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Why longer lives for our dogs could mean longer lives for us (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 9 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/health@lemmy.world

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Drugs aimed at extending the life of our four-legged friends could lead to benefits for humans, some scientists believe

Every six months, Casey undergoes careful cardiac testing at a lab; she has been through extensive genetic profiling and is now enrolled in a drug trial that researchers believe could extend her life. Casey, an 11-year-old labrador-German shepherd cross who lives with her owner Kate Saunders in Massachusetts, is part of the growing effort to help dogs live better for longer, and which gerontologists hope may improve human longevity too.

Late last year, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) centre for veterinary medicine gave conditional approval for a drug created by San Francisco-based biotech company Loyal that could be available as a life-extending tool for large dogs by 2026.

The news from Loyal has given fresh hope to Saunders, and numerous other owners for whom extra “healthspan” (the healthy period of life) for their pets is a chance not to be missed. The new drug, LOY-001, targets a growth hormone called IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor), the presence of which is some 28 times greater in large dogs compared with small ones. (It occurs naturally in humans too.)

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[–] douglasg14b@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

You can also think about this in another way:

Death is the great equalizer.

No matter how rich, corrupt, brutal, or powerful you are. You will eventually die, and your power will die with you, providing equalization for everyone else.

Imagine the dystopian hell scape we would live in if dictators, aristocrats, and the massively wealthy never died due to age-related illness over the last 200 years...

Rockefeller being alive today, and with wealth and power equaling that of the largest countries in the world. That's not a headache I'd want to live in.

It's quite an interesting dissidence. Everyone wants to live longer (in good health ), the longer people live the more wealth they can acquire, which means that long lives disproportionately favor those who are already wealthy.

[–] MaxHardwood@lemmy.ca 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

I'd argue that pooping is the great equalizer. Getting equalized when you're dead isn't helpful to anybody; but everybody poops. Doesn't matter how rich or attractive you are, there are days where it's going to stinky liquid coming out that end.

[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 0 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Rich people have the money to spend on those frivolous tablets that (supposedly) make your shit smell like salted caramel and underpants that capture farts and spray a fresh pine scent instead.