Volunteers flood Albert Einstein College of Medicine 1 year ahead of patient recruitment for anti-aging study

From drinking gin with collagen to trying a popular diabetes medication as an anti-aging drugs, older people as well as the medical community are deep in their search for the fountain of youth. Or at least to live longer with no age-related diseases slowing them down.

Since a lot of the studies on anti-aging drugs are still on the clinical trial phase, many seniors are now volunteering for these trials. The Wall Street Journal reports that one year ahead of a clinical trial, the Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine is receiving applications to be volunteers for metformin after the US Food and Drug Administration gave in December 2015 the go ahead with the clinical trial of the diabetes maintenance drug as anti-aging drug.

When news spread that the institute would look for volunteers, Nir Barzilai, director of the institute, shares that elderly folks from all over the world had been contacting him to be part of the trial. Some send photographs, others email or call him. The trial would have 3,000 seniors whom gerontologists from 14 aging centers across the US would follow for six years.

Explaining the wide interest in the trial, S. Jay Olshanky, professor at the University of Illinois’ School of Public Health and part of the project, says aging is one subject that is fundamental to humanity. He says it is the first time in medical history that they have seen this kind of patient interest since in the past, researchers have to scrounge for volunteers and even offer large payments.

Olshanky cites the 37-day sleep research study funded by the National Institute on Aging which needed healthy participants aged 55 to 70. To entice participants, the study offers up to $10,125 (AUD$13,175) payment per volunteer. The other explanation for difficulty in recruiting is there are few seniors who are still healthy at that age – which is why the metformin study to discover the secret to healthy aging is generating so much interest.

Bill Thygerson, a 70-year-old retired missile-systems engineer, sums it up on why he and so many elderly people want to be part of the landmark study. “It’s not so much a fear of dying, it’s a fear of living in pain and agony and being a burden to everyone else and my wife,” he explains.

Meanwhile, Thygerson and other volunteers would have to wait until the team planning the study raises about $64 million (AUD$83.4 million) since no pharmaceutical company is involved, but none of the doctors have a financial stake in the anti-aging pill.

Barzilia stresses that the aim of the Targeting Aging with Metformin study is not to seek the fountain of youth, but to “extend the number of healthy, active years humans can enjoy” which experts say could be up to 120 years.