More Investigation of Bisphosphonates and Reduced Mortality
You may recall a study a few years back that showed a surprisingly large reduction in mortality and consequent extension of life expectancy for a group of more than a hundred older people taking bisphosphonates, a class of treatment for osteoarthritis. The size of the effect was five years or so, which is on the same order as exercise or calorie restriction in humans, meaning that it is large enough to be suspicious of such a result turning up out of the blue for any existing drug treatment. I would be looking for artifacts in the study data and to want to see both confirmation by other teams and a larger study population. Researchers here are looking at possible mechanisms for this reduced mortality, focusing on zoledronate, one particular bisphosphonate drug:
Researchers have discovered the drug zoledronate is able to extend the lifespan of mesenchymal stem cells by reducing DNA damage. DNA damage is one of the most important mechanisms of ageing where stem cells lose their ability to maintain and repair the tissues in which they live and keep it working correctly. "The drug enhances the repair of the damage in DNA occurring with age in stem cells in the bone. It is also likely to work in other stem cells too. This drug has been shown to delay mortality in patients affected by osteoporosis but until now we didn't know why. These findings provide an explanation as to why it may help people to live longer. Now we want to understand whether the drug can be used to delay or revert the ageing in stem cells in older people and improve the maintenance of tissues such as the heart, the muscle and immune cells, keeping them healthier for longer. We want to understand whether it improves the ability of stem cells to repair those tissues after injury, such as when older patients with cancer undergo radiotherapy."Approximately 50 per cent of over 75 year-olds have three or more diseases at the same time such as cardiovascular disease, infections, muscle weakness and osteoporosis. In the future it is hoped this drug could be used to treat, prevent or delay the onset of such diseases rather than using a mixture of drugs. "We are hopeful that this research will pave the way for a better cure for cancer patients and keeping older people healthier for longer by reducing the risk of developing multiple age-related diseases."
Link: http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/news/nr/bone-drug-protects-stem-cells-from-ageing-1.535075
"In a group of women with osteoporotic fractures over the age of 75, you would expect 50% to die over a period of five years. Among women in that age group who took bisphosphonates, the death rate dropped to 10%. Similarly, in a group of younger women, where you would expect 20-25% to die over 5 years, there were no deaths."
That is a pretty dramatic reduction in mortality risk.