The "anti-agathic" drugs posited by science fiction author James Blish in
Cities in Flight (1957) may be on the horizon as something other than fiction. See what Sam Apple
writes at the
Wired website about the anti-diabetes drug
metformin.
Metformin, which helps keep blood sugar levels in check without serious side effects, is typically the first-choice treatment for type 2 diabetics, and it’s sometimes prescribed for prediabetes as well.
Researchers started comparing the health of diabetics on metformin to those taking other diabetes drugs. What they discovered was striking: The metformin-takers tended to be healthier in all sorts of ways. They lived longer and had fewer cardiovascular events, and in at least some studies they were less likely to suffer from dementia and Alzheimer’s. Most surprising of all, they seemed to get cancer far less frequently—as much as 25 to 40 percent less than diabetics taking two other popular medications.
The drug comes from an herbal source. It's tempting to use it prophylactically on spec.
It’s a slightly modified version of a compound that was discovered in a plant, Galega officinalis. The plant, also known as French lilac and goat’s rue, is hardly the stuff of cutting-edge science. Physicians have been prescribing it as an herbal remedy for centuries.
As the
Instapundit writes in these situations, faster please.
