8 ms·

If you're new to this area of biomarkers and longevity, there are several people to follow with different approaches: - David Sinclair Why We Age and Why We Do

by jyu 5y ago

If you're new to this area of biomarkers and longevity, there are several people to follow with different approaches: - David Sinclair Why We Age and Why We Don't Have To. Mostly focused on NAD+, sirtuins, use of yamanaka factors to reset epigenetic clock - Horvath for horvath clock using dna methylation to measure aging in organisms. - Michael Lustgarten a good curator for biomarker related research for longevity - Rhonda Patrick has insightful scientific interviews and dietary and behavioral interventions There's a spreadsheet with 9 biomarkers (with correlations) and age for Levine's Phenotypic Age floating around, based off this paper: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5940111/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5940111/

Bellamy 5y ago
I read Sinclair's new book Lifespan and saw Patrick in a podcast. I got really excited and installed the Habinator app, because it's all about the lifestyle and habits until we get a breakthrough how to fix our bodies using pills or whatever.
PudgePacket 5y ago
There's a lot of interesting people in this space Many I've discovered through this podcast, which features a number of people on the above list as guests: https://peterattiamd.com/podcast/ https://peterattiamd.com/podcast/
aantix 5y ago
How does Horvath measure DNA methylation?
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- zemvpferreira 5y ago
  By running your blood through a specific DNA methylation test - Illumina I believe. Not cheap stuff.
  - aantix 5y ago
    Strangely, my son who is six, who has exhibited symptoms of schizophrenia and has been formally diagnosed with ODD (oppositional defiant disorder), responds incredibly well to a combination of Niacin/Magnesium. He becomes a different person when he has taken his vitamins for the day, a more caring person. It's been a profound transition, and one that we didn't expect. We had tried everything - improving sleep, improving diet, weekly behavioral therapy. Nothing has come remotely close to the impact that the Niacin/Magnesium combination. It's probably a 70% improvement in behavior. That dramatic. I stumbled across the works of Abram Hoffer. That this is probably an issue related to overmethylation within his system, and the B3 helps subside this issue. At least my very basic understanding. I know I am trivializing the domain - I don't mean to. Not sure how to confirm that overmethylation is the issue, hence why I was asking. Thanks for the insight. P.S. For those curious, this is the current protocol of vitamins we have been using to help him. https://aantix.medium.com/my-son-niacin-magnesium-and-the-treatment-of-oppositional-defiant-disorder-45998ada02d8 https://aantix.medium.com/my-son-niacin-magnesium-and-the-tr...
    - zemvpferreira 5y ago
      That's amazing, it would definitely be a good investment to get as much data on his DNA as possible. A definite diagnosis will certainly have a huge impact on both your lives and your relationship. Thank you for sharing your specific protocol by the way, I was about to ask. I've tried Magtein before but nothing like the doses you describe, and never paired with Niacin
    - goldenkey 5y ago
      Magnesium can cause stomach cramps and liquid shits. I hope you are monitoring this thorny effect..
      - aantix 5y ago
        Very aware. I get that periodically with glycinate. l-threonate is much lower dose of elemental magnesium, usually 144mg, but it's much more targeted.
- zemvpferreira 5y ago
  Direct link to Illumina's page on methylation: https://www.illumina.com/techniques/popular-applications/epigenetics/dna-methylation-analysis.html https://www.illumina.com/techniques/popular-applications/epi...
  - aantix 5y ago
    The test looks fascinating. It sounds exactly what is needed. I am just wondering about my capability to interpret it correctly within the context of my son's symptoms. I wouldn't want to wrongly diagnose him.
johndoe42377 5y ago
If you don't mind, why exactly these speculations are qualified as a science (which implies reproducebility of results)?
PragmaticPulp 5y ago
Longevity research had been fun to follow, but I’d caution newcomers to take everything with a grain of salt. The field of longevity influencers has exploded recently, with increasingly confident claims extrapolated from preliminary research and hypotheses. Some of the longevity influencers, including some of the people in the list above, have significant financial interests in promoting their theories and methods. This ranges from selling educational materials to speaking engagements and even promoting supplements. As is typical with cutting edge research, the confidence of certain claims tends to be exaggerated when a financial conflict of interest becomes involved. A few years ago the longevity world was all about resveratrol after some promising early research, though later research suggests that resveratrol isn’t quite as miraculous as it was initially promoted. We’re currently going through a similar cycle with NR/NMN supplements like Niagen. There may be some promising developments in this area, but I wouldn’t rush out to spend money on expensive supplements that haven’t been tested at high doses long term in humans just yet. Longevity influencers like to talk about the potential upsides, but they rarely admit the unknown potential downsides.
- jostmey 5y ago
  You nailed it. I find it funny how people believe a simple molecule made from a dozen atoms is somehow the elixir of immortality, as if aging is a simple biological process that we can flip off with a single switch. If we want to take aging seriously, we need to first appreciate the problem. It reminds me how people used to think there was "the cure" for cancer.
  - jerf 5y ago
    Personally, I have a hard time guessing which of "extend the life of the human organism to, let's say, 500 years" or "read out the living brain state of a human being and simulate it in a computer" is going to be easier. With full knowledge of how hard the second may be, if indeed it is possible at all. I wouldn't be surprised there's a few "One Weird Trick to Extend Your Life by Five Years"s yet to be found, but to solve aging I expect to be much harder. It wouldn't surprise me much that the simplest "solution" to aging could end up being the brain simulation thing anyhow, because fixing up the biological organism across hundreds of years is simply that hard. If there are a few of those weird tricks I definitely expect a period of excessive optimism where people conclude we're just another couple of such tricks away from the solution, when instead they are simply the first steps on a very long path.
mikevm 5y ago
I don't take Rhonda Patrick seriously anymore. After using her Genome Analysis Tool and reading some of the reports I saw that some of the studies she cited in fields I have some knowledge in (nutrition) were known to have methodological issues. She also tends to cite a lot of animal studies, while we pretty much know that they're good for generating hypotheses and further studies and may end up being completely useless for humans.
erdevs 5y ago
Thank you for the link to this paper, as I'd looked for it previously and somehow didn't find. Do you happen to have a link to the spreadsheet handy too? Thank you, if so.
JamesBarney 5y ago
The evidence for sirtuins is pretty good. Probably the first drug we find that extends life span in humans is going to be metformin or rapamycin. NR and NMN have failed to extend lifespan in rats, so it probably doesn't work with humans. (I don't know anything about yamanaka factors.
andy_ppp 5y ago
Both David Sinclair and Rhonda Patrick seem to be getting younger ;-)
shaicoleman 5y ago
There's growing evidence that fasting is one of the most effective ways to increase longevity and improve health. https://www.nature.com/articles/s43587-020-00013-3 https://www.nature.com/articles/s43587-020-00013-3
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
actually_a_dog 5y ago
Add Peter Attia to that list.

