The Herman Trend Alert

April 13, 2022

New Drug May Reverse Aging

For centuries scientists have sought the Fountain of Youth: in water, in drugs, in environments and more. Now, after years of research with animals, a new longevity drug is about to enter clinical trials. Fingers crossed.

What is Sarcopenia?

Like Osteopenia which is a reduction in bone mass typically associated with aging, Sarcopenia is the progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength, and again, it usually happens when the body is over 40 years old. By a person's 80s, the disease can be responsible for up to 50 percent muscle loss. Sarcopenia can be either chronic (age-induced) or acute (inactivity-induced), affecting up to 22 percent of 65-year-olds and 50 percent of 80-year-olds; plus, sadly there are no current treatment options.

Created to Help those Afflicted with Sarcopenia

Recently a biomedical company Rejuvenate Biomed has started a first Phase 1 clinical trial with its RJx-01 for treating sarcopenia, while expanding its team and moving to a new lab. This trial marks the company's growth from a preclinical- to a clinical-stage company and is accompanied by the expansion of the team and relocation to their new Health Campus in Diepenbeek, Belgium. RJx-01 is a new grouping of known drugs; therefore, extensive safety data is already available for its constituent compounds.

A Different Methodology

The methodology of this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial is the first of its kind: up to 42 healthy subjects (65- to 75-year-olds) will be hosted on-site in a hotel with full professional supervision for two weeks. As a feature of this trial, to prevent muscle use, the participants will be placed in a leg cast to induce mild acute sarcopenia while being in treatment with RJx-01. As they continue to be treated with RJx-01, once the cast is removed, subjects will be closely monitored over a four-week period. Afterwards, the trial participants will undergo a personalized rehabilitation program. The trial will also assess treatment effectiveness and collect information on possible sarcopenia biomarkers and the potential usefulness of imaging techniques for future trials. Researchers will use a blend of classic and hi-tech assessment techniques, including data from wearable health tech devices, mechanistic evaluations, questionnaires, biomarkers, and medical imaging. Topline results are expected in the 4th quarter this year.

Rejuvenate Biomed

Rejuvenate Biomed, a biomedical company develops novel safe and synergistic combinations drugs for age-related diseases. The company is dedicated to evaluating the target of physical decline with targeted therapies, as a means to promoting healthy aging.

What this Development Means to Us

If this combination of drugs really works, researchers see the potential for reversing aging in multiple organs---and that would be ground-breaking. In the meantime, those of us with aches and pains associated with aging must continue to do what we know works: appropriate exercise, good nutrition, enough sleep, and maintaining a positive attitude

Next Week's Herman Trend Alert: Return on Experience (ROX)

The SLD folks in Toronto have recently released a study looking at various aspects of the banking experience and have calculated an ROX. In next week's Alert, we are happy to share the specifics.

Special thanks to the Longevity.Technology website for calling this development to my attention.

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