Dr. David Sinclair: The First Human Trial of an Age-Reversal Therapy

**James Altucher** (0:01)
Today on The James Altucher Show.

**James Altucher** (0:04)
Aging should be considered a disease like other diseases instead of just being accepted, and that potentially we could cure that disease.

**David Sinclair** (0:11)
And it does feel very significant given that there's never been anything that could truly reverse aging safely until now. But in retrospect, it seems obvious to people who just hear about it, that you just do this and age is reversed. But back when I was talking to you in 2019, it was still early days, we really didn't know if it was possible to safely reverse aging, or if every time it would lead to death or cancer.

**James Altucher** (0:40)
This isn't your average business podcast, and he's not your average host. This is The James Altucher Show.

**James Altucher** (0:58)
I've been obsessed with anti-aging and the science of longevity. By the way, I've been obsessed with this for a long time. As you know, I've had a ton of anti-aging experts on the show. And today, I'm super excited because history is literally being made right now. People are gonna remember this year forever. I have David Sinclair on the show. Back in 2019, David came on for the first time when his book, Lifespan, came out. He's a Harvard scientist, researcher, and he just submitted the first drug for FDA trials that's involved in anti-aging. We talk about that. But look, whenever David comes on, it's literally changed my life. I started intermittent fasting. I began taking all the supplements he talked about, and we talk about them in this episode. I got religious about my sleep. And honestly, ever since then, it's been one of those moments where you feel like the future just cracked open a little bit. Well, today, we're catching up. And of course, a lot has happened. I mean, the stuff we're talking about sounds like science fiction, but it's really here now, not just slowing aging down, not just looking good, but actually reversing aging. We dive deep into the Yamanaka factors, which is the groundbreaking work his lab has done.
And the fact that they're again, now in FDA trials to actually reverse aging. We talk about that. We talk about what's currently working now in animals with reversing aging in brains, eyes, livers, skin. It's totally wild. We talk about what's coming next for humans and what this could mean for Alzheimer's, dementia, and just getting our health back. We also get into the practical stuff. I know people are interested in NMN, NAD, metformin, berberine, testosterone.
What I'm still taking, what David's taking, what he stopped taking, and the lifestyle changes that kept both him and his 86 year old father looking and feeling ridiculously young. And I'll say again, this isn't just like science fiction or things we hope for. This is stuff that is happening right now. Aging is being reversed now. So without further ado, my friend, the guy who's been on this quest since his 30s and is now seeing it move into human trials, Dr. David Sinclair.
Thank you for coming on, David. I feel like a lot of stuff has been happening that's been all very good.

**David Sinclair** (3:19)
Yeah, it's crunch time now. We'll see if our latest tech works, so we have to try again. But you know what it's like as an entrepreneur, you keep going until you succeed. So that's where we're at.

**James Altucher** (3:31)
You first were on 2019 when Lifespan came out, and Lifespan was literally a life-changing book. For me, I started taking a lot of the supplements you recommended. I started experimenting more with intermittent fasting. One thing I did that was very serious is I took my sleep very seriously, like always eight hours, it's really important. But what I was really curious about then, and you've been doing what you've been saying you would do, is when would all of our lives change? When would aging reverse? You always said that aging should be considered a disease like other diseases, instead of just being accepted, and that potentially we can cure that disease. And now, you've recently done a study which is going into FDA trials now to reverse the aging of eyes in humans, to cure glaucoma and eye damage from glaucoma in humans.

**David Sinclair** (4:25)
Yeah, that's a good summary of the years since we last were chatting about this. A lot has happened. And we've shown that our age reversal tech that works in mice, they work in non-human primates as well to improve vision.
Essentially, curing blindness. And the patients are just either getting treated now or about to get treated. The FDA in January allowed the company that I founded to go ahead, Life Biosciences. And yeah, so I'm looking forward. And it does feel very significant, given that there's never been anything that could truly reverse aging safely until now. And we'll see if it works in not just monkeys, but in slightly more intelligent monkeys.