by jyu 5y ago

Bellamy 5y ago

I read Sinclair's new book Lifespan and saw Patrick in a podcast. I got really excited and installed the Habinator app, because it's all about the lifestyle and habits until we get a breakthrough how to fix our bodies using pills or whatever.

PudgePacket 5y ago

There's a lot of interesting people in this space Many I've discovered through this podcast, which features a number of people on the above list as guests: https://peterattiamd.com/podcast/ https://peterattiamd.com/podcast/

aantix 5y ago

How does Horvath measure DNA methylation?

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
zemvpferreira 5y ago
By running your blood through a specific DNA methylation test - Illumina I believe. Not cheap stuff.
- aantix 5y ago
  Strangely, my son who is six, who has exhibited symptoms of schizophrenia and has been formally diagnosed with ODD (oppositional defiant disorder), responds incredibly well to a combination of Niacin/Magnesium. He becomes a different person when he has taken his vitamins for the day, a more caring person. It's been a profound transition, and one that we didn't expect. We had tried everything - improving sleep, improving diet, weekly behavioral therapy. Nothing has come remotely close to the impact that the Niacin/Magnesium combination. It's probably a 70% improvement in behavior. That dramatic. I stumbled across the works of Abram Hoffer. That this is probably an issue related to overmethylation within his system, and the B3 helps subside this issue. At least my very basic understanding. I know I am trivializing the domain - I don't mean to. Not sure how to confirm that overmethylation is the issue, hence why I was asking. Thanks for the insight. P.S. For those curious, this is the current protocol of vitamins we have been using to help him. https://aantix.medium.com/my-son-niacin-magnesium-and-the-treatment-of-oppositional-defiant-disorder-45998ada02d8 https://aantix.medium.com/my-son-niacin-magnesium-and-the-tr...
  - zemvpferreira 5y ago
    That's amazing, it would definitely be a good investment to get as much data on his DNA as possible. A definite diagnosis will certainly have a huge impact on both your lives and your relationship. Thank you for sharing your specific protocol by the way, I was about to ask. I've tried Magtein before but nothing like the doses you describe, and never paired with Niacin
  - goldenkey 5y ago
    Magnesium can cause stomach cramps and liquid shits. I hope you are monitoring this thorny effect..
    - aantix 5y ago
      Very aware. I get that periodically with glycinate. l-threonate is much lower dose of elemental magnesium, usually 144mg, but it's much more targeted.
zemvpferreira 5y ago
Direct link to Illumina's page on methylation: https://www.illumina.com/techniques/popular-applications/epigenetics/dna-methylation-analysis.html https://www.illumina.com/techniques/popular-applications/epi...
- aantix 5y ago
  The test looks fascinating. It sounds exactly what is needed. I am just wondering about my capability to interpret it correctly within the context of my son's symptoms. I wouldn't want to wrongly diagnose him.

johndoe42377 5y ago

If you don't mind, why exactly these speculations are qualified as a science (which implies reproducebility of results)?

PragmaticPulp 5y ago

Longevity research had been fun to follow, but I’d caution newcomers to take everything with a grain of salt. The field of longevity influencers has exploded recently, with increasingly confident claims extrapolated from preliminary research and hypotheses. Some of the longevity influencers, including some of the people in the list above, have significant financial interests in promoting their theories and methods. This ranges from selling educational materials to speaking engagements and even promoting supplements. As is typical with cutting edge research, the confidence of certain claims tends to be exaggerated when a financial conflict of interest becomes involved. A few years ago the longevity world was all about resveratrol after some promising early research, though later research suggests that resveratrol isn’t quite as miraculous as it was initially promoted. We’re currently going through a similar cycle with NR/NMN supplements like Niagen. There may be some promising developments in this area, but I wouldn’t rush out to spend money on expensive supplements that haven’t been tested at high doses long term in humans just yet. Longevity influencers like to talk about the potential upsides, but they rarely admit the unknown potential downsides.

jostmey 5y ago
You nailed it. I find it funny how people believe a simple molecule made from a dozen atoms is somehow the elixir of immortality, as if aging is a simple biological process that we can flip off with a single switch. If we want to take aging seriously, we need to first appreciate the problem. It reminds me how people used to think there was "the cure" for cancer.
- jerf 5y ago
  Personally, I have a hard time guessing which of "extend the life of the human organism to, let's say, 500 years" or "read out the living brain state of a human being and simulate it in a computer" is going to be easier. With full knowledge of how hard the second may be, if indeed it is possible at all. I wouldn't be surprised there's a few "One Weird Trick to Extend Your Life by Five Years"s yet to be found, but to solve aging I expect to be much harder. It wouldn't surprise me much that the simplest "solution" to aging could end up being the brain simulation thing anyhow, because fixing up the biological organism across hundreds of years is simply that hard. If there are a few of those weird tricks I definitely expect a period of excessive optimism where people conclude we're just another couple of such tricks away from the solution, when instead they are simply the first steps on a very long path.

mikevm 5y ago

I don't take Rhonda Patrick seriously anymore. After using her Genome Analysis Tool and reading some of the reports I saw that some of the studies she cited in fields I have some knowledge in (nutrition) were known to have methodological issues. She also tends to cite a lot of animal studies, while we pretty much know that they're good for generating hypotheses and further studies and may end up being completely useless for humans.

erdevs 5y ago

Thank you for the link to this paper, as I'd looked for it previously and somehow didn't find. Do you happen to have a link to the spreadsheet handy too? Thank you, if so.

JamesBarney 5y ago

The evidence for sirtuins is pretty good. Probably the first drug we find that extends life span in humans is going to be metformin or rapamycin. NR and NMN have failed to extend lifespan in rats, so it probably doesn't work with humans. (I don't know anything about yamanaka factors.

andy_ppp 5y ago

Both David Sinclair and Rhonda Patrick seem to be getting younger ;-)

shaicoleman 5y ago

There's growing evidence that fasting is one of the most effective ways to increase longevity and improve health. https://www.nature.com/articles/s43587-020-00013-3 https://www.nature.com/articles/s43587-020-00013-3

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

actually_a_dog 5y ago

Add Peter Attia to that list.