The major aging gene turns out to be a very well known enzyme, first discovered in 1950. It converts angiotensin I, a 10 amino acid peptide, into angiotensin II, an 8 amino acid peptide, by clipping off the terminal two amino acids. It's therefore called angiotensin I-converting enzyme, or ACE for short. ACE inhibitors (ACEI's) have been used to lower blood pressure since the late 1970s, and are among the safest drugs used in medicine. An even safer class of drugs began being marketed in the mid-1990s, called angiotensin II receptor blockers, or "ARBs." ACEI's and, especially, ARBs are considerably safer than aspirin, and are carried in every drugstore on earth. There are many drugs in each class. Some of the better ACEI's are generic by now; the first ARB goes generic in about 4 years.

It turns out that ACE is a "master" disease gene, whose overactivity is associated with 3/4 of common diseases among Caucasians, and about 40% in African Americans (2). These diseases include cardiovascular disease, almost all cancers, neurological diseases like Parkinson's, autoimmune diseases like psoriasis, psychiatric disease like manic-depression, and even infectious diseases, including HIV and TB.  Full Article>>