Did you know there’s a way to slow down the ageing of your dog now? Business Insider just released a piece entertaining the newest advancement in the anti-ageing industry and the drug does exactly what it sounds like: makes your dog live longer. LOY-001 is an injection that dogs above 7 years and 40 pounds can take every three to six months to slow down their ageing process. It targets a growth and metabolism hormone called IGF-1. When inhibited in flies, worms, and rodents, it increases their lifespan.
The reason it’s big news is because this could be one of the first anti-aging drugs approved by the FDA. And the ‘willingness to endorse longevity drugs’ might just extend to humans in the future. But the question now is: can you really cure ageing?
The Means To Stay Young
There seems to be an incessant need to defeat our mortality and there’s no better example for this than the Kardashians. It would not be an understatement to say that they are some of the most influential figures in the normalisation of procedures like rhinoplasties and the infamously accessible, botox. In the race to de-age, the Jenner/Kardashian family have not a single grey hair, wrinkle, or smile line on their porcelain faces and wide eyes.
It is unbelievable to think that Kris Jenner is approaching her 70s, while Kim is nearly in her mid-forties! That is around my mother’s age but if you put them both side by side, there’s no way you’d be able to make this observation.
Clearly, the start of the anti-ageing movement lies in the nonchalant way we talk about botox and botox horror stories. The search volumes for ‘when to start botox’ are incomparable to the search volumes for ‘where to get botox’. It is now a part and parcel of life for a young girl at 16 to look at her face in the mirror and pull and pinch at her skin while wondering when she can get her first facelift and become the next chiseled face of Kylie Cosmetics or SKIMS.
But the appeal of Botox is merely in the aesthetic and most treatments wear off after 3 to 6 months. It is important to note that despite the popularity of similar, temporary treatments – the anti-ageing movement goes much deeper than simply looking like you’re young.
A ringleader holistically trying to convince his body that it’s 18 instead of 46 is Bryan Johnson. This millionaire mortal is on an unprecedented quest to slow down ageing, enough to possibly see the next century, or worse yet, stay alive forever. From taking 111 pills every day to participating in a cult-ish blood exchange with his son and father, there’s nothing he’s unwilling to do if it means he gets to stay the same age forever. The worst part is, he’s not the only one.
The Rejuvenation Olympics, started by Johnson and his head doctor, Oliver Zolman, is a ‘A public forum to share protocols and validated results for age rejuvenation‘. It’s basically a scoreboard for people who have put their money into anti-ageing tech and procedures to rank who is the best at being ‘fake young’. It takes into account your chronological age as well as your epigenetic age (the age of your organs) to see who’s winning in the race against time. After spending approximately $2 million a year, Johnson is still 7th on the list.
Is Growing Older Really A Problem?
Honestly, as someone who doesn’t have $2 million to spend on supplements and a team of the world’s best doctors, I’m going to say no. Mortality is what makes us human and wrinkles are a part and parcel of living. But this belief is personal, and not one that’s seeing a lot of support in this discourse.
A drug that extends your life, slows ageing, frailty, and disease? It sounds too good to be true, and yet, an increasing weight of evidence suggests not just that these drugs are within reach, but that they may already be here.
Anti-ageing pills and procedures can now be found on the shelves of any store you walk into. Animal studies have demonstrated how close we actually are to reversing the ageing process. The longevity drug for dogs (if it gets approved by the FDA) will be our first foray into an era where your parents will live long enough to see their great, great, and maybe great-grandchildren. No one will have to act their age because, at 80, you’ll have the heart and the lungs of a 30-year-old!
“We’re not making immortal dogs, to be clear, but that rate of aging will be slower, hopefully, which means the pet will be in a healthier state for longer,” says CEO of Loyal, Celine Halioua. How long would you want to live then, if you could live forever?
Featured Images: Instagram
