Geroprotector

A geroprotector is any drug, supplement, or lifestyle intervention targeting fundamental aging mechanisms to extend healthspan. Unlike disease-specific treatments, geroprotectors act on upstream processes shared across pathologies: mTOR signaling, senescent cell accumulation, DNA damage responses, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Moskalev, Kennedy, and colleagues (Aging Cell, 2016) proposed four criteria: lifespan extension at the population level, measurable shift of aging biomarkers toward a younger state, acceptable toxicity with a wide therapeutic margin, and minimal side effects. The Geroprotectors.org database (Moskalev et al., Aging, 2015) catalogs over 200 candidates — rapamycin, metformin, resveratrol, NAD⁺ precursors — with mechanism, model-organism data, and FDA status profiles. Evidence is heavily weighted toward animal models: rapamycin reliably extends lifespan in mice and shows immune-rejuvenating signals in early human trials, yet no randomized controlled trial in healthy adults has established mortality or healthspan benefit (Konopka & Lamming, GeroScience, 2023). The field is largely investigational; the TAME trial (Targeting Aging with Metformin) is among the first prospective studies testing a geroprotector against a composite aging endpoint.