(Pic courtesy: Instagram/ Bryan Johnson)

Bryan Johnson, tech entrepreneur and anti-aging advocate, who does everything possible under the sun to reverse age, has recently revealed that he has discontinued taking longevity medications, after concerns that it may have aged him, and also caused infection.
Bryan Johnson (47) used to take 13 milligrams of rapamycin, every two weeks, hoping to reverse aging. Rapamycin, which is an immunosuppressant given to transplant patients to prevent them from rejecting organs, is, however, is not approved for anti-aging therapy by the US Food and Drug Administration. But some physicians prescribe it off-label, as it has been shown to extend the healthy lifespan of mice.

A Netflix documentary based on Bryan Johnson ‘Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever’ was released earlier this month and called his routine ‘the most aggressive rapamycin protocol of anyone in the industry.’
However, prior to the release of the documentary, Bryan Johnson had revealed that he had stopped taking rapamycin, as it may have done more harm than good.
In an X post on Nov. 2024, he said, “On September 28th, I decided to stop rapamycin, ending almost 5 years of experimentation with this molecule for its longevity potential. I have tested various rapamycin protocols including weekly (5, 6, and 10 mg dose schedules), biweekly (13 mg), and alternating weekly (6/13mg) to optimize rejuvenation and limit side effects. Despite the immense potential from pre-clinical trials, my team and I came to the conclusion that the benefits of lifelong dosing of Rapamycin do not justify the hefty side effects (intermittent skin/soft tissue infections, lipid abnormalities, glucose elevations, and increased resting heart rate). With no other underlying causes identified, we suspected Rapamycin, and since dosage adjustments had no effect, we decided to discontinue it entirely. Preclinical and clinical research has indicated that prolonged rapamycin use can disrupt lipid metabolism and profiles [1], as well as induce insulin and glucose intolerance [2] as well as pancreatic Beta-cells toxicity [3]. Despite anecdotal evidence of rapamycin slowing down tumor growth, its effect in inhibiting natural killer cells [4] do raise concern for anti-cancer immune surveillance and cancer risk in the longer run. Additionally, on October 27th, a new pre-print [5] indicated that Rapamycin was one of a handful of supposed longevity interventions to cause an increase/acceleration of aging in humans across 16 epigenetic aging clocks. This type of evaluation is the first of its kind, as most longevity interventions up to date have been tested against one or two aging clocks, leading to invisible biases and potential intended “cherry picking” of favorable clocks for the tested interventions.”
Bryan Johnson also stated that he experienced occasional skin and soft tissue infections, abnormal levels of fats in his blood, elevated blood sugar, and a higher resting heart rate.

The medical experts featured in the Netflix documentary also raised concerns about the use of the molecule, originally isolated from soil collected on Easter Island in the 1960s, for longevity purposes.

Rapamycin is a medication that has grabbed the attention for its potential health benefits beyond its original use as an immunosuppressant drug. Discovered in the 1970s, this drug was first used in organ transplantation to prevent rejection. However, later, a few research in mice found its longevity benefits.
(Pic courtesy: iStock)