Just a short summary of my experience with this plasmapheresis clinical trial. I received 6 plasmapheresis sessions over 3+ months (perhaps about 4 months, due to xmas scheduling difficulties). I had stopped rapamycin about a month prior to joining the study (because they said no rapamycin users). As a result I was off rapamycin for over 6 months total, as there was talk of another meeting/followup after the end of the treatment series to see how long benefits might have lasted, but they didn’t do that for me.
I did not feel or notice any improvements, functionally or in any other dimension. The measures that they did (grip strength, balance, sit walk timing test, etc.) showed no real changes during the months of testing, and test administrator said I was 1st or second best on most measures in the group. I’m a reasonably healthy person, exercise 3 to 6 hours a week, and have for most of my life. Heavier than I want to be by about 10 or 15 lbs but really just want to convert more fat to muscle. Levine Phenotypic age about 12 years younger than chronological age. None of this seemed to have changed much.
And actually, I have to say generally I felt better when I was on rapamycin, than during or after the TPE sessions.
I spoke with Matt Kaeberlein at the last Longevity Summit at the Buck Institute, about my experience with TPE and he suggested that the rapamycin may have confounded my results… going off rapamycin prior to TPE sessions could have resulted in changes that would have masked or negated any benefits from the TPE program, we just don’t know. So he didn’t think we could interpret things one way or another from this N = 1.
Broadly speaking, from looking at the final results and listening to Dobri Kiprov on the study, it seems that the less healthy (and perhaps older) you are, the more likely you are to benefit from TPE.
They did not share the individual test results, blood measures and proteomics testing results with the participants - so I don’t know the details. I did one comprehensive blood test just prior to the program (they wanted this as part of the entry into the program), and they did blood testing throughout the program from the blood draws they did during the clinical study (but I never saw results). I did my own followup blood tests some months after the final TPE test, and no significant changes were seen in my measures. I was busy so it was not done as quickly afterwards that I should have done if I really wanted to see the results.
So, overall, I saw no significant measurable benefit from the 6 TPE sessions I participated in. They unblinded me after the last session, but I really believed I was in the “control” group given my apparent lack of results. But, they confirmed that I was actually in the treatment arm. For me at least, it is not something I’d do on my own $, at least for another 15 years or more. Perhaps at that point it might provide more benefit for me, and I may need it more.
