Mikhail Blagosklonny, M.D., PhD, is a scientist best known for his “quasi-programmed” theory of aging, otherwise known as TOR-centric or the hyperfunction theory.
He has written numerous papers on this topic, and he is editor of the scientific journal Aging. Here he discusses why he predicted rapamycin would extend lifespan even before it was known that it does, why evolution did not put a stop to aging, why all other theories of aging are molecular damage theories, why molecular damage as a cause of aging doesn’t work, how hormesis and calorie restriction fit in with the hyperfunction theory, and a few more things.
15 Comments
Excellent job. Great interview with a remarkable and humble leader in the field of aging.
I’m in my fourth year of weekly rapamycin and continue to enjoy its benefits. I now believe that not taking rapamycin may be as big a mistake as smoking.
It would really be nice if there were a group of rapamycin experimenters that could share their results and responses.
Thanks, Paul. As far as I can tell, no one else has interviewed him, and I agree with your assessment of him. A remarkable man and scientist.
Paul, would you mind sharing some details and results of your four years so far? I’d love to know your age, what results you were hoping for,what results you’ve seen. I’d be very interested to hear anything you’d care to share.
And yes, great get Dennis!
Yes. My background is in medicine and I’ve had a lifelong interest in all things related to health and fitness, especially as it relates to prevention. Up until about the age of 61 I was focused on daily exercise, maintaining a proper weight, and taking a myriad of supplements. It was then that I started reading some about rapamycin and got interested in the studies of Blagosklonny. I saw on another site that Dr. Green had self experimented with weekly doses of rapamycin and the results were quite transformative. I contacted him and travelled to Mew York where we spoke for about 4 hours.
At that time I was noticing some definite signs of aging. I had less endurance and my recovery times were lengthening. I also felt less motivated to do some of my favorite hikes and had gained some weight at a BMI of 25. After speaking with Dr. Green, I decided to give it a go.
I began at only 2 mg and initially had no results, but after 3-4 months I felt appreciably younger. More energy, better mood, and shorter recovery periods. My insulin levels dropped 25% along with an increased blood glucose of 10%. My white blood cell count dropped 10%, indicative of less inflammation. I don’t know my cholesterol numbers.
I’ve since titrated myself up to 6 mg’s per week. I would say , at 65 years old , that on most days I feel about 48 to 52. In that range at least. I’ve read almost all of Blagosklonny and agree with him on most, but not all things, but he is a humble genius.
Thanks a lot for that detailed reply Paul – so interesting. Do you anticipate 6mg being your max then or does it continue to rise? Also, in your opinion (Dennis your opinion would interest me too if you are so inclined), based on the research, is there any reason NOT to do this? It just seems like a no-brainer to give it a shot due to the non-toxicity at that low pulse dose no?
The risk is the lack of human trials, which of course can’t be done. So we’re basically relying on anecdotes and rodents.
The real breakthrough comes, once rapamycin treatment is widely accepted as a general anti aging/rejuvenation intervention. Without a prescription, all us non MDs must obtain rapamycin from more or less reliable sources. Also, we will need to make frequent lab tests to monitor key bio parameters.
Hi Dr. Rivas, and hello Dennis. Thank you for bringing Dr. Blagosklonny and Dr. Green to light Dennis. Your recent Q&A with Dr. Green got me started on rapa. I recently saw Dr. Green at his office and am now into week two of rapamycin treatment (6 mg/wk). He also has me on metformin, low dose Cialis for prostate and endothelial function and pulsed fisetin for three consecutive days/ 2 wks to clear out senescent cells.
It is too early for me to provide much comment on the rapa other than to say that I was not winded at all playing hockey at a 100% pace. (Dr. Green said I would notice improvement in all-out exercise. That seems to be the case).
The surprise for me came in Dr. Green’s less than optimistic evaluation of my blood work.
For background, I’m mid-50s, on TRT and muscular, eat in an 8 hour window. eat low carb (no junk food ever), take tons of supplements, yada yada. 15% bf according to the machine at my local pharmacy. Heart rate and BP were “very good” he declared in our very brief physical examination.
