VIBRANT Trial: Weekly Rapamycin to Slow Ovarian Aging (NYP / Columbia)
Where this fits: Can You Delay Menopause? The Buy-Time vs Run-Out-the-Clock Explainer
Claims this source supports
- The VIBRANT trial (Validating Benefits of Rapamycin for Reproductive Aging Treatment), led by Dr. Zev Williams, aims to evaluate a low dose of the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin as a way to slow the release of eggs from the ovarian reserve, thereby slowing ovarian aging.
- The pilot includes 50 healthy women ages 38-45 with regular menstrual periods who are not interested in conceiving; participants are randomized to weekly oral rapamycin (5 mg) or placebo for three months, then followed for an additional nine months, with both participants and investigators blinded.
- This is the first time rapamycin, already approved to prevent organ rejection in renal transplant patients, will be evaluated in humans for the purpose of slowing ovarian aging.
- In mice, rapamycin restored normal ovarian function in premature ovarian failure models and extended reproductive lifespan; it appears to slow the number of eggs leaving the resting pool each cycle.
- Researchers say delaying menopause could reduce the associated increases in cardiovascular disease and dementia risk and extend a woman's number of healthy years; Williams notes menopause is by far the rare exception across the animal kingdom.