Eating Buckyballs Doubles Life Expectancy in Rats

[MachineGhost]

Countless studies showed that [60]fullerene (C60) and derivatives could have many potential biomedical
applications. However, while several independent research groups showed that C60 has no acute or sub-
acute toxicity in various experimental models, more than 25 years after its discovery the in vivo fate and the chronic effects of this fullerene remain unknown. If the potential of C60 and derivatives in the biomedical ?eld have to be ful?lled these issues must be addressed. Here we show that oral administration of C60 dissolved in olive oil (0.8 mg/ml) at reiterated doses (1.7 mg/kg of body weight) to rats not only does not entail chronic toxicity but it almost doubles their lifespan. The effects of C60-olive oil solutions in an experimental model of CCl4 intoxication in rat strongly suggest that the effect on lifespan is mainly due to the attenuation of age-associated increases in oxidative stress. Pharmacokinetic studies show that dissolved C60 is absorbed by the gastro-intestinal tract and eliminated in a few tens of hours. These results of importance in the ?elds of medicine and toxicology should open the way for the many possible -and waited for- biomedical applications of C60 including cancer therapy, neurodegenerative disorders, and ageing.

Full Study: http://tinyurl.com/ccgz7px

[Lone Wolf]

Incredible stuff.  Thanks for posting.  It will be fascinating to see further research on this topic unfold.

It's funny that the researchers were trying to figure out whether buckyballs were toxic.  Imagine your surprise when your test subjects start living forever instead. 

Did they forget to control for some other variable or are they really on to something?  I'll certainly be paying attention.

[Reub]

You mean it's not a new Lottery game? 

[MediumTex]

Who knew that the Fountain of Youth might be found in cowboy testicles.

[Lone Wolf]

You mean it's not a new Lottery game? 

  Winning the lottery might be helpful in order to afford this particular therapy.  C60 costs roughly $20,000 per kilogram!  (Cheaper than gold at least!)  The research paper actually lays out how they put together the solution.  That really makes me want to figure out the cost.  Oh my.  I can feel the nerd energy building inside me.

So let's see.  The long-lived rats apparently got doses of .8mg / ml of olive oil.  The dosage was 1.7 mg/kg of rat body weight.

The average male in the United States weighs 86.6 kg and the average female 74.4 kg.  This would yield a dosage of 147.22 mg for men (in 184 ml of olive oil) and 126.48 mg for women (in 158 ml of olive oil.)

The study says that they sourced their C60 from SES Research.  SES lists 250g of C60 at $5,510.  That works out to about $22 per gram.  (Source: https://sesres.com/fullerenes.asp)

So this therapy would cost about $3.25 per dose for average American men and about $2.75 for average American women (plus the cost of the Tunisian extra-virgin olive oil, of course!)  Also, if you don't yet happen to have your own centrifuge, throw in a few hundred for that as well.    Furthermore, the study tapered off from daily doses after a week, going to weekly.  After a couple of months they went down to every other week.

Note: I am not suggesting that anybody try this.  Seriously.  Just interesting to think about how this would scale up for a human.