New pill in the United States: Should slow down the aging of the dog

In the United States, a new pill has aroused great interest that will be able to slow down dogs’ aging.
The pill simulates calorie restriction and can thus extend dogs’ active and healthy lives.
“The idea is that they will keep health a little longer in life and avoid certain diseases,” says Sara Hägg, associate professor of molecular epidemiology at Karolinska Institutet.

The pill has been developed by a biotechnological company and has been tested on older dogs. The pill should be similar to the effect of calorie restriction and causes the body to save on resources, which according to research can slow down aging.

– What you do is try to tell the body: “Now we have to change our resources and manage a little more so that we can live a little longer instead,” says Sara Hägg.

Awaiting approval

Now the pill is waiting for a formal approval from the US Food Agency. Although this is a first step, Sara Hägg believes that more studies are needed before it can be generally approved for dogs.

– It was a first step in the United States. Then more studies are needed to also first and foremost get it approved for dogs.

Far left until it works for people

After the great attention, the eyes are directed at whether the method can be applied to people. Dogs live in an environment similar to spring, but large research efforts are required before a pill could become relevant for human use.

– There are a lot more steps before this comes up with people, says Hägg.

She points out that people are complex creatures and probably powerful drug combinations are required before noticing an effect on aging.

– You would probably need a lot more drugs for it in such cases.