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Thank you for reading our monthly newsletter. This month’s edition is
1,238 words, about a
4-minute read.
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In this issue of the newsletter, we are excited to share a couple of research updates. First, Elysium has initiated a new research project at Mayo Clinic to explore the association between NAD+ levels and senescent cell burden, and also to develop new epigenetic measures for cellular senescence. In other Elysium research news, the senolytic complex in Format has been shown to remove senescent cells in two different human cell lines. And, in a significant development for the field of aging research more broadly, scientists in the Netherlands demonstrated that NAD+ abundance correlates with healthy aging in humans.
Elsewhere in the Elysium community, one customer was so encouraged by her Index results that she’s decided to learn a new language–read about her experience in
The Guardian and let us know the projects that you have been inspired to take on this summer. And finally, our Scientific Advisory Board members are in the news once again, sharing new insights about how eating and sleeping choices impact our overall health and, surprisingly, how life began with cyanide.
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Elysium Announces New Research Project at Mayo
Clinic
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Senescent cells are damaged cells that resist removal by our immune system and linger, harming neighboring healthy cells. As we age, our bodies become less efficient at clearing senescent cells, and their accumulation is considered one of the hallmarks of aging. Likewise, as we age, levels of
NAD+, a critical coenzyme found in every cell in the body, universally decline. Elysium has now entered into a research collaboration with Nathan K. LeBrasseur, Ph.D., M.S., professor and researcher at Mayo Clinic, to not only investigate the association between circulating levels of NAD+ and senescent cell burden, but also to develop novel epigenetic measures of cellular senescence.
“Cellular senescence is widely accepted as a hallmark of aging, but it has been a translationally-elusive target due to the inability to measure it reliably in humans,” said Elysium Health CEO, Eric Marcotulli.
“The advancement of senolytic interventions and technologies requires accurate, reliable, and non-invasive measures of senescent cell burden, for which this project will aim to identify a signal.”
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Format is proven to clear senescent human cells
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The senolytic complex in Elysium’s immune aging product,
Format, contains four compounds designed to clear senescent cells. The formulation is based on leading institutional research in the field of cellular senescence and the individual components have previously been demonstrated to clear senescent cells in various model systems. Now, in collaboration with Paul Robbins, Ph.D., at the University of Minnesota, we have shown that the exact formulation in Format’s senolytic complex clears senescent cells in two different human cell lines. Robbins is a leading figure in the field of cell senescence and was involved in the initial discovery of senotherapeutic compounds that can reduce senescent cell burden, which are now in more than 15 different clinical trials for age-related conditions.
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A new article in
The Guardian explores the implications of
biological age: “The hope is that understanding biological age can lead to new life-lengthening interventions. But the first step is to try and measure it, and that’s not straightforward.” The article goes on to examine the various technologies developed for measuring biological age, including Elysium’s Index.
For Ivy Chan who is 59 years old, learning that she has a biological age of 43—using
Index—has given her
“a renewed sense of self and how she should live in the upcoming decade,” says Chan’s son, Jay, who was interviewed for the article.
“Before the test, she exercised, but now she really makes sure to exercise regularly and eat healthy.” Her son reports she’s even learning a new language,
“because why not?” (The Guardian)
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NAD+ abundance correlates with healthy aging
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New research published in
Nature Aging “suggests that a clear association exists between NAD+ and health status in human aging.” Janssens and colleagues profiled metabolites in the muscle tissue from younger and older adults and found that NAD+ was one of the most depleted metabolites in older adults—in line with results from preclinical studies. Remarkably, the lower NAD+ level was even more pronounced in physically impaired older individuals, while NAD+ levels in exercise-trained older adults were closer to those of young adults. These results confirm that there is not only a correlation between NAD+ levels and age, but that elevated levels of NAD+ are linked to healthier aging. (Nature Aging)
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Boost your NAD+ levels with Basis to support healthy aging
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Clinically proven to increase NAD+ levels by 40%.
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Elysium Scientific Advisory Board Members in the News
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How personalized diets could become prescription treatments
Research is now beginning to show that the same food can affect individuals—even close relatives—differently. In an article on the future of food as medicine, experts discuss personalized, prescription meals as a potential solution to diet-related health conditions, including precision diets informed by your unique genetic makeup and microbiome. Prescription diets aren’t yet on the table though–“We have much more left to understand about nutrition,” says
Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D., cardiologist and dean of the School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.
“We know a lot, enough to start acting, but we also have to advance the science.” (WebMD)
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Healthy sleep schedules are linked to longer lifespan
Ever wondered why some species live long lives while others do not? A team of researchers from the University of Rochester, co-led by
Vera Gorbunova, Ph.D., compared the gene expression profiles across 26 mammalian species with diverse lifespans and discovered that negative lifespan genes, or genes whose expression levels are negatively correlated with longevity, are regulated by the circadian clock. According to Gorbunova,
“to live longer, we have to maintain healthy sleep schedules and avoid exposure to light at night as it may increase the expression of the negative lifespan genes.” (University of Rochester)
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How cyanide triggered the creation of life
Cyanide is incredibly lethal, but ironically, it may have played a starring role in the creation of life on earth. In a new episode of the Quanta Podcast, Nobel-Prize winning biologist
Jack Szostak, Ph.D., explains the murky circumstances: Cyanide in rainwater combined with iron in shallow pools to create a substance called ferrocyanide. With some heat (likely from volcanic lava flows), ferrocyanide was able to transform into a range of compounds, allowing for more complex molecules to form. After some additional cooling, rainfall, dissolving into shallow pools, and energy from sunlight, the fundamental building blocks of life such as RNA and DNA began to appear. (Quanta Magazine)
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