Dr. Joan Mannick — mTOR’s Role in Aging

[Jensen_Achilles]

My ferritin was pretty much the same level (5) doctor put me on 3 iron tablets a day for a few months and now its normal again. I also donated lots of blood so most likely the cause as I wasn’t even taking rapamycin at the time it was so low.

[RapamycinCurious]

@Joseph

Lustig is Professor emeritus of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology

Yes: professor emeritus (that is, no longer a professor) in the Division of Endocrinology (that is, not a cardiologist). There is a very strong scientific consensus that apoB/LDL-cholesterol is the core driver of atherosclerosis.

Low-density lipoproteins cause atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Evidence from genetic, epidemiologic, and clinical studies. A consensus statement from the European Atherosclerosis Society Consensus Panel | European Heart Journal | Oxford Academic]

[AnUser]

I think it’s pointless to debate the LDL topic further, at this point it is beating a dead horse. The LDL denialist wackos are going to stick to their positions no matter the evidence. I’ve seen it too much, the repeating ad nauseam of the same flawed arguments that have been debunked and destroyed over and over by superior evidence. The human mind is fascinating, the debate is not.

[RapamycinCurious]

@DMac

While it is true that rapamycin has been associated with increased lipids, the claim that rapamycin causes heart disease as a side effect is not supported by the available evidence.

In fact, studies have suggested that TORC1 inhibition may have cardioprotective effects by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress in the heart, which are key drivers of heart disease. For example, a study published in the journal Aging Cell in 2019 found that rapamycin treatment reduced cardiac fibrosis and improved cardiac function in aged mice.

You’re conflating two different things. When people say that apoB/LDL-C drive “heart disease,” they mean atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) — the single greatest killer on the planet.

The kind of “heart disease” that involves cardiac fibrosis is heart failure, which is a different kind of cardiovascular problem entirely with different drivers.

@DMac

Furthermore, the claim that the lipid number is all that matters when assessing the risk of heart disease is also not entirely accurate. While elevated lipids are a risk factor for heart disease, they are not the only factor. Other risk factors such as hypertension, smoking, and diabetes also play important roles in the development of heart disease. Therefore, simply controlling lipid levels may not completely nullify the risk of heart disease in individuals

True, but don’t jump to the converse. You can have all those other risk factors under control and still be killed by ASCVD if your apoB is high enough: this is exactly what happens in even fairly young people with familial hypercholesterolemia.

[RapamycinCurious]

@RapAdmin

I don’t want to repeat the cardiovascular disease thread discussion here

Would you please link said discussion?

[AnUser]

It’s here: Rapamycin and risk of cardiovascular disease

[RapAdmin]

A good presentation by Joan Mannick on mTOR and rapalogs/rapamycin:

Joan Mannick - Targeting Disease by Inhibiting mTOR