Trial will test three drugs targeting aging in older adults
The randomized trial will test three-week drug courses in 60 healthy adults aged 70 or older, measuring cells that have stopped dividing in fat tissue.
Our read
Interventions- Studied:
- Randomized trial in healthy older adults, three-week course
- The catch:
- Primary analysis excludes participants who discontinue treatment or lack paired adipose samples
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Sixty healthy adults aged 70 or older—30 women and 30 men—will join REPROGRAM, a randomized trial in Birmingham, UK. Participants will take modified-release metformin at 500 mg for one week, then 1,500 mg for three weeks; fisetin at 100 mg for three weeks; or spermidine at 15 mg for three weeks.
The primary outcome will be the number of senescent cells—cells that have stopped dividing—in abdominal fat samples, adjusted for each participant’s starting count. Researchers will also assess other aging-related processes, including inflammation and DNA damage. Blood, fat and stool samples will be collected before and after the intervention. The team will check for side effects during telephone calls and clinic visits.
Why it matters
Aging is associated with reduced resilience to infection and surgery. The authors envision a successful drug becoming part of preparation for surgery by targeting biological processes linked to poor resilience.
Caveats
The protocol reports no treatment results, and the trial has no placebo group to separate drug effects from changes over time. It covers healthy adults aged 70 or older and excludes people with contraindications such as impaired kidney function.
From the paper
- Harms
The Chief Investigator, or delegate, will ask about the occurrence of AE and hospitalisations at the telephone calls and also at third trial visit (day 28/35).
Quoted word for word from the full text on PubMed Central.
Metformin is part of Bryan Johnson's Blueprint and David Sinclair's daily regimen in Lifespan
The paper
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
PLOS One, Jun 17, 2026, Open access
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