Longevity medicine has officially gone mainstream. There is no shortage of notable stories this past year or so, even if some of them are unsettling, like the moment when Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping were caught on a hot mic talking about organ transplantation to replace failing body parts. “The longer you live, the younger you become, and … even achieve immortality,” Putin’s interpreter was heard saying at their Beijing summit this summer. But there are several bona fide breakthroughs and more practical innovations as well. To learn more about the top stories in longevity in 2025, get in touch with PHASE Plastic Surgery today.
Circulate TPE
Seattle-based Circulate.health announced results of a randomized, prospective, sham-controlled clinical trial showing reduction of aging biomarkers with a series of Therapeutic Plasma Exchange (TPE) treatments. (Sham treatment is like the placebo group in a drug trial – very difficult to do with this type of procedure.) The study was conducted in conjunction with the prestigious Buck Institute in California. At the present time, Circulate TPE is the only procedure proven in a rigorous clinical trial to reverse aging biomarkers. We are excited to offer the proprietary Circulate TPE protocol in our office. Additional clinical trials are underway for Alzheimer’s, long covid, and clearance of microplastics. Reference: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/acel.70103
Longevity as a Cultural Movement
When I first started my deep dive into Longevity Medicine several years ago, it was still an esoteric subject. Most physicians didn’t take it seriously (and many still don’t), and consumers looked at it skeptically, fatigued after so much anti-aging hype that didn’t accomplish much. Now, longevity has been christened among the hottest trends of 2025 by Vogue, and longevity clinics are proliferating around the world. (See our listing in the new global directory here.)
The downside of this is that it requires even more careful consideration to discern what works from what doesn’t. The science driving Longevity Medicine and research is highly sophisticated, while many of the offerings out there are decidedly less so. What works in a lab rat may not work in humans, and may do more harm than good.
Epigenetic Reprogramming Entering Clinical Trials
Epigenetic reprogramming is a potentially seismic development in longevity and regenerative medicine, and clinical trials began this year. Here’s a quick primer for those who don’t spend their days in a research lab:
- Epigenetics is the system of proteins that is akin to “software” which controls the expression or suppression of genes on our DNA “hardware”. Although the DNA is identical in each of the billions of cells in the human body, they differ because of how genes are turned on or off in response to epigenetic activity.
- A set of epigenetic proteins was discovered some years ago that can reverse aging in cells, potentially reverting them all the way back to stem cells. (These are known as the Yamanaka factors after the Japanese researcher who discovered them, and who won a Nobel prize for it.)
- Epigenetic reprogramming uses combinations of these factors to restore cells to a more youthful state while stopping the process before they lose their identity.
This year, a breakthrough was reported from Jeff Bezos-backed Altos Labs using a single injection of a reprogramming factor in a mouse model of aging, finding extended lifespans and improvement in several age biomarkers. IF it works in humans, it would be a transformative step forward.
Meanwhile, longevity biotech company Life Biosciences has approval to begin a human trial of partial epigenetic reprogramming. Their product, called ER-100, targets two causes of blindness involving the optic nerve. Studies in animals showed that it could restore vision, and so expectations are high for treating causes of human blindness. If successful, the treatment could be broadly implemented for a range of conditions associated with aging.
Mitochondrial Transplantation: Mitrix Bio
Mitochondria, the energy factories within our cells, are vital to overall health and major players in how we age. They have their own DNA, which degrades with advancing age, resulting in dysfunction of cell metabolism and senescence. A range of conditions is associated with mitochondrial DNA damage, including heart disease, cancer, and dementia. A startup company called Mitrix Bio aims to restore mitochondria by transplanting replacements derived from stem cells grown in a lab, with a goal of extending human lifespan to 130 years. In July, they announced their intent to start human clinical trials, with the first subject a retired physicist from the University of Washington. I haven’t been able to confirm whether the first subjects have in fact been treated, but reportedly, 93-year-old William Shatner and several former astronauts are on the list.
Longevity-technology (https://ff.co/longevity-technology/)
The Convergence of Longevity, Beauty, and Health
Anti-aging was the domain of beauty products for many years, but now we recognize that external attractiveness derives from internal health, and vice versa. Longevity science links them together by identifying the specific ways that skin ages, how this is a manifestation of whole-body health, and how it informs and influences systemic health. This convergence isn’t lost on the business world; beauty companies are increasingly turning to longevity science to up their game.
Examples of this include the Estée Lauder Company’s formation of a “longevity expert collective” and underwriting research on the relationships between longevity, appearance, and well-being. L’Oreal rolled out a skin analysis program called Cell BioPrint, which determines the protein composition of the skin and how it affects aging. One of the pioneers in this field, Haut.AI, developed a skin age clock to predict the effects of various products on skin aging.
