Which longevity and cure claims are actually real, and how far along are they?
A working list of the approaches that get talked about, each placed on the evidence ladder by what has been shown in people, not what has been promised. We say "no outcome data" out loud when that is the truth. We take no money from supplement or pharma companies and sell nothing on this page.
What changed this week
We log every move up or down the ladder, with the paper that caused it. Full change log.
A strain from frog and newt guts beat anti-PD-L1 and doxorubicin in mouse tumors, which is a genuinely interesting result from a place nobody had searched. It enters at the bottom of the ladder anyway: one lab, mice, no replication. The paper's safety conclusion is the part that fails review — Ewingella americana has a documented human case record including neonatal meningitis, fatal sepsis and a multi-drug-resistant isolate, which the write-ups omit. The approach has one real human datapoint (Clostridium novyi-NT plus pembrolizumab, 25% response in 16 refractory patients), and that is what the grade for the field rests on, not this strain.
PhenoAge is the rare case where the cheap measure is the better validated one: nine routine blood markers, validated against mortality in NHANES, free to compute. It still only predicts — no trial has tested whether lowering the number helps. Lithocholic acid goes in at the bottom of the ladder: two Nature papers in animals, no human data, and the molecule doubles as a standard rodent model of cholestatic liver injury, which the popular write-ups leave out.
IARC's 760,000-cases-a-year figure is real, but the eradication evidence splits: randomised incidence reduction in high-incidence Asian populations against no all-cause mortality benefit when pooled, and no screening recommendation in low-incidence countries. The source thread, an uncited supplement protocol attached to a paid coaching funnel, was kept out of the feed.
Where we stand
Our reading of the whole list, kept deliberately short. Reasons are in each entry. Talk to your doctor before acting on any of it.
Worth acting on
Human outcome data, low risk, accessible today.
- Cardiorespiratory fitness and strengthLargest mortality effect of anything on this list. Free.
- Lp(a) test, once in your lifeGenetic risk factor most people have never measured.
- GLP-1 / GIP agonