The desire to live longer is not new to humans. But as time goes on, the concept of extending lifespan seems to be less about fantasy and more about a scientific “cure”. In our rush to find a silver bullet, has science been subverted along the way?
In Episode #272, Professor Charles Brenner joins me to answer this very question. There is immense opportunity for profit in the longevity and lifespan space, and therefore ample opportunity for misleading health claims and second-tier science. Dr Brenner brings his professional stance to the table in this conversation, offering his take on recent scientific developments and the big players in the aging conversation.
“I’ve always been interested in aging. [But] I don’t consider it to be, in 2023, a very high-tech, actionable aspect of the human experience.”
Dr Charles Brenner is a leading global expert in the biology, chemistry and medicine of NAD, the central catalyst of metabolism. He discovered the vitamin activity of nicotinamide riboside (NR) and ushered in the scientific field and industry of NAD-boosting. Dr Brenner is a thoughtful critic of hype around aging. His work emphasises the polygenic nature of human aging and he seeks to keep the field evidence-based about what has been demonstrated in various experimental systems versus what is sometimes claimed in facile hype. A Stanford PhD, Brandeis post-doc, and former faculty member at Thomas Jefferson University, Dartmouth College, and the University of Iowa, Brenner serves at the inaugural Alfred E. Mann Family Foundation Chair of the Department of Diabetes and Cancer Metabolism at City of Hope in Los Angeles.
“I don’t know that you can extend lifespan beyond a genetically encoded maximum. But you can try to age better.”
Longevity is a topic that we often investigate on The Proof, but it’s important to note that not all scientists in this space agree. Dr Brenner recently published a paper titled “Sirtuins are Not Conserved Longevity Genes”, a very detailed rebuttal to Dr David Sinclair’s thesis. In this conversation, Dr Brenner addresses and rebuts some commonly held beliefs, including those communicated by Dr Valter Longo and Dr Sinclair.
We discuss why and how humans age, and why Dr Brenner believes that there is no “cure”. We examine the strengths and limitations of animal studies, growth hormones, and a variety of supplements. Dr Brenner also comments on what we do and don’t know about the science of aging, what developments we can expect to see in the future, and how the science of aging is communicated.
Specifically, we cover:
- Intro (00:00)
- Do we have the genes to live beyond 120 years? (3:54)
- The genetics of extreme longevity (14:18)
- Longevity in the animal kingdom (18:26)
- Why do we age, and the realities of extending lifespan (31:22)
- How long can we live? (39:01)
- NAD coenzymes and DNA repair (43:49)
- “Anti-ageing” products (55:17)
- Conflicts of interest and the integrity of scientific claims (1:01:08)
- Discovering nicotinamide riboside (NR) (vitamin B3) (1:03:19)
- Sirtuins as anti-ageing genes (1:09:22)
- A rebuttal to Drs. David Sinclair and Lenny Guarente (1:19:13)
- Seeking consensus on the study of human longevity (1:32:57)
- The information theory of aging (1:43:19)
- Dr. Charles Brenner’s theory of ageing (2:00:28)
- How to age better (2:03:30)
- Dr. Brenner on the quality of life (2:09:05)
- NR supplementation (2:10:09)
- Moving beyond Yamanaka factors (2:15:02)
- Outro (2:18:45)
Hearing different voices is so important in any field of science, and Dr Brenner brings a very interesting perspective to the aging and longevity conversation. I’m grateful for his time and perspective, and hope this episode helped you stay open-minded and consider a different point of view to help you form your opinion on longevity.
Connect with Dr Charles Brenner on Twitter, and visit his website, https://www.brennerlab.net/, for more.
Optimise your health with InsideTracker’s biomarker analysis. Get exclusive access to InsideTracker’s new ApoB test, and a significant discount at insidetracker.com/simon.
The best way to support the show is to use the products and services offered by our sponsors. To check them out and enjoy great savings, visit theproof.com/friends.
Enjoy, friends.
Simon
More about Dr Charles Brenner
Dr Charles Brenner is a leading global expert in the biology, chemistry and medicine of NAD, the central catalyst of metabolism. He discovered the vitamin activity of nicotinamide riboside (NR) and ushered in the scientific field and industry of NAD-boosting. By developing the technology of quantitative targeted metabolomic analysis of the NAD system, Dr Brenner has shown that multiple conditions of metabolic stress including alcoholism, overweight, DNA damage, oxidative stress, heart failure, neurodegeneration, coronavirus infection, inflammation and postpartum disturb the NAD system. He led the first in human trials of NR and has participated in multiple such trials. Many more trials of NR, NMN and other proposed NAD boosting technologies are based on his mechanistic work and insights. Brenner is a thoughtful critic of hype around aging. His work emphasizes the polygenic nature of human aging and he seeks to keep the field evidence-based about what has been demonstrated in various experimental systems versus what is sometimes claimed in facile hype. A Stanford PhD, Brandeis post-doc and former faculty member at Thomas Jefferson University, Dartmouth College and University of Iowa, Brenner serves at the inaugural Alfred E. Mann Family Foundation Chair of the department of diabetes and cancer metabolism at City of Hope in Los Angeles. He is also chief scientific advisor of ChromaDex and co-founder of Alphina and Juvenis, all of which are in the NAD space.
Additional resources
This episode was inspired by Dr Charles Brenner’s paper, “Sirtuins are Not Conserved Longevity Genes”, published in Life Metabolism. Read it here.
