Intermittent chloroquine linked to longer life in female rats
Maximum lifespan increased by 19% compared with controls in an experiment testing an intermittent chloroquine regimen in aged female rats.
Limit: Treated rats ate less food, which may partly explain their longer lives
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
In an animal experiment, aged female Sprague-Dawley rats received chloroquine on an intermittent schedule designed to limit long-term toxicity while maintaining biological activity. Treatment extended median lifespan and increased maximum lifespan by 19%.
Treated rats consumed about 10–12% less food than controls, which may have partly contributed to their longer lives. Chloroquine was also associated with improved levels of fats in the blood, preserved daily temperature regulation and stable reproductive hormone levels. Mammary gland abnormalities involving excessive cell growth were reduced. The researchers found no evidence of liver or kidney toxicity within the measures assessed.
Why it matters
The study bears on whether blocking autophagy, the process cells use to break down and recycle their contents, is necessarily harmful to longevity.
Caveats
Reduced food intake may partly account for the lifespan result, and the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unknown. The findings came from aged female rats, not people.
The paper
University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova
npj Aging, Jul 20, 2026, Open access