There is still more hype than hard science in the field, but they are moving in the right direction. Look for products such as OneSkin, clinically proven to reduce markers of senescence.
GLP-1 Drugs as Longevity Hacks
Evidence has slowly been accumulating around pro-longevity effects of GLP-1 drugs (tirzepatide, semaglutide) beyond diabetes and weight loss. Now the cat is out of the bag, so to speak, with recent reports revealing significant reductions in aging-related diseases, including cardiovascular events, cognitive decline, and overall mortality. The announcement that GLP-1s could be considered the first true longevity drugs came at the influential annual Anti-Aging Research and Drug Discovery (ARDD) meeting in Copenhagen in August. Pharma companies have generally avoided longevity claims, relegating the use of their products to “off-label” status in Longevity Medicine. Further, the lower doses used for longevity should make them more affordable and accessible.
Advancement in Women’s Healthy Longevity
It wasn’t that long ago when many physicians wouldn’t touch the subject of hormone replacement (many are still hesitant), but the longevity gender gap may be closing. It has long been known that, on average, women live longer than men but spend more years in poor health. A recent review found that the severity of menopausal symptoms is highly predictive of future health and longevity. Because ovaries are the fastest-aging organs in the body, it is no surprise that menopause accelerates biological aging. A better understanding of how this happens provides insights into the aging process and how hormone replacement therapy fits in with longevity. Also, no shocker that hormone replacement therapy for post-menopausal women is associated with lower biological age. The tide is shifting now with greater support for hormone replacement.
This year a lab at Columbia University revealed insights into how ovarian aging influences overall aging, by doing genetic analysis seeking to explain why women enter into menopause at different ages. They found a variant associated with later menopause in a gene involved in DNA repair. This gene and others are implicated in overall aging involving the mTOR pathway, a central process in cell metabolism and longevity. This suggests that the use of rapamycin, which targets mTOR, could be useful in slowing ovarian aging as well as overall longevity.
The lab went on to validate this in a pilot study called VIBRANT—Validating Benefits of Rapamycin for Reproductive Aging Treatment—involving 50 healthy reproductive-age women. The drug was well-tolerated and slowed ovarian aging by about 20%. According to lead researcher Dr. Yousin Suh, “By slowing ovarian aging using a safe, inexpensive pill, we can extend women’s healthspan and lifespan.”
Bookending this sad chapter in women’s health, in November, the FDA removed the Black Box warning on women’s hormone replacement. An editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association remarked, “With the exception of antibiotics and vaccines, there may be no medication in the modern world that can improve the health outcomes of older women on a population level more than hormone therapy.” About time.
Lifelong Social Connections Linked to Slower Biological Aging
While it is well-established that social connectedness has favorable effects on health & longevity, an impressive paper from Cornell University published this year showed that it slows aging at an epigenetic level and reduces biomarkers of inflammation. It may even be the most powerful anti-aging behavior of all. The researchers drew from data from 2117 adults in an ongoing study called MIDUS (Midlife in the United States) and measured social connectedness across multiple domains – familial, religious, and community. So your partner dance class, book club, volunteer group, and any other way to stay connected can have profound effects at a molecular level.
Klotho Clinical Trials Announced (Klotho Neurosciences)
One of the more intriguing longevity proteins was discovered in 1997 by Japanese researcher Makoto Kuro-O, who named it after the Greek goddess Klotho, whose role was to spin the thread of life. Like many essential biomolecules, klotho levels decline with age, and lower concentrations in the blood are associated with shortened lifespan in animal studies, while increasing levels slow biological aging and extend lifespan. This is not easy to do, but biotech startup Klotho Neurosciences is making progress. In July, they announced that they are entering late-stage clinical trials for ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) with a novel gene therapy designed to elevate klotho levels by promoting production of it within a patient’s own cells. Because klotho supports metabolic resilience, muscle mass, bone density, cardiovascular health, and brain function, the company is hoping to see broad longevity effects in addition to an indication for one specific disease.
Progress in Alzheimer’s
Treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s, are essential to any longevity strategy, and progress has been agonizingly slow. But new research suggests we may be getting close. Biotech company Annovis released data this year from a Phase 2/3 clinical trial of their flagship candidate drug, butanetap, showing a reduction in several biomarkers of neuroinflammation associated with Alzheimer’s. The drug is designed to slow or reverse neurodegenerative processes by suppressing the production of multiple neurotoxic proteins. This points to a potential solution to altering the underlying causes of neurodegeneration, and further clinical trials are planned.
Perhaps more exciting is the potential for an Alzheimer’s vaccine. In October, Swedish biotech Alzinova announced that it had received Fast Track designation from the US FDA for its vaccine targeting Alzheimer’s disease and approval to proceed with a Phase 2 clinical trial in the U.S.
(Oct 10, Longevity.Technology)
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