Damaged synapses restored, Putin's longevity guru, last name consequences

Welcome to the latest issue of The Longevity Newsletter, bringing you the latest longevity breakthroughs and news.

Today, we have a new therapy to reverse damaged synapses and restore memory… Vladimir Putin’s anti-aging guru… and the longevity consequences of your last name. Let’s dig in.

GOOD FOR THE MICE DEPT.

Memory loss reversed in mice with Alzheimer's

What's the news: Scientists repair memory loss and synaptic plasticity in mice with Alzheimer's.

Why should we believe it: This news is based on a new study published a week ago by scientists at the Buck Institute. They found that a specific protein, KIBRA, is required for synapses to form memories.

Lower levels of KIBRA in the brain were predictive of the severity of dementia caused by Alzheimer's. Giving mice this protein reversed memory loss and improved synaptic plasticity, even in the presence of high levels of disease-causing tau protein.

Why this is a big deal: We currently have several approved treatments to slow the progression of Alzheimer's, but nothing to reverse the damage done.

The present study points in a new direction. If it translates to humans, this KIBRA mechanism could work in tandem with treatments that reduce toxic proteins in the brain to not only prevent the disease, but to reverse it.

So what's next: KIBRA levels could be a new diagnostic tool for Alzheimer's. Even more excitingly, KIBRA might become a direct treatment. The Buck Institute team continues to work on it. In the meantime, stay tuned to The Longevity Newsletter, because I will update you on the latest brain health news as soon as they come out.

IRREVOCABLY PERSONAL DEPT.

Putin's longevity guru dead at 77

Who we're talking about: Vladimir Khavinson, the director of the St Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology, the discoverer of new classes of peptide bioregulators, and the developer of peptide therapy. Among many distinctions throughout Khavinson's career, the biggest was that he served as longevity guru to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

And the news is: Khavinson died on January 6 at age 77, from causes not yet made public. I normally dance around from the topic of death in this longevity newsletter. But I thought the present story was important enough to change my usual approach.

The reason I'm writing about Khavinson now, a month after he died, is that I simply didn't know. The man was part of a different strain of longevity research that hasn't had much contact with US companies and universities. His death was in no way publicized on the many blogs, Twitter accounts, or YouTube channels that cover longevity.

Great hype or great hope? Peptide therapy, which Khavinson championed, is a popular topic in a cousin community to longevity, biohacking. It also makes for a major topic of Tony Robbins's and Peter Diamandis's longevity book, Life Force. It's offered in many longevity clinics for injury repair, pain relief, and weight loss.

And yet, top longevity researchers rarely talk about peptide therapy, and many longevity enthusiasts haven't even heard of it. Peptides clearly didn't help Khavinson live a particularly long life. So is peptide therapy hype or the shape of things to come? Let me know your opinion in the poll below.

HAVE YOUR SAY

Your attitude to peptides

AROUND THE WEB

Bryan Johnson injects botox into his penis (for longevity)

Did dementia exist in ancient Greek and Rome? (not really, but why?)

6 supplements a biogerontologist takes for kongevity

In vivo antiaging effects of alkaline water supplementation (2020 study)

Why I love Big Pharma (via Haircafe YT channel)

BELIEVE IT OR NOT DEPT.

The connection between longevity and your last name

A 2013 study reported a curious statistical fact: people with rare last names live longer than those with common last names. The author of the study suggested an inflammatory explanation, and claimed that this is due to the fact that smarter people, who are more likely to live long, just don't reproduce as much.

I doubt that's really the explanation, and I suspect this surname/longevity relationship is a statistical fluke of some sort. But I was blessed with a rare last name (Bejakovic) so I will gladly take the conclusions of this paper at face value.

If you too have a rare last name, you can do the same and feel smug about your longevity odds. On the other hand, if you have a common last name... well, it's clear why Bryan Johnson is working so hard to extend his longevity.

I’ll leave you with that not-very-serious thought for this week. As always, thanks for reading The Longevity Newsletter. If you enjoyed this issue, consider forwarding it to someone who would find it interesting as well.

I'll be back in your inbox next Thursday, with more practical, inspiring, and fun news based on the latest in longevity science.

- The Longevity Hound