Jul 27, 2026 14:05:00

Scientists are investigating existing medications that may affect aging, and nasal sprays for nasal congestion may be linked to longevity.

Humankind has long sought the key to longevity, and even today

, the longevity industry, which tries to sell 'immortality' to billionaires, is thriving. Amidst this, a research team from Northeastern University and Harvard University in the United States has devised a new method to find 'drugs that actually affect aging and lifespan' from existing pharmaceuticals.

Network-driven discovery of repurposable drugs targeting hallmarks of aging | Nature Aging
https://www.nature.com/articles/s43587-026-01161-8

Longevity Research Reveals: Common Drugs Could Impact Aging
https://news.northeastern.edu/2026/06/26/longevity-research-drugs/

Scientists Searching 6,000 Drugs For Anti-Aging Properties Found One Hiding in Plain Sight : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/medications-already-in-pharmacies-may-slow-aging-and-scientists-are-narrowing-them-down

Besides developing entirely new drugs from scratch, another way to create medications to treat specific diseases or health problems is to 'find promising candidates among existing drugs.' Existing drugs have already cleared criteria for human safety and side effects, and mass production systems are already in place, so repurposing existing drugs has the advantage of being less time-consuming and costly than developing new drugs.

'As someone who went gray a few years ago, I think everyone hopes that one day a drug will be developed that can slow down the aging process. The challenge is determining which drugs are worth testing,' says Alberto László Barabási, a physics professor at Northeastern University.

Therefore, László and his research team focused on genes involved in 11 biological processes that influence aging. These biological processes include epigenetic changes that control the on/off state of genes, as well as mitochondrial dysfunction, which produces adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy source for cells.

The research team's first step was to correctly understand these genes involved in aging. They began by using the Open Genes database, which provides genetic information related to aging and longevity, to narrow down the list to 1,250 genes associated with aging characteristics. They then mapped these genes to a comprehensive catalog encompassing over 500,000 interactions between proteins, creating a gene interaction network.

Analysis of the generated network revealed that genes associated with aging are located in specific regions of the interaction network, forming their own modules centered around the characteristics of aging.

Bunaya Gross, a postdoctoral researcher at Northeastern University and lead author of the paper, said, 'If genes were randomly distributed, it would be impossible for a drug to act on a specific gene. However, we have discovered that genes involved in aging are concentrated in very specific regions, so we can find drugs that act on those regions.'

The research team then created a list of 6,442 drugs from the DrugBank database, which stores information on drugs and drug targets, and examined how closely the therapeutic targets of these drugs matched these aging gene networks. Conventional drugs developed to treat diseases and health problems have been designed to exert specific effects on particular genes or mechanisms. However, the new aging gene network can be used to predict the combined effects of drugs on multiple characteristics of aging.

A study of various drugs revealed that several drugs already shown potential to extend lifespan in humans and animals also affect the aging gene network. One of these is aspirin , whose longevity effects have been investigated in clinical trials in humans. Aspirin has been reported to potentially affect intercellular communication, which declines with age, and the body's ability to sense when it needs energy.

Additionally, 370 new drugs that may affect the characteristics of aging have been identified. Of these, 14 may extend lifespan, while another 14 may conversely accelerate aging.

One drug that may extend lifespan is oxymetazoline , which is found in nasal sprays to treat nasal congestion, eye drops to reduce redness, and topical creams to reduce skin redness. This study showed that oxymetazoline may improve intercellular communication, so the research team is conducting further experiments to test this prediction.

László stated, 'This research does not offer a cure for aging, nor does it prove that any particular drug can extend human lifespan. It does, however, pave the way for viable interventions that can be tested on cells, animals, and ultimately, humans.'