New Combined Therapy May Extend Lifespan

New Combined Therapy May Extend Lifespan in Males by Over 70%

Miraculous Therapy: The Combined Use of Oxytocin and Alk5 Inhibitor Can Extend the Lifespan of Aged Male Mice

 

On August 21, 2025, scientists from the University of California, Berkeley, published a remarkable research achievement in the journal AGING. The study pointed out that the combined use of oxytocin (OT) and Alk5 inhibitor (A5i) can extend the lifespan of aged male mice, bringing new hope and inspiration to the field of anti - aging.

 

In this study, the researchers took 25 - month - old (equivalent to 75 - year - old humans) frail male mice as the experimental subjects and carried out regular combined OT + A5i treatment on them. The results were astonishing. The male mice that received the treatment had a lifespan extension of more than 70% compared with the untreated control group. Their physical strength, agility, and memory were all significantly improved, and the risk of death was reduced by nearly three times. Why does the combined OT + A5i therapy have such an effect on aged male mice? It is necessary to start from the action mechanisms of oxytocin and A5i. Oxytocin is a hormone that naturally decreases with age and has the function of tissue repair. While Alk5 inhibitor can inhibit the TGF - β signaling pathway, which becomes abnormally active after aging, promoting chronic inflammation and tissue damage. Through the combined use of the two, on the one hand, the oxytocin that decreases with age is supplemented, enhancing the tissue repair ability; on the other hand, the overly active TGF - β signaling pathway is inhibited, reducing chronic inflammation and tissue damage, thus achieving the effects of extending lifespan and improving health conditions.

 

However, unfortunately, the therapy is almost completely ineffective for female mice. Although the fertility of middle - aged female individuals is enhanced, their lifespan and healthy lifespan are not significantly improved. This suggests that gender - related biological differences play an important role in anti - aging therapy. The researchers speculated that differences in sex hormone regulation, drug metabolism rates, and innate differences in pathway basal activity may be the reasons for the different responses of male and female mice to the combined OT + A5i therapy.

 

This study not only provides a method for extending the lifespan of aged male mice but also opens up a new direction for anti - aging research. It makes us realize that when developing anti - aging therapies, the biological mechanisms of gender need to be fully considered. At the same time, since oxytocin has been approved by the FDA and Alk5 inhibitor is also in the clinical trial stage, this combined scheme has the potential for clinical transformation. Perhaps in the near future, this combined therapy can be applied to humans, bringing good news to the health and longevity of elderly men.

 

This is only a phased achievement in the road of anti - aging research, and there are still many problems to be further studied and explored in the future. However, in any case, this study allows us to see human efforts in the fight against aging and gives us more expectations for a healthy life in the future.