Many people believe that aging is a normal physiological process, not a disease, so they may ignore "anti-aging" in daily body care. In 2018, the World Health Organization officially announced in the International Code of Diseases that aging is a treatable disease. Over time, some enzymes and reactions produced by cells in the human body make our bodies more susceptible to disease, further exacerbating damage to cells and organs. Therefore, aging may be a comprehensive manifestation of pathological changes in the development of a disease.
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On November 16, 2021, the anti-aging drug MYMD-1 developed by MyMD, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company committed to extending healthy lifespan, was approved by FDA for its Phase II clinical trial application for "anti-aging indications".
MYMD-1 is a new alkaloid compound derived from the natural plant tobacco. The structural formula is shown in the figure below. The molecular weight is 146. It is a small molecule alkaloid that can selectively inhibit TNF-α (the driving factor of chronic inflammation) without Affects normal immune responses and is used to treat aging and some autoimmune diseases . Among the TNF-α inhibitors approved by the FDA at the same time, MYMD-1 is the only one used for "anti-aging". The FDA's approval also shows that MYMD-1 has good application prospects in anti-aging.
The structural formula of MYMD-1
Since some modern chemical drugs have poor efficacy and are often accompanied by many side effects, people are paying more and more attention to the natural botanical medicine market. The international pharmaceutical industry has been committed to finding effective natural botanical medicines to replace chemical drugs. At present, alkaloids, terpenoids , polyphenols , organic acids, polysaccharides , etc. extracted from natural plants have been proven to have good clinical application value in many diseases.
Since the 1990s, my country's traditional Chinese medicine industry has developed strongly and has now reached a scale of hundreds of millions. With the development of modern technology, combined with international new drug research and development trends and clinical experience in traditional Chinese medicine, more scientific and technological platforms can be used to discover and create anti-aging and life-extending natural active ingredients from traditional Chinese medicine. In recent years of research, some natural active ingredients have been proven to have anti-aging effects. For example, proanthocyanidin C1 extracted from grape seeds can extend the lifespan of mice (Xu et al. 2021). Some active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine have also been proven to have anti-aging effects. For example, adenosine and succinic acid extracted from the traditional Chinese medicine and pinellia have shown obvious anti-aging effects and have been proven to improve the aging process induced by d-galactose. Memory and learning abilities and protection against oxidative stimulus-induced cellular senescence in mouse models (Xia et al. 2019). In addition, extracts of ginseng, and Ganoderma have also been proven to increase the health lifespan of aging animals (Teseo et al. 2021).
Aging involves many complex factors. A single target or drug cannot fundamentally delay the progression of aging and aging-related diseases. Traditional Chinese medicine contains multiple components or the combination of different Chinese medicines provides more treatment options for anti-aging. . Yuan et al. demonstrated that Sijunzi Decoction can exert anti-aging effects in mice by downregulating P38 MAPK and PI3K-AKT signaling pathway (Yuan et al. 2022). Zeng et al. found that Liuwei Dihuang Tang can extend the survival period of elderly mice and give them glossier fur (Zeng et al. 2020).
The human body needs continuous contact with the outside world, causing respiration (oxidation reaction), external pollution, radiation exposure and other adverse factors to continuously generate free radicals in the human body, leading to aging or lifespan. Although human aging is an inevitable physiological law, the emergence of "anti-aging" drugs can allow our body cells to have a healthier growth environment. However, if a person often maintains those "bad habits" that cause the body to age - irregular life schedule, high mental stress, lack of exercise, irregular diet, etc., he will only face the consequences of "premature" aging.
References
Teseo S, Houot B, Yang K, Monnier V, Liu G, Tricoire H. 2021. G. sinense and P. notoginseng Extracts Improve Healthspan of Aging Flies and Provide Protection in A Huntington Disease Model. Aging Dis. Apr; 12:425-440.
Xia X, Wang F, Zheng X, Liu Y, Zhang J, Zhang Y, Cheng Z, Han X, Ma Y, Cui J, et al. 2019. Effects of extracts from Chuanwu (Aconitum Carmichaelii) and Banxia (Rhizoma Pinelliae) on excisional wound healing in a rat's model. J Tradit Chin Med. Feb;39:65-73.
Xu Q, Fu Q, Li Z, Liu H, Wang Y, Lin X, He R, Zhang X, Ju Z, Campisi J, et al. 2021. The flavonoid procyanidin C1 has senotherapeutic activity and increases lifespan in mice. Nat Metab. Dec;3:1706-1726.
Yuan Y, Zhang Y, Zheng R, Yuan H, Zhou R, Jia S, Liu J. 2022. Elucidating the anti-aging mechanism of Si Jun Zi Tang by integrating pharmacology network and experimental validation in vivo. Aging (Albany NY). May 10;14:3941-3955.
Zeng J, Zhang X, Wang J, Cheng .
