Another Calorie Restriction Mimetic
Scientists are turning up calorie restriction mimetic compounds left, right and center now that there's serious money to be had for this branch of longevity research: "the antidepressant drug mianserin can extend the lifespan of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans by about 30 percent. ... Our studies indicate that lifespan extension by mianserin involves mechanisms associated with lifespan extension by dietary restriction. We don't have an explanation for this. All we can say is that if we give the drug to caloric restricted animals, it doesn't increase their lifespan any further. That suggests the same mechanism may be involved ... In our studies, mianserin had a much greater inhibitory effect on the serotonin receptor than the octopamine receptor. One possibility is that there is a dynamic equilibrium between serotonin and octopamine signaling and the drug tips the balance in the direction of octopamine signaling, producing a perceived, though not real, state of starvation that activates aging mechanisms downstream of dietary restriction."
Link: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-11/hhmi-aft112007.php