The lifespan of lab mice was prolonged by nearly a tenth with an over-the-counter supplement designed to ease osteoarthritis, said scientists on Tuesday.

A team led by Michael Ristow at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich used a common dietary supplement called glucosamine on laboratory mice after testing it on worms.
Glucosamine is a naturally occurring compound found in the lubricating fluid which surrounds joints.
It is widely sold over the counter as a supplement to combat osteoarthritis, the commonest form of arthritis, although studies into its efficacy have thrown up mixed results.
Ristow's team first tested a tiny dose on a well-researched lab animal, a nematode worm called Caenorhabditis elegans, and found it extended its lifespan by some five percent.
They then experimented with 146 mice just under two years old -- the rough equivalent of 65 years in human terms.
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Additional work in lab dishes suggested glucosamine had a big effect on the metabolic system, the scientists said.
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Further work is needed to explain why this appears to affect the mice's longevity -- and to see whether the benefit extends to humans.
"If an even modest effect on ageing were proven, it would be a major advance," Tim Spector, a genetic epidemiologist at King's College London, said in an independent comment.
"However, humans are not the same as worms or rodents, and studies will need careful replication before we get over-excited."
Source-AFP