About — Rapamycin Trial

Rapamycin and Periodontal Disease

Rapamycin

Rapamycin is an mTOR inhibitor isolated from Rapa Nui bacterium Streptomyces hygroscopicus. It is well-established immune-modulating drug for use with transplant patients and has shown promising results on healthspan studies in laboratory animals and is being actively tested in clinical trials.

Periodontal Disease

Periodontal disease (Periodontitis) is a chronic inflammatory oral disease that affects over 70% of aging adults. This disease leads to loss of the support structure around the teeth, which ultimately may lead to tooth loss. Currently, the management of periodontal disease involves a deep cleaning around the teeth but may be less effective as the pocket around the teeth deepens and significant inflammation remains. Also, these treatment options are imperfect as older adults need continual maintenance to prevent disease progression and this approach does not address the age-related declines, such as in immune function.

Periodontal disease has been associated with other age-related disease, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. While various theories exist on the connection with periodontal disease, one thing for certain is that they all have the underlying risk factor of age. In fact, many of the immunological underpinnings of periodontitis are mTOR dependent, and go untargeted during current therapy and management of the disease. Our group has demonstrated that inhibition of mTOR by rapamycin rejenuvates oral health in animal models, and presented initial evidence that rapamycin can be used safely in adults of normal health status.