Back to biology – Eric Verdin talks NMN and longevity supplements
If our final readout is lifespan and healthspan, how can we improve the numbers?
With so many longevity supplements jostling for space on crowded shelves, it can be hard to know what you should be taking or, indeed, if you should be taking anything at all. The answer to both these questions lies in science, and it’s good to know there are supplements available that are backed by rigorous clinical trials and supported by advanced research.
One of these is Elevant; preclinically and clinically tested (and with no fewer than 11 clinical trials underway), Elevant’s proprietary, pharma-grade NMN-C is backed by clinical trials that are the most extensive in-human NMN research programme to date.
Longevity.Technology: Elevant partnered with the renowned Buck Institute for Research on Aging to create and test NMN-C. We spoke to Dr Eric Verdin, President of The Buck Institute, recently to find out more about Elevant and the research behind it. Check out our video interview with Eric Verdin below.
Eric Verdin on…
Why NMN-C should be the NAD+ precursor of choice
It’s interesting to go back to the biology; NAD+ is an energy shoveller in the cell and it is constantly used and depleted. The salvage pathway takes the byproducts of this reaction and recycles them back into NAD+. NMN plays a key role in this salvage pathway, meaning it can refill the channel and lead to new NAD+ synthesis.
Tackling the age-related decline in NAD+ levels
We know in humans and in animal models, NAD+ levels decrease with aging, but they might be decreasing at different rates in different people. And there might be different rates of decrease in different tissues and organs – this is hard to measure in people!
Efficacy is key to success
Our final readout is lifespan and healthspan – these are hard things to measure! We are developing the tools to measure the rate of aging, but it’s still early days. The field, right now, is grappling in terms of trying to find the best way to conduct rigorous science and ideally we will sell supplements that have demonstrated efficacy, so that if you’re spending $50 or $70 a month on a supplement, you can actually be guaranteed that most likely you will benefit from it.
There are some things that all of us can do to mitigate our rate of aging while we are waiting for the definitive answers from science, and supplements, as well as lifestyle choices, could be part of this.
