Highlights:

  • In his latest chats with the media, Sinclair teased some yet-to-be-released findings: NMN is looking like a life-extender for mice.
  • Mouse longevity studies are basically our crystal ball for human aging.
  • Meet the All-Stars of anti-aging: rapamycin, acarbose, captopril, and glycine.

David Sinclair, a pioneering researcher from Harvard Medical School, is neck-deep in the science of anti-aging. His lab’s focus? Zeroing in on potential compounds that hit the brakes on aging. Enter nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), an NAD+ precursor that’s turning heads in the longevity arena.

On June 23, 2023, Sinclair shared new details from his lab on the World of DaaS podcast, hosted by Auren Hoffman. The golden nugget? Sinclair teased that NMN had recently been discovered to extend the lives of mice—though the results have yet to be officially published.

“In fact, we’ve only just recently found it extends mouse’s lifespan. I haven’t published that yet,” said Sinclair about NMN on the podcast.

Fast-forward to an August 24, 2023 chat with Dr. Peter H. Diamandis at the Abundance360 Summit, where Sinclair revealed a bit more. He hinted that NMN’s effects weren’t limited to just lifespan, but pushed into healthspan. Remarkably, NMN enhanced general health, alleviated frailty, and even offered radiation protection.

“What we saw in the mice, which was — haven’t published this but — increased lifespan, improved health, less frailty, protection from radiation…,” Sinclair told Diamandis.

Why Mouse Studies Are the Proving Ground for Human Longevity

Trials exploring lifespan extension in humans would run into several hurdles, mainly time and costs. Can you imagine running a study where you’d have to wait for all the human subjects to die of natural causes? The study could stretch for decades—particularly if the substance under review actually works as a life-extending miracle.

This is why most lifespan researchers turn to smaller, shorter-lived animals for quicker results. Mice are typically the go-to, given their convenient small size and average life expectancy of two to three years. So, if NMN is working wonders for these rodents, scientists in the field are definitely paying attention.

A mouse that just swam in the Fountain of Youth.

Past Research: Other Ways to Boost Longevity in Mice

While NMN’s role in extending mouse lifespan is still awaiting its scientific debut, other NAD+ boosters have shown promise. For example, nicotinamide riboside (NR) has been demonstrated to add about 5% to the lifespan of aging mice.

It’s also worth mentioning that other molecules targeting age-related NAD+ decline have shown life-extending effects. Specifically, an enzyme called CD38 is often blamed for decreasing NAD+ levels with age. A small molecule known as 78c, which blocks CD38, has been shown to increase the lifespan of male mice by 14%.

But don’t put all your anti-aging eggs in one basket just yet; alongside 78c, many other anti-agents only extend the lifespan of male mice and a lot of the studies have yet to be repeated. The National Institute on Aging’s Interventions Testing Program (ITP) exists to bring a bit of method to this scientific madness. They triple-check each agent at three independent locations to make sure results are reliable.

As it stands, four substances have consistently proven to extend the lifespan of both male and female mice:

NMN hasn’t been put through the ITP wringer just yet, but given its promising start, it might be the next compound to make it to this prestigious list. So, eyes peeled for that upcoming research paper from Sinclair and his team.