During the COVID-19 pandemic, older adults have been among the most impacted groups. People over the age of 65 are particularly vulnerable, developing more severe disease, worse outcomes, and a nearly 100-fold increased risk of dying when compared to younger individuals.<\/p>\n
UConn Center on Aging at UConn Health<\/a> will be leading an NIH-funded clinical trial in collaboration with the Marcus Institute for Aging Research at Harvard Medical School and resTORbio. This study is looking at a novel approach to COVID-19 by using medications designed to overcome aging-related declines in immune responses.<\/p>\n This study is looking to see if an investigational drug called RTB101 has the potential to prevent or reduce the effects of COVID-19 symptoms in people age 65 and older.<\/p>\n In 2009, scientists at Jackson Lab were part of a group that discovered that the inhibition of a protein called mTOR extends lifespan and healthspan in mice. Inhibiting mTOR has since been shown to improve immune function in older individuals.<\/p>\n RTB101 is an mTOR inhibitor that has been well-tolerated to date in clinical studies in over by a thousand older adults and has been shown to upregulate genes that help the body fight viral respiratory tract infections. Therefore RTB101 has the potential to help older adults fight COVID-19.<\/p>\n Participants will take the study drug for two weeks and be monitored for one additional week afterward. Those who are age 65 or older and who either have had a positive COVID-19 test result in the last 4 days but currently have no COVID-19 symptoms, or who have recently been exposed to someone living in their household who has a positive COVID-19 test may qualify.<\/p>\n The trial will be randomized and participants will receive either the study medication (RTB101) or a placebo to take once a day for two weeks. The study team will call participants twice a week over the two weeks, and for one additional week after completing the study medication.<\/p>\n \u201cThe mission of the UConn Center on Aging is to help improve the health and independence of older adults through research, education, and clinical care,\u201d says Dr. Kuchel,<\/a> Director of UConn Center on Aging. \u201cThe current challenges confronting all of us demand that everything is done to help improve the ability of our older population to confront COVID-19. Interventions designed to boost immune responses by targeting biological aging represent a powerful and highly innovative new approach for dealing with this and any potential future pandemics.\u201d<\/p>\n