In the current episode of The VitaDAO Aging Science Podcast, we dive into the intricate world of rapamycin, caloric restriction, and inflammaging with the distinguished Dr. Arlan Richardson. Dr. Richardson, a pioneer in aging research with a career spanning over five decades, shares his extensive knowledge and groundbreaking insights. We discuss his pioneering work on rapamycin, the complexities of caloric restriction, and the role of chronic inflammation in aging. This episode also touches on the significance of necroptosis, the intriguing connections between senescence and inflammation, and the future of aging interventions. Join us as we explore these vital topics and their implications for human longevity, shedding light on the critical role of preclinical studies in advancing our understanding of aging.
Brief Bio ā Dr. Arlan Richardson
Arlan Richardson, earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry from Oklahoma State University in 1968, and for the past 50 years has devoted his career to aging research at Illinois State University, the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (where he directed the Barshop Institute on Longevity and Aging Studies), and the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
Dr. Richardsonās research has focused on various aspects of aging: (i) the effects of aging and dietary restriction on gene expression in rats and mice, (ii) testing the oxidative stress theory of aging by measuring the effect of alterations in the antioxidant defense system on the lifespan and pathology of transgenic and knockout mice, and (iii) studying the effect of rapamycin on aging and age-related diseases. He is currently studying the mechanism responsible for genotype differences in response to dietary restriction and the role of chronic inflammation in aging.
Aging, rapamycin and the clinic
Arlan expressed disappointment in the hesitancy to test rapamycin in healthy individuals. In the 70s when he started it seemed it would difficult to change the lifespan of any organism at all, but then in 2008 with rapamycin came a big breakthrough; and a time of confusion and disappointment for us basic scientists:
āI am sitting here thinking, oh now, those of us in the basic sciences got you something that will potentially slow aging in humans and now I thought everybody, all the clinical people, will be running to us and saying we want to test it and we are sitting back about fifteen years and there is hardly [any progress]ā¦ā (Arlan Richardson)
We both agreed that hope for faster clinical translation of rapamycin.
This is great. Richardson says CR and rapamycin have some overlap in mechanism but are mostly independent so combining them should provide greater benefit. Since I wonāt do chronic CR Iāll interpret this as a reason to do fasting on my rapa dose day.
For my muscle mass goals, this is why I aim to build up some muscle to give back during my weekly fasting or fast mimicking.
New article on āInflammagingā from my go-to source on scientific research - the New York Post. This article is probably over the head of most of their readersā¦not sure how it snuck in thereā¦must have been a slow day. They do always quote the most attractive scientists (with their picture) and here they even talked about rapamycin.
" Rapamycin, a drug typically used in post-organ transplant care, has had encouraging results in experiments by German researchers, extending the life span of laboratory mice. But Dudley Lamming, an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison whoās conducted his own research on rapamycin, tells The Post itās too soon to get excited.
āSuppressing the normal function of the immune system, which normally patrols for cancer, could actually cause an increase in cancer risk,ā he says. āThere are a growing number of people taking rapamycin āoff labelā for anti-aging purposes, but as of yet, there is no evidence that rapamycin can extend healthy aging in humans.ā
A Silent Fire review: What you need to know about inflammation
With A Silent Fire, gastroenterologist Shilpa Ravella offers a fascinating primer on the crucial role of inflammation in our bodies and the emerging links to diet and disease
In her debut book A Silent Fire: The story of inflammation, diet and disease, gastroenterologist Shilpa Ravella explains how inflammatory responses can turn against us. Crucially, she shows how chronic inflammation plays a role in many common conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer, and why Western diets are at least partially to blame.
This primer sees Ravella start with some fascinating history, travelling all the way back to the 1st century, when Aulus Cornelius Celsus first described four of the five main signs of inflammation: pain, heat, redness and swelling. The fifth, a loss of function, was identified in the mid-1800s.
