I came across this article today titled “Disruption of the Ang II type 1 receptor promotes longevity in mice”, which is available for free in PDF form for those interested in having a look.

Essentially, the researchers examined the effect of knocking out the Angiotensin (Ang) II type 1 receptor in a bunch of mice and compared them in various ways to a wild-type control group. The knockout mice lived significantly longer than the controls, and when they looked at the internal organs, they saw that the knockout mice exhibited somewhat less deterioration of their organs and cardiovascular systems.

So marked was the effect on lifespan, that even when all of the wild type mice had died, 17 of the 20 knockout mice remained alive.

The exact reasons for why this mutation caused an increase in lifespan are interesting and discussed in the article, but what interests me is that angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonists (drugs that interfere with its function) are presently available and in use. AT1 antagonists have been proven to be safe and well-tolerated for chronic use and are used as a key component of modern therapy for hypertension and cardiac failure.

One drug in this category is Losartan, also known as Cozaar. The question is – can angiotensin II type 1 antagonists like Losartan be integrated into a supplementation program for human life extension? What I mean is, should I add this to my ’stack’?

It seems that the most useful drug in this family is Telmisartan, also known as Micardis, due to its much longer half life. Micardis appears to be readily available from your average online pharmacy.

I’ll certainly be looking further into this in the near future.