UW News

Healthy Aging and Longevity Research Institute


November 14, 2013

FDA-approved immune-modulating drug unexpectedly benefits mice with fatal mitochondrial defect

Leigh mouse and normal mouse

Rapamycin, an anti-rejection drug for organ transplant patients, has now been shown to increases survival in and delayed symptoms of Leigh’s syndrome. The drug appears to cause a metabolic switch that bypasses the mitochondrial deficiency.