A randomized control trial to establish the feasibility and safety of rapamycin treatment in an older human cohort: Immunological, physical performance, and cognitive effects.

Kraig E, Linehan LA, Liang H, Romo TQ, Liu Q, Wu Y, Benavides AD, Curiel TJ, Javors MA, Musi N, Chiodo L, …, Kellogg DL · 2018 · Experimental Gerontology · Atlas ID KRA2018

What this study shows

A safety-first pilot RCT (n=25, ages 70-95) asking the basic question before any longevity trial: is daily rapamycin safe in healthy older people? Over 8+ weeks it was well tolerated with only minor red-blood-cell changes and - importantly - NO rise in blood glucose or insulin resistance in this short window. Groundwork for larger aging trials like PEARL.

Abstract

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Inhibition of the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway by rapamycin (RAPA), an FDA-approved immunosuppressive drug used as a clinical therapy to prevent solid organ allograft rejection, enhances longevity in mice. Importantly, RAPA was efficacious even when initiated in relatively old animals, suggesting that mTOR inhibition could potentially slow the progression of aging-associated pathologies in older humans (Harrison et al., 2009; Miller et al., 2011). However, the safety and tolerability of RAPA in older human subjects have not yet been demonstrated.

Read the full abstract on PubMed →

At a glance

Evidence type	H Human study Marked H because it is direct evidence from a human clinical trial or human cohort; the code names the kind of study, not its quality -- a small, well-run trial is still H.
Study type	2 - Human Clinical Trial
Model system	Humans, pilot RCT (n=25, ages 70-95)
Journal	Experimental Gerontology
Year	2018
Peer reviewed	Yes
Record last updated	2026-10-01
Source	DOI 10.1016/j.exger.2017.12.026 · PMID 29408453 · Free full text (PMC5869166)

Extracted findings

These fields were extracted from the paper with AI assistance and have not been checked against the source. Read them as a pointer into the paper, not as curated claims; where they disagree with the curated summary above, the curated summary stands.

Intervention	Rapamycin (oral, daily, ~8 weeks)
Target	mTOR / mTORC1
Model	Human – healthy older adults (age 70–95, n=25)
Effect	Well tolerated; NO rise in blood glucose / insulin resistance in the short window – groundwork for larger geroprotection trials
Dose	Rapamycin 1 mg daily orally (single dose tested; blood levels monitored in first 4 subjects), ~8-16 weeks; placebo-controlled.
Sample size	n=25 randomised (11 rapamycin, 14 placebo analysed); healthy older adults aged 70-95.
Effect size	Established feasibility and safety of daily low-dose rapamycin in older adults; no serious adverse events; groundwork for larger geroprotection trials.
Limitations	Small sample -> single 1 mg dose chosen; short duration; feasibility (not efficacy) study.

In the Atlas

Answers that reference this study

Discussed in the plain-language answer How is rapamycin dosed in the longevity studies?.
Discussed in the plain-language answer Does rapamycin extend lifespan in humans?.
Discussed in the plain-language answer What are rapamycin's side effects?.

Cite this paper

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Kraig, E., Linehan, L. A., Liang, H., Romo, T. Q., Liu, Q., Wu, Y., Benavides, A. D., Curiel, T. J., Javors, M. A., Musi, N., Chiodo, L., Koek, W., Gelfond, J. A. L., & Kellogg, D. L. (2018). A randomized control trial to establish the feasibility and safety of rapamycin treatment in an older human cohort: Immunological, physical performance, and cognitive effects. Experimental Gerontology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2017.12.026

@article{KRA2018,
  author       = {Kraig, E. and Linehan, L. A. and Liang, H. and Romo, T. Q. and Liu, Q. and Wu, Y. and Benavides, A. D. and Curiel, T. J. and Javors, M. A. and Musi, N. and Chiodo, L. and Koek, W. and Gelfond, J. A. L. and Kellogg, D. L.},
  title        = {{A randomized control trial to establish the feasibility and safety of rapamycin treatment in an older human cohort: Immunological, physical performance, and cognitive effects}},
  journal      = {Experimental Gerontology},
  year         = {2018},
  doi          = {10.1016/j.exger.2017.12.026},
  note         = {PMID: 29408453},
}

Cite this Atlas record

The record is the Atlas's own work — the evidence label, the extracted findings and the links. It is cited as part of the dataset, not as the paper.

Barton, O. (2026). Oliver's mTOR Atlas (record KRA2018) [Data set]. https://mtor-atlas.org/study/KRA2018/ · Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22059963

@misc{atlas_KRA2018,
  author       = {Barton, Oliver},
  title        = {{Oliver's mTOR Atlas}, record KRA2018},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://mtor-atlas.org/study/KRA2018/},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.22059963}
}

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