Note: for those new to Irina Conboy and her work (with her husband Mike Conboy) at UC Berkeley on plasma dilution and rejuvenating blood factors, see this video from last year:
And more on Plasma dilution therapy by the leading practitioner in San Francisco Bay Area:
Plasmapheresis, also known as therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE), is a nonsurgical therapy that removes and replaces a patientās blood plasma. Plasmapheresis involves removing blood through a needle or catheter and circulating it through a machine where the blood is separated into red cells, white cells, platelets and plasma. The plasma, which is the fluid content of the blood, is discarded and replaced with a substitution fluid (mainly albumin solution). The substitute plasma and the patientās own blood cells (red cells, white cells and platelets) are returned to the patient through a return needle.
Note, Iāve heard from some people who have done the cycle of 6 treatments of plasma dilution at the Kiprov center. Here is what they are reporting:
By email, I have inquired about changes in DNAm-based bio-age from
a couple of people who have had Conboy-type plasma dilution by Dr.
Kiprov in San Francisco and have also done before-and-after Horvath-type
DNAm analysis. The observed improvement is at best 1-3 years, which is
in the noise. Thatās only anecdotal, of course, but interesting.
and another person
I am one of those treated by Dr Kiprov. I have the same experience with
methylation age improvement as others after 6 treatments. Like you say, in
the noise.
I believe the benefits are short term, since the Conboyās/Kiprov recommend
re-treatment (after 6 monthly treatments) at 3 month intervals. ā¦ [The] Kiprov/Buck Institute [is working} to determine treatment frequency as part of their latest apheresis trial.
See my attached methylation age vs treatment notes. Restarting apheresis
treatments after obtaining a GRIMage test baseline.
Not something I would want to subject myself to if the results are in the noise. Great thinking, but sometimes things just donāt work out and you need to move on to something elseā¦ Like Rapamycin.
Yes - especially at $6,000 per session. But I wonder if it might be doing things that are important and helpful, but not well-measured by the epigenetic age clocks yet.
I also wonder if at high volume (of customers) they might be able to bring down the cost significantly.
I think the reason Heterochronic Parabiosis works is that there is something that increases in the levels in blood over time that causes senescence. I think that something is IL-10. It is part of SASP and causes senescence through the Janus Kinase, NF Kappa B and SLC25A1,.
If you swap the plasma you will remove some IL-10, you may also remove other negative things and introduce a positive level of albumin, but it does not immediately stop the currently senescent cells from sending out more SASP.
I think it is possible to make senescent cells enter the cell cycle properly and work up to a point. That is better in many ways then senolytics because you donāt have to replace the cells even if they are not as good as cells which were not senescent in the first instance.
Hence I think this approach is marginally positive. If it was done for more sessions it would probably improve the outcome.
Oddly enough when I looked for the evidence for IL-10 I found a masters thesis unpublished in any journal:
Decoding the role of IL-10 in aging
Abstract
Chronic inflammation is present in several diseases from autoimmunity to cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and others. A chronic state of low-grade inflammation, known as inflammaging, has also been linked to aging. To counteract this chronic inflammation, the antiinflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-10 appears as a potential candidate. IL-10 has a broad role in regulating the immune system and has several distinct actions in different cells. Due to it great therapeutic potential in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, understanding the impact of IL-10 in the organism homeostasis is fundamental. Our group has been investigating this ssue, by resorting to a novel mouse model of inducible IL-10 over-expression (pMT-10). Previous results indicated that pMT-10 mice over-expressing IL-10 for 30 days develop a myeloproliferative phenotype, which is similar to that of animal models and patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms and is compatible with an aged hematopoietic system.
The main aim of this thesis was to extensively characterize at the organism level the effects of 75 days of sustained IL-10 over-expression. Interestingly, we found that pMT-10 mice die prematurely and present hair depigmentation, along with an histological phenotype suggestive of an aged skin. This skin phenotype is marked by a reduction of dermal and skin fat thickness, wound healing delay and alterations at the hair follicle (HF) level, including the frequency, length and melanin content. Resorting to an ex vivo model, we found the cellular phenotype of fibroblasts retrieved from pMT-10 mice that over-expressed IL-10 for 75 days to be compatible to that of elderly fibroblasts. Finally, using an in vitro system, we gained evidence that IL-10 trigger cellular senescence in mouse adult fibroblasts. Together, these data disclosed IL-10 overexpression to induce multiple phenotypes that parallel premature aging and age-related diseases. In all, this thesis brings novel insight on the biology of IL-10, which might shed light into novel targets involved in aging and into the importance of immune-driven aging, showing
I saw your post too late to listen to the webinar. Nevertheless I appreciate your posting the paper here. I have signed up to be a participant in a random, placebo (sham aphaeresis) study that Dr. Kiprov is conducting, funded by Lyfspan Inc -(? couldnāt find them on google). Iām very curious and hopeful about this procedure but quite unsure as to whether I will go through with participating. I am leaning towards waiting until the results are in. Yes, it would cost a lot more than being in the study (if you are in the placebo group they give you actual treatment free post study) but it seems pretty intense if the results are mild to no improvement. The procedure replaces your plasma with saline and albumin and 2 immunoglobulins. I do hope it shows strong results!
One thought I did have about replacing blood plasma is that it may help remove the āforever chemicalsā and toxins from our blood that we cannot get rid of ourselves. PFAS chemicals are especially nasty.
The Conboy approach seems like a re-branding of blood donation to make a mint. Although itās a bit different, itās still quite similar. I will admit, plasmapheresis is probably more comprehensive than donation.
People need to be incentivized to donate blood. This saves others who need blood and actually helps those who donate to live longer. Itās a win win win situation.
Does it mean that plasma donation affects weight? Whatās your weight/height if you donāt mind sharing. Mine is 5ā4ā, 111 lb. Was thinking about plasma donations.
Lara, they have specific restrictions around plasma donations just for the safety of the donor. I think the issue is the amount of plasma relative to the size of the person.
See here:
Donor safety, as well as the safety of the therapies made from plasma donations is of primary importance. You will need to visit a plasma collection center to determine if you are eligible to donate.
In general:
Plasma donors should be at least 18 years old
Plasma donors should weigh at least 110 pounds or 50 kilograms
Must pass a medical examination
Complete an extensive medical history screening
Test non-reactive for transmissible viruses including hepatitis and HIV
Follow a recommended diet including 50 to 80 grams of daily protein
Before donating plasma it is important to:
Drink plenty of water or juice to be fully hydrated
Notify center personnel if you have had recent surgery
Notify center personnel if you have obtained a tattoo or piercing within the past 12 months
Notify center personnel if you are taking medication or are under a doctorās care for any medical condition
