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Drugs lengthen worm's life span.


A class of antiseizure drugs slows aging and increases life span in the roundworm roundworm, another name for a nematode. See phylum Nematoda.  Coenorhabditis elegans, researchers have found.

Because C. elegans has a naturally short life span--about 2 weeks, on average--scientists frequently use the species to explore aging. Previous studies have identified genetic modifications that can increase the worms' life span. However, few studies have examined whether drugs might have a life-extending effect as well, says Kerry Kornfeld of the Washington University School of Medicine Washington University School of Medicine, located in St. Louis, Missouri, is one of the most competitive and highly regarded medical schools and biomedical research institutes in the United States.  in St. Louis.

He and his colleagues dosed separate groups of the worms with various types of drugs, ranging from diuretics Diuretics Definition

Diuretics are medicines that help reduce the amount of water in the body.
Purpose

Diuretics are used to treat the buildup of excess fluid in the body that occurs with some medical conditions such as congestive heart
 to anti-depressants. Although most of the drugs had no effect or were toxic to the worms, Kornfeld's team found that ethosuximide, an anticonvulsant anticonvulsant /an·ti·con·vul·sant/ (-kon-vul´sant) inhibiting convulsions, or an agent that does this.

an·ti·con·vul·sant
n.
A drug that prevents or relieves convulsions.
 drug, increased the worms' life span by 17 percent.

A chemically related drug, trimethadione trimethadione /tri·meth·a·di·one/ (tri?meth-ah-di´on) an anticonvulsant with analgesic properties, used for the control of petit mal seizures.

tri·meth·a·di·one
n.
, extended the worms' lives by a whopping 47 percent, the team reports in the Jan. 14 Science.

The anticonvulsant drugs increased the worms' motility motility /mo·til·i·ty/ (mo-til´ite) the ability to move spontaneously.mo´tile
Motility
Motility is spontaneous movement.
 and stimulated egg laying, suggesting that the chemicals interact with C. elegans' nervous system. Kornfeld and his colleagues are now investigating whether the drugs deliver their life-extending effects by acting on still-to-be-discovered nerve cell processes that regulate aging.

Despite the boost in longevity that the anticonvulsant drugs yielded in worms, Kornfeld cautions that a similar effect has not been documented in people.
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Title Annotation:Biology
Publication:Science News
Article Type:Brief Article
Geographic Code:1U4MO
Date:Feb 5, 2005
Words:220
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