Restore Youthfulness & Vitality to the Aging Brain & Body | Dr. Tony Wyss-Coray

Why It Matters

Demonstrating that circulating proteins can reverse age‑related brain decline creates a viable pathway for novel therapeutics that may mitigate dementia and extend healthspan.

Key Takeaways

• Young plasma proteins reactivate brain stem cells in aged mice.
• Parabiosis studies show reduced inflammation and improved memory in old mice.
• Human plasma fractions from young donors replicate mouse rejuvenation effects.
• Early clinical trials suggest plasma exchange may modestly reverse cognitive decline.
• Identifying specific blood factors could enable targeted anti‑aging therapeutics.

Summary

The Huberman Lab podcast features Dr. Tony Wyss‑Coray discussing how factors circulating in young blood can rejuvenate the aging brain and body. Using parabiosis—surgically joining the circulatory systems of young and old mice—his lab demonstrated that young‑derived proteins reactivate neural stem cells, dampen inflammation, and restore memory performance in aged rodents.

Key insights include the identification of thousands of age‑dependent plasma proteins, many of which decline sharply after youth. When plasma from young donors is injected into old mice, it reproduces the same stem‑cell activation and cognitive gains seen with young mouse blood. Translating this to humans, Wyss‑Coray’s company Alkaist tested human plasma fractions in mice and initiated small, placebo‑controlled trials in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s patients, reporting modest cognitive improvements.

Notable examples cited were a 500‑patient therapeutic plasma exchange study that showed significant benefits in Alzheimer’s patients, and a 40‑subject trial where epigenetic clocks indicated a measurable “younger” biological age after plasma treatment. Wyss‑Coray emphasizes the causal question—whether blood proteins drive aging or merely reflect it—and points to specific inflammatory factors whose neutralization improves cognition in mice.

The implications are profound: if the active components can be isolated, they could become precision anti‑aging drugs, offering a non‑invasive strategy to slow neurodegeneration and extend healthspan. However, larger, rigorously controlled clinical trials are needed before regulatory approval and widespread therapeutic use.

Original Description

Dr. Tony Wyss-Coray, PhD, is a professor of neurology at Stanford School of Medicine and Director of the Phil and Penny Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience who is discovering factors present in young blood and in exercised blood that can improve brain, heart, and other organ health. We discuss how different organs age at different rates and how to accurately measure biological aging. We also discuss the specific proteins found in blood when we are young and that are increased by things such as exercise, sunlight exposure, short-term fasting, specific foods, and social connection that can significantly increase vitality, restore youthful functioning of the brain and body, and potentially increase lifespan.

Show notes: https://go.hubermanlab.com/U67koOl

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Dr. Tony Wyss-Coray

Stanford cademic profile: https://med.stanford.edu/profiles/tony-wyss-coray

Lab website: https://web.stanford.edu/group/twclab/cgi-bin

Publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=huboyZcAAAAJ&hl=en

TED talk: https://www.ted.com/speakers/tony_wyss_coray

X: https://x.com/wysscoray

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-wyss-coray-91592010

Timestamps

00:00:00 Tony Wyss-Coray

00:03:00 Young vs Old Animals, Age-Related Disease

00:06:35 Blood Biomarkers, Young vs Old Humans, Alzheimer's Disease

00:12:50 Sponsors: David & LMNT

00:15:28 'Young Blood' Factors, Rejuvenation, Stem Cells

00:20:15 Blood Banking; Dracula

00:23:10 Rates of Aging in Organs, Age Gap & Disease Risk; Risk Profiles & Therapies

00:33:02 NAD Levels & Aging, NMN Supplements

00:36:44 Vitality vs Longevity; Periods of Accelerated Aging

00:43:17 Sponsors: AG1 & Roka

00:45:22 Sunlight; Youthful Blood Factors, Exercise & Brain Function, Fasting

00:51:25 Exercise, Injury & Inflammation

00:56:18 Pro-health Factors, Klotho, GDF11, Stem Cell Injection Risk

01:02:35 Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP); Exosomes

01:05:43 Smoking, EMFs, Plastics, Long-Term Accumulation, Fresh Foods, Organic Food

01:11:28 Sponsor: Function

01:13:16 Intermittent Fasting, Long-Term Fasting, Snacking

01:19:07 Sleep; Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) Factors & Cognitive Function

01:24:44 Exercise Type & Longevity; Exercise Enjoyment

01:32:02 Lifestyle Factors & Alzheimer's Risk; Cognitive Exercise; Chocolate

01:37:05 Alcohol & Social Connection; US vs European Food Culture

01:40:50 Deliberate Deep Breathing; Wearables, Sunlight & Artificial Light

01:49:13 Future Projects

01:56:40 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow, Reviews & Feedback, Sponsors, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter

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