An ongoing study into the impact of a drug called rapamycin has reportedly shown positive results regarding women’s fertility.
The Validating Benefits of Rapamycin for Reproductive Aging Treatment (Vibrant) study is looking into whether the drug can slow the aging of a woman’s ovaries and enhance fertility later in life.
The study, which is looking to recruit up to 1,000 women for the research, has found that the drug could help extend a woman’s fertility window by up to five years.
According to the study’s co-leads, the early findings could “give hope” to women who may be facing age-related fertility problems.
“The results of this study – the first in human history – are very, very exciting. It means that those with age-related fertility problems now have hope when before, they didn’t,” said Professor Yousin Suh, according to The Guardian.
Suh added: “These early results mean we now have a clear shot at our ultimate goal: using rapamycin to extend the lifespan of the ovary and thereby delaying the menopause while also extending the lifespan of the woman and improving her health and quality of life.”
Through the research, scientists aim to determine whether rapamycin could stop ovaries aging by 20%, prolonging fertility and delaying the onset of menopause.
Here’s everything you need to know.
What is rapamycin?
Rapamycin is a drug that scientists developed to help prevent the rejection of organs in transplant patients.
However, some studies have since found that the drug also appears to offer certain anti-aging benefits and in some ways could inhibit the aging process.
Mice commonly live to around 2.5 years, but a study found that feeding them rapamycin led to them living up to 3 years and eight months instead.
Another article pointed out that rapamycin is FDA-approved, safe for human consumption, and “it prevents age-related conditions in rodents, dogs, nonhuman primates, and humans”.
The drug appears to offer promising results in combating aging, so scientists are now hoping to confirm whether it can help with fertility.
How does rapamycin work?
Over the last few years, it’s been acknowledged that while we can’t stop the age-related decline of a woman’s ovaries, there might be ways to delay it.
As ovaries release eggs continuously, women usually lose about 50 eggs every month, with just one reaching ovulation. This decreases as they age.
However, early findings have found that using rapamycin can reduce the amount of eggs being released, thereby decreasing the aging of the ovaries.
One study found that the drug worked by “preserving the ovarian follicle pool” in a test of its impact on mice.
While rapamycin sounds promising, studies into this drug are ongoing and there are some side effects that need to be looked into.
The Guardian also noted that it’s important to factor in dosage into future studies, as too much rapamycin could stop ovulation altogether.
While it is thought there aren’t any serious side effects, there simply isn’t enough research at this stage into its long-term impacts.
What’s more, a study into the anti-aging properties of rapamycin within humans would take decades before we truly understood if and how it worked.
According to the Columbia Recruit Me page, researchers are currently looking for women to participate in a clinical trial that will look into Rapamycin and its impact on the delay of menopause.
