Thanks for sharing that article Golfyeti. Just because a drug ameliorates age-related disease(s) does not make it age-reversing, per se. In my opinion, apabetalone is better described as a drug to improve quality and duration of life, especially for those with cardiovascular, renal and cognitive disease. There may be more diseases to add to the list too as clinical research on apabetalone expands.

In general, therapies that treat diseases aren't really providing a fountain of youth by reversing aging. They are treating a diagnosed disease in order to reduce morbidity from that particular disease. If that particular disease on average shaves 10 years off of a persons life, then proper management/treatment of that disease can extend life. Not the same as reversing aging. 

Certain diseases seem to alter the pattern of gene expression in a cell or tissue via a mechanism involving altered BET protein (i.e. BRD4) binding to the acetylated lysines on the histone tails of DNA/chromatin. This altered BET protein (i.e. BRD4) occupancy on the DNA/chromatin can increase or decrease the expression of particular genes....forming somewhat of a disease gene expression signature. Apabetalone is a bromodomain-2-specific BET inhibitor that interferes with the BET proteins (i.e. BRD4) binding to these acteylated lysines and hence modulating the abnormal/diseased gene expression signature into a more normal/healthy gene expression signature. 

Recall that apabetalone had a more beneficial effect in sick individuals than healthy individuals. So it could be that apabetalone is intervening to revert these disease states back to healthy states. Not really reversing aging, but returning things to normal/baseline. 

The only article that I could find in a quick search relating to apabetalone and apoptosis was one entitled "The BET bromodomain inhibitor apabetalone induces apoptosis of latent HIV-1 reservoir cells following viral reactivation." So I don't think it is fair to generalize that apabetalone promotes apoptosis in all cells. Resverlogix's proteomic work in renal disease patients found an apoptosis proteome signature that was elevated with CKD and decreased by apabetalone.

Does apabetalone promote senolysis (death of senescent cells) like the researchers are trying to do at Unity Biotechnology? I have no idea. However, one thing I can surely say is that no therapy would activate apoptosis in all cells. It would have to be selective to avoid killing the healthy cells.

BearDownAZ