Rapamycin and quasi-programmed aging: four years later.

In 2006, Cell Cycle featured the concept that aging is not caused by molecular damage (nor by free radicals) but instead is a purposeless quasi-program (program-like, but not a program) driven in part by TOR (Target of Rapamycin). Taken together with the analysis of clinical data, this pointed to Sirolimus (rapamycin) as a genuine anti-aging drug which will prolong life in humans and prevent age-related diseases by slowing down aging. Since that time many predictions of this concept have been confirmed. Rapamycin was shown to suppress aging in mammalian cells, prolong life span in mice and flies, improve immunity and stem cell function in old animals, thus confirming twelve predictions as discussed herein. One prediction remains to be confirmed: rapamycin will become the cornerstone of anti-aging therapy in our life time.