Finalist Teams Awarded $1 Million in XPrize Healthspan Contest to Transform Healthy Aging

The XPrize Healthspan—which will split $101 million among teams developing therapeutics to restore muscle, cognitive, and immune function in older adults—has named 10 teams receiving $1 million each.

(XPrize announced the finalists for its XPrize Healthspan competition | XPrize)

The XPrize Healthspan competition has named its top 20 finalist groups that will submit their aging intervention therapies for human trial testing.

Aging &amp; Longevity

Model: Old (17- to 19-month-old) C57BL6 mice 
Dosage: 14 mg/mg/day of rapamycin in food for 5 months

A purported longevity drug, rapamycin, alters immune cells associated with cancer and reduces brain inflammation in mice. 

Immunity

New Framework Uncovers 21 Existing Drugs with Pro-Longevity Potential

A new gene network-based framework predicts the potential of existing drugs to confer pro-longevity effects.

A new gene network-based framework predicts already-approved repurposable drugs that may either confer pro-longevity benefits or age-accelerating effects.

Model: Older adults (60–85 years old) with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) enrolled in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.
Dosage: Participants received one gastro-resistant capsule daily for 180 days, containing either 250 mg of Kluyveromyces fragilis yeast extract, 350 mg of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast extract, or a placebo.

Yeast Supplement Improves Cognitive Function in Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Daily supplementation with nucleotide-rich yeast extracts improves cognitive performance and mental well-being in older adults with mild cognitive impairment, researchers find. 

Brain &amp; Neurons

Model: 5xFAD mouse model for Alzheimer’s disease 
Dosage: Oral administration of 457 mg/kg/day of glucosamine for 2 weeks

Supplementing with glucosamine, a compound found in our cartilage, increases the risk of mortality from dementia in certain individuals while also worsening memory in mice that model dementia. 

Study led by Dr. Ramon Sun on the far right (image: mbi.ufl.edu). 

Search Result: RNA

10 Finalist Teams Awarded $1 Million in XPrize Healthspan Contest to Transform Healthy Aging

Rapamycin Elevates Immune Cells That Can Battle Cancer Cells, New Study Shows

New Framework Uncovers 21 Existing Drugs with Pro-Longevity Potential

Yeast Supplement Improves Cognitive Function in Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Common Joint Health Supplement May Progress Dementia, New Study Finds