A Silicon Valley entrepreneur has shared some of the adverse effects he faces due to his commitment to the goal of ‘living forever’.
Bryan Johnson has been known for his extreme lifestyle aimed at ‘reversing aging’.
The businessman, highlighted in Netflix’s Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever, is 47 years old but has taken extensive measures to appear and feel younger, though not without encountering some challenges.
Johnson claims his efforts have given him the ‘heart of a 37-year-old’ and the ‘lung capacity of an 18-year-old’, but the journey has been far from easy.
In fact, his daily routine seems more exhausting and uncomfortable than most people’s.
The biohacker has openly discussed the various procedures he has undergone to turn back the clock, such as having his DNA ‘edited’, using stem cell injections, and engaging in blood exchanges with his son. Clearly, he is committed to achieving eternal youth.
Recently, Johnson took to Twitter to announce that he was discontinuing the use of rapamycin, a cancer medication that has been shown to have anti-aging effects in animal trials.
He mentioned that he had been using the drug for some time, but decided to stop after consulting with his team.
Johnson commented: “Despite the immense potential from pre-clinical trials, my team and I came to the conclusion that the benefits of lifelong dosing of Rapamycin do not justify the hefty side-effects.”
He elaborated: “Intermittent skin/soft tissue infections, lipid abnormalities, glucose elevations, and increased resting heart rate). With no other underlying causes identified, we suspected Rapamycin, and since dosage adjustments had no effect, we decided to discontinue it entirely.”
Compounding the issue, Johnson suggested there is evidence indicating the drug might actually speed up aging, contradicting his aims.
He added: “Additionally, on October 27th, a new pre-print [5] indicated that Rapamycin was one of a handful of supposed longevity interventions to cause an increase/acceleration of aging in humans across 16 epigenetic aging clocks.
“This type of evaluation is the first of its kind, as most longevity interventions up to date have been tested against one or two aging clocks, leading to invisible biases and potential intended ‘cherry picking’ of favorable clocks for the tested interventions.”
Johnson emphasized the necessity for further research as the field of ‘experimental compounds is constantly evolving’.
With all this in mind, perhaps aging naturally is a more straightforward path.