On July 29, 2020, leapsmag published an essay co-authored by AFAR expert Nir Barzilai, MD, on using drug interventions that target the biology of aging to make potential COVID-19 vaccines more effective in older adults.
In the essay, Dr. Barzilai highlights how a potential COVID-19 vaccine may still prove ineffective for older adults—the demographic most disproportionately affected by the coronavirus. One way to counteract this would be to administer drugs that target aging, such as rapalogues and metformin, alongside all potential vaccines to assure effectiveness.
The AFAR-managed TAME Trial aims to provide proof of concept that the biology of aging can be targeted through therapeutics with hopes that the FDA would make aging an indication for promising geroprotectors.
Dr. Barzilai is AFAR’s Scientific Director, a 1994 Glenn Foundation for Medical Research and AFAR Grants for Junior Faculty recipient, a 1997 Paul B. Beeson Emerging Leaders Career Development Award in Aging scholar, a 2010 Irving S. Wright Award winner, and the Director at the Institute for Aging Research and distinguished Professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
This Opinion Essay was co-authored with Jamie Metzl, an esteemed geroscience author and member of the World Health organization international advisory committee on human genome editing.
Read “Drugs That Could Slow Aging May Hold Promise for Protecting the Elderly from COVID-19” here.
Learn more about the TAME Trial here.
