Scientists have discovered that mianserin, an antidepressant drug, can extend the lifespan of of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, a commonly used animal model, by about 30 percent.

"Our studies indicate that lifespan extension by mianserin involves mechanisms associated with lifespan extension by dietary restriction," said Buck, a member of the Basic Sciences Division of the Fred hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. "We don't have an explanation for this. All we can say is that if we give the drug to caloric restricted animals, it doesn't increase their lifespan any further. That suggests the same mechanism may be involved."

The study has been published recently in Nature. Read more from HHMI.