A drug that could extend women's fertility by five years by slowing down the rate at which the ovaries age has been hailed as 'a dream come true' by experts.
Researchers at Columbia University in the US are investigating using rapamycin — currently a cancer treatment.
It is also given to recipients of a kidney transplant to stop the body from rejecting the new organ.
Now it's hoped the drug could delay the menopause, extending fertility and reducing the risk of age-related diseases, and early results are promising.
The Columbia study will eventually include more than 1,000 women. It now has 34 participants aged up to 35, with more women joining every day.
'The results of this study — the first in human history — are very, very exciting.
'It means that those with age-related fertility problems now have hope when before, they didn’t,' Yousin Suh, a professor of reproductive sciences and professor of genetics and development at Columbia University told The Guardian.
'In a way, our results are too good to be true – except, because rapamycin is so well-studied, we know they are true,' she added. 'These results are like a dream come true.'
Early results have suggested it was realistic to hope the drug could decrease ovary ageing by 20 per cent without women experiencing any of the 44 side-effects rapamycin can have, such as high blood pressure and infections, Dr Suh explained.
In fact, she said participants in the randomised, placebo-controlled study had self-reported improvements in their health, memory, energy levels and in the quality of their skin and hair.
These health improvements were consistent with other studies into rapamycin that have suggested the medication can increase lifespan by nine to 14 per cent.
It is the first study to look at the core of ovarian ageing and trying to slow down the rate at which that occurs. Previous research on menopause has only targeted it at a symptomatic level.
Dr Suh explains that ovarian aging is a major driver in women's aging overall.
She describes HRT as a 'band-aid' for aging that we already use, but suggests if women take rapamycin in their 30s, when their ovaries start to decline, they could slow the whole aging process.
Ovaries release eggs continuously, every month women lose about 50 and just one reaches ovulation.
But a low weekly dose of rapamycin slows ovaries down, so they release only 15 eggs a month.
Zev Williams, associate professor of women’s health and the chief of the division of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, who co-led on the study, estimates the drug will decrease the ovaries aging by 20 per cent.
Because rapamycin is a cheap, generic drug already widely used, once the evidence is established, progress will be fast, he said.
However, he explained a bigger study is needed to show it works and it is an expensive study.
A clinical trial of rapamycin in humans has also been considered impossible because it would take decades to detect any longevity effects. but because ovaries, age so quickly that change can be measured over six months.
In the study women are given a dose of 5mg a week for three months compared with the 13mg a day that transplant patients can be prescribed for years.
However, it is critical to get the right level, researchers say, as too much could stop ovulation completely.
It's unknown whether the quality of the follicles will deteriorate over the extra time ovaries will live, thereby producing eggs more likely to contain genetic abnormalities.
Vibrant will report on their findings in two years before there is a much bigger follow up study.
It's hoped women in their 30s will be able to make a visit to their family doctor if they want to have more freedom over when they want to have babies.
It's thought women could stop taking rapamycin after menopause, but if they continue there is still wider health benefits that might make it beneficial to continue.
