Anti-aging influencer Bryan Johnson quits a longevity drug after it accelerated his aging

Health influencer and tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson, known as the ‘anti-aging millionaire’ amongst netizens has stopped using a drug he once championed as a key to longevity after discovering it may have accelerated his biological aging.

Johnson, who has spent years experimenting with how to slow and reverse aging, recently revealed in a YouTube video that he stopped taking rapamycin, an immunosuppressant. Originally developed for organ transplant patients, the drug has been in vogue in the anti-aging circles. Bryan Johnson decided to quit the drug because of troubling side effects and new research casting doubt on its anti-aging benefits.

For five years, Johnson had incorporated rapamycin into his anti-aging regimen, inspired by a 2009 study. The study showed that the drug extended the lifespan of mice by up to 14%. A 2023 human trial, in which 65% of participants reported feeling healthier, which further bolstered his confidence. However, the health influencer wasn’t happy about its side effects. These included mouth ulcers, delayed wound healing, elevated cholesterol, and spikes in blood sugar. The increase in the resting heart rate was alarming for him, as he considers it essential for measuring recovery and sleep quality.

He said that a recent study by Yale University further added to his doubts about rapamycin. The study challenged rapamycin’s reputation as a longevity enhancer. The research identified 16 adverse effects on epigenetic markers, which are biological indicators tied to aging, and suggested that the drug might actually speed up the aging process.



“Now did I cause myself lasting damage by taking rapamycin? Maybe… I don't know… A lot of people think that I take excessive risks in doing these things and I always remind them they too are taking risks when you eat that fast food meal or you go to bed late. You are accelerating your speed of aging. You're causing metabolic disruption in your body. So this is a game we're playing. We're trying to figure it out using science and data, which things legitimately slow down the speed of aging and which things accelerated it. I consider it to be part of the game. I'm fine with the whole outcome. It's just part of the scientific method,” he said.

Bryan Johnson also recognized the irony of the situation and said, “For those of you, who are laughing at home. I'm with you laughing with you. Irony is the love language of the universe. The conclusion here is not to try new things. The conclusion here is to share things whether they work or whether they don't. That’s the way we all learn.”