mTOR links with other protein complexes, mTOR complex 1 (TORC1) and mTOR complex 2 (TORC2), which regulate different cellular processes.
By inhibiting mTOR, Rapamycin suggests both cell growth and cell conversion to senescence. By doing so, Mikhail V. Blagosklonny suggests that “Rapamycin slows development and aging, reproduction and menopause, and hyperfunction and functional decline.”
Furthermore, early results suggest Rapamycin’s ability to increase life expectancy in rodents by improving bone and cardiovascular health, decreasing body weight, and remodeling the microbiome (the aggregate of all microbiota that reside on or within animal tissues).
University of Washington professor, Matt Kaeberlein, PhD, has gone on the record stating: “The drug Rapamycin is currently the most effective and reproducible pharmacological approval for directly targeting the aging process to increase life span and health span in laboratory animals. Rapamycin positively impacts most hallmarks of aging and it has been shown to increase lifespan in each major invertebrate model organism and in rodents. Rapamycin increases lifespan by 10 to 20% in multiple strains of mice.”
PEARL is the first large-scale clinical trial to determine Rapamycin’s effects on longevity for humans.
What is PEARL?
PEARL stands for the Participatory Evaluation of Aging with Rapamycin for Longevity. AgelessRx, in affiliation with the University of California, will soon launch this revolutionary, cost-effective, and formalized scientific study to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of Rapamycin in healthy adults for longevity.
PEARL is a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Notably, it is the first nationwide telemedicine trial and the first large-scale intervention trial on longevity.
PEARL will be investigating 4 different dosing regimens to identify the safest and most effective dose.
Is PEARL open for enrollment?
Yes! AgelessRx is currently enrolling between 200-400 adults (50 years of age older) for up to one year, with plans to extend to study for much longer. Participants will be assigned to a specific dosage group or a placebo control group.
Each participant will receive multiple tests throughout the trial valued at over $3,000. Ongoing medical evaluation will be provided to each participant.
To enroll, please submit your email address here.
Curious to learn more?
ARX CMO, Dr. Zalzala, shares all things PEARL, Rapamycin, and how to enroll in this online video presentation:
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To read the full PEARL Overview, click here.
To enroll in PEARL or receive more information on how to enroll, click here.
To donate to PEARL, click here.
To become a key PEARL sponsor, email us.