I had my blood work done through my GP. He made no comment about my results as my fasting insulin, fasting glucose and HA1C were all in the reference ranges but high in the case of HA1C and fasting glucose.
I sent Dr. Green the results and he zeroed in on some issues:
My HOMA-IR score of 2.2 showed “early insulin resistance” and my Cr 1.3 and GFR 61 showed “kidney function borderline.”
I found these results shocking and a bit depressing. Especially given all that I do currently and my obsession with health the past four or five years.
So in summary I am excited to see the improvements from my rapamycin regime but also relieved that Dr. Green identified other emerging health issues that my GP did not.
For those considering rapamycin, I would strongly recommend going to see Dr. Green in person. It is worth the effort. And with a GoodRx coupon the generic Sirolimus is not crippling price-wise ($120-$150 for 30 based on the pharmacy).
Thanks again Dennis.
Hi Paul
Interesting stuff there. I’m not your doctor so I can’t comment on your particular case, but I can tell you about what I’ve seen and done.
Your increased exercise capacity has always baffled me since I too observed that. It’s impossible to believe that this is due to a reduction of senescence over such a short time period. I think that rapamycin is surprisingly rejuvenating and that it improves cardiac ejection fractions rather rapidly. This may represent a stem cell rejuvenation process.
I experimented with metformin for a while when my HbA1C level hit 5.7. It very quickly reduced my exercise capacity to a marked degree. Recent studies have shown that it interferes with muscular ATP production, so I’ll never use it again. I’m not concerned with a borderline A1C in the presence of rapamycin.
My insulin levels seem to be all over the place for some reason. Keep in mind that rapamycin prevents all of the end organ damage of diabetes, and that’s the bottom line.
My creatinine levels vary from 0.9 to 1.2. I’m not at all concerned. Muscle mass very much affects the levels.
If you reveal your email address we can keep in touch.
Hi again Paul. Thanks for your insights. I will be redoing my bloods after 3 months so perhaps I can ditch the metformin at that time. But I am a bit freaked out about the insulin resistance and reduced kidney function. Can rapamycin fix that alone? As you said, it is uncharted territory. best email for me is: paulb11996677@gmail.com.
look forward to conversing further. cheers
btw, Peter Attia tackled the metformin and exercise issue in his blog. as I recall, he said he only takes it in the evenings.
Hello P.D.,
Please post a transcript of Dr. Blagosklonny’s interview. I am hearing impaired (poor word discrimination) and could not follow the dialogue and the captions are in Russian. This is very important to me because I am currently taking his rapamycin anti-aging regime. I am 82 and have been taking rapamycin, 6mg once a week, for 10 months. I have read almost all of his publications since about 2005 or so. I also follow Dr. Green’s interviews on your web site and Dr. Green’s web site also. Thanks.
Regards, Wayne (I originally posted this in the wrong section on your web site)
Thanks for another great interview Dennis.
I’m just chiming in here as another Rapamycin lab rat. I started at 2mg every two weeks about two years ago and raised that to 3mg every two weeks. I have noticed nothing negative and some joint injuries have healed during the time I have been on it however I have no way of directly linking that to the rapamycin. Some have speculated that the mTOR affects could reduce strength however I have seen no sign of that and if anything my strength has gotten better although some injuries make it hard to know for sure. Those are in the past now so I will know better in the next year. My blood work has been fine with the exception that I can’t seem to get my CRP below 1.3. I was hoping the rapamycin would reduce inflammation but apparently I still have some other issue as yet undiscovered. Some major knee and joint pain has now resolved also but that was due to eliminating whey protein which I had apparently developed a sensitivity to, so I can now play basketball with no pain.
Thanks for that, Drifter, I’m always interested in input from people who’ve taken rapamycin.
Hi All. Very interesting information and experiences of those on rapamycin. I am currently using micronized curcumin as a mTor inhibitor but would gladly use rapamycin if it was more available. I live in Canada and I doubt it would make it through customs if I tried to order it. I’m 58 and have CKD due to BPH. GFR is 39 and I’d like to improve that if possible. CAD runs in my family so I think rapamycin would be good for that as well.