Wrinkly mice, the longevity importance of moisturizer, and zeitgebers

Welcome to the newest issue of Long Youthspan, the Inspector Rex of longevity newsletters.

Today, I’ve dug up some practical advice as well as some inspiring longevity news for you. But it’s not all dog biscuits and belly rubs in the world of longevity — as the troubling story below of Dr. Nir Barzila will show.

All of that, and more, in today’s edition of Long Youthspan. Release the hounds, and let’s roll!

“MICE HAVE ALL THE LUCK” DEPARTMENT

Wrinkly mice unwrinkled in just 28 days, giving hope for crow's feet worldwide

What's the news: Mice with severe wrinkles were entirely unwrinkled in just 28 days, thanks to a new method of replacing collagen in skin.

Why should we believe it? This comes from a new study published in Nature in January 2023, by a team of two dozen scientists from top institutions in the U.S. and China.

Why this is a big deal: In spite of all the "skin rescue” creams for sale on Amazon, there is currently no available technology that actually achieves long-term collagen replacement.

But the new "extracellular vesicles" patch from this study seems very promising, at least in mice, since:

• By day 28, the EV-treated group of mice had as few wrinkles as healthy, unwrinkled control mice

• Mouse skin treated with this new collagen-replacement method also showed higher elasticity and firmness

Yes, but: In just a few weeks, the wrinkles came back. The scientists are now trying out variants of their new patch to extend how long the anti-wrinkle treatment lasts. They also subjected wrinkly mice to monthly treatments, which continued to be effective without causing any side-effects.

So what does this mean if you’re not a mouse? This new study is exciting, and promises a future way to get rid of human, and maybe hound, wrinkles. It would be amazing to have a patch you apply at night, and within 28 days, find yourself entirely wrinkle-free.

While we're not there yet, you can bet that teams of scientists are working on this, around the world and around the clock. For now, sit, wait, and keep reading Long Youthspan. As soon as there's a human breakthrough, the Youthspan Hound will let you know about it.

PRACTICAL LONGEVITY ADVICE

Hydrated skin for lower inflammaging, increased youthspan

What's the news: Dry skin is connected to chronic bodywide inflammation.

Why should we believe it: This news comes from a new study, published earlier this month, by scientists in Guangzhou, China.

What exactly did the study find? The researchers looked at 255 subjects aged 65 or older. They measured how dry or pleasantly moist the subjects' skin was. They also also measured blood levels of inflammatory cytokines. And they found that:

• The more dry the skin, the higher the number of inflammatory cytokines in the blood

This makes sense: Skin acts as barrier of our bodies to the outside world. We know from previous studies that the barrier effect of skin depends on skin hydration. We also know that reduced skin barrier effect contributes to skin diseases.

In other words, it's reasonable to conclude that skin dryness => reduced skin barrier effect => problems that activate the immune response.

Why this is a big deal: Inflammation ramps up with age. And the more inflammation in your body, the more likely you are to experience diseases of old age. For long youthspan, you want to reduce chronic, low-grade inflammation as much as possible.

Reducing inflammation through diet, supplements, and medication is possible, but not simple or immediate. But as this new study suggests, just making sure your skin isn't dried out might be a fast, direct, and easy way to reduce some chronic, bodywide inflammation.

So what specifically can you do now? Check if your skin is dry. If it is, put on ordinary skin cream — it's been proven to increase hydration. Or just lick yourself, the way your Youthspan Hound does.

IRREVOCABLY PERSONAL

Dr. Nir hits a roadblock, or maybe a brick wall

Who are we talking about? Professor Nir Barzilai is a medical doctor and researcher who is known for his work on the genetics of aging and longevity. He started the Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, where he also teaches as a professor of medicine and genetics.

What's the news? Barzilai is trying to get funding to complete a large-scale study on the longevity effects in real-live humans, using the well-established diabetes drug Metformin.

Barzilai has been pushing this study for years. He was hoping to get funding from the National Institutes of Health. But he was turned down, according to a recent tweet:

Why is this a big deal? The TAME study is one of the first large-scale research projects to look at whether we can treat aging itself as a risk factor for many different diseases, instead of just treating each disease one at a time.

The study's results could provide valuable insights into ways to help people stay healthy as they get older. More importantly, it could create a path for treating aging as a disease at a national level.

So now what? Barzilai says he has “exhausted all pathways” to get the funding needed to complete the TAME study. That's a shame.

TAME has been a very public effort to promote the idea of targeting aging to prevent multiple age-related diseases. If the study were to be canceled or delayed indefinitely, it could lead to a loss of public interest and funding.

There is still hope: Each month, more and more money is pouring into longevity research. It's possible that, with enough public awareness (like your Long Youthspan newsletter), some longevity-minded philanthropist will put down the money that Barzilai needs to complete his study.

A LONG YOUTHSPAN OFFER

The anti-Alzheimer and anti-Parkinson's promise of lithium

In last week's issue of Long Youthspan, I wrote about the longevity-increasing promise of the common mineral lithium.

By a coincidence, I then ran across an interview with a Dr. Thomas Guttoso. Guttoso is a medical doctor and professor of neurology at the University at Buffalo. He has been treating patients with Parkinson’s for over twenty years and has published over thirty articles in leading medical journals.

For the past nine years, Guttoso has been looking at lithium as a treatment for neurodegenerative disorders. In the interview, he gives three reasons that got him started on this path:

• One of his Parkinson's patients found his severe motor fluctuations entirely gone after being prescribed lithium for bipolar disorder

• There's a 60% reduced chance of Alzheimer's for patients who have been taking prescription lithium for at least five years

• Tobacco contains high levels of lithium. This could explain the puzzling inverse association between smoking and Parkinson's disease — smokers have a 77% reduced risk of developing Parkinson's

So should you light up a Marlboro to prevent Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease? No. And don’t start chewing tobacco either.

On the other hand, you might want to read more about lithium, so you can find healthy, sustainable ways to make sure you're getting this neuroprotective mineral into your body.

For that, Guttoso's book is worth a look. It was published just last month, and it already hit the Amazon bestseller list. You can find it, along with more info, at the link below:

Click here for Dr. Thomas Guttoso's book, The Promise of Lithium

DID YOU KNOW?

Zeitgeber? Also, thanks for reading, and see you next week

As you might have noticed, I have changed up the format of Long Youthspan a bit. Today’s issue featured more stories, and more variation among the stories. If you have feedback for me, I would love to hear it. Simply hit “Reply” and let me know.

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I’ll leave you today with a new longevity-related word — “zeitgeber.”

Zeitgeber is a German word that literally means "time giver." It refers to any external cue or signal that our body uses to help regulate its internal biological clock, also known as your circadian rhythm.

So the next time somebody around you starts talking about how important it is to get morning sunlight exposure, or why you shouldn’t eat two hours before going to sleep… you can nod and wisely say, “Yes, those are both two important zeitgebers.”