In awe of the prospect, or perhaps from concern, I had to know how the contents of an elegant cylindrical container adorned with “RESTORIN”, developed by Seragon Biosciences, could be the answer to aging. In the age of AI, the adage, “seeing is believing” is gradually dwindling, and considering that experiencing is believing, I tried it. While I felt more energized and slept like a log, I could only attribute this to the placebo effect. The mind is powerful and what we believe can shape how we feel. Even so, it’s an effect I can live with. Still, how could a pill do such a thing if it wasn’t a placebo?
The name RESTORIN implies restoration, and restoration suggests that something has been lost or damaged. We tend not to think of aging as biological deterioration, but that’s what it is. Our organs age at different rates and when enough damage has occurred, diseases manifest. For instance, the deterioration of the brain manifests in cognitive impairment and eventually Alzheimer’s. Considering diseases like Alzheimer’s are leading causes of death in the United States, dying of “natural causes” can be understood as dying of biological deterioration.
Geroscientists — scientists who study the biology of aging — have recently begun to understand the underlying causes of aging, which begins at the cellular level. This is probably why Seragon has gone with the name RESTORIN, not only alluding to the restoration of youthfulness but also the restoration of several cellular processes. These cellular processes are the same brought back or maintained with caloric restriction (CR) — limiting calories by about 25% or more each day. Remarkably, CR has been shown to prolong the lifespan of organisms ranging from yeast to mice, suggesting that reducing caloric intake is the key to slowing aging.
Today the geroscience field rests on the shoulders of mimicking the benefits of CR with the assumption being it increases human lifespan. However, almost no human is capable of maintaining a caloric deficit their entire life. The next best thing is restoring processes, including nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) levels, essential for cellular survival; autophagy, our cellular waste disposal system; and sirtuins, enzymes that repair our DNA and keep our mitochondria healthy. Perhaps the most important process is the inhibition of a molecule called mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin). Notable geoscientists like David Sinclair, PhD, have publicly admitted to taking the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin, believing it could be the best way to slow aging.
Importantly, David Brown, PhD, Senior Scientist at Seragon Biosciences, has said that their new aging-intervention drug candidate SRN-901 “contains many of the most potent aging intervention technologies, including those involved in mTOR inhibition, autophagy and mitophagy activation, and senolytic stimulation.” This means that RESTORIN could counteract cellular aging not only by targeting NAD+ metabolism, autophagy, and mitophagy (the term used to describe the clearance of damaged mitochondria) but also by senolytic stimulation. Senolytics remove senescent cells, which are cells that contribute to organ and tissue deterioration. Animal models suggest that senolytics can ameliorate diseases and prolong lifespan, making them one of the more exciting compounds in the geroscience field.
With this in mind, Seragon has developed a reputation for scientific rigor and attention to detail. Indeed, Seragon spent six years conducting one of the most thorough mammalian studies to validate the efficacy of its drug candidates, demonstrating the age-slowing and life-extending capacity of SRN-901, from which RESTORIN was developed. Dr. Brown has said their drug increases the remaining lifespan of middle-aged mice by one-third, which is one the largest increases in lifespan reported in mice from any oral-form intervention. Insofar as it seems, Seragon’s research expertise and ingenuity have enhanced the patented technologies they’ve obtained from Harvard University, the Mayo Clinic, and Scripps Research to generate a precision synergetic outcome using the most well-recognized geoscientific interventions.
Ultimately, in doing my due diligence in investigating the true contents of a RESOTRIN pill, I began to doubt my assumptions of the entirety of its effects sprouting from my mind. Initially, with so many products draped in clever marketing, aimed towards taking my attention and money, I sought the refuge and comfort of facts. Based on what I gathered on mTOR, sirtuins, NAD+, autophagy, mitophagy, and senescent cells, I opened up to the possibility that rejuvenating my cells and organs could give me the energy boost and better sleep I experienced.
Still, the degree to which RESOTRIN can promote human longevity is an open question. It is practically impossible to conduct human studies to show any supplement or drug can prolong the lifespan of healthy humans. This is because the time and costs of running such a study are daunting and arduous. Besides, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not acknowledge aging as a disease, making it difficult to obtain funding for lifespan studies, especially with compounds targeting cellular aging. As always, the scientific process takes ages to catch up with and validate the contents of our awareness (if it ever does at all). Until the results are in, we will not know whether any of the new science of aging comes to fruition.
Written in partnership with Tom White.
