Independent chemical regulation of health and senescent spans in Drosophila

Curcumin feeding of Drosophila larvae or young adults inhibits TOR and other known longevity genes and induces an extended health span in a normal-lived Ra strain adult. Combining larval curcumin feeding with an adult dietary restriction (DR) diet does not yield an additive effect. The age-specific mortality rate is decreased and is comparable with that of genetically selected long-lived La animals. Feeding Ra adults with the drug their whole life, or only during the senescent span, results in a weak negative effect on median longevity with no increase in maximum lifespan. The La strain shows no response to this DR mimetic. Thus, curcumin acts in a life stage-specific manner to extend the health span. Histone deacetylase inhibitors decrease the longevity of Ra animals if administered over the health span only or over the entire adult lifespan, but these inhibitors increase longevity when administered in the transition or senescent spans. Their major effect is a reduction in the mortality rate of older flies, raising the possibility of reducing frailty in older organisms. Their life stage-specific effects are complementary to that of curcumin. Use of stage-specific drugs may enable targeted increases in health or senescent spans, and thus selectively increase the quality of life.