The anti-aging drug tests are focusing on large canines, such as golden retrievers, Labradors, and German shepherd, The Guardian reports. 
 

The researchers are particularly interested in testing rapamycin, an anti-rejection drug for patients who have just undergone kidney transplants that has been shown to extend the lives of mice by more than 10 in laboratory experiments.
 

“If you give rapamycin to 20-month-old mice — when they are in their equivalent of our middle age — you can see pretty profound benefits in terms of rejuvenating their bodies and increasing their lifespans,” said researcher Matt Kaeberlein, M.D., of the University of Washington in Seattle. “That is why we are so excited about the drug.
 

“The crucial point is that at that age, a mouse is the equivalent age of a nine-year-old dog. So if we now start giving the drug to middle-aged dogs, we have a chance of finding out in only a few years that it works on larger animals. The equivalent for that age for humans is 60. However, it will take much longer to obtain results from humans to see if the drug is working or not.”
 

If the drug proves effective in dogs, Dr. Kaeberlein said, it would provide support for testing rapamycin on human volunteers. Rapamycin acts on a protein that is involved in cell growth and has an anti-inflammatory impact on the body.
 

“As organisms age, inflammation can increase and that is related to many disorders,” added Dr. Kaeberlein. “But that is not the only thing that rapamycin does. It also turns on a process called autophagy which is in effect the process by which cells dispose of the garbage that builds up inside them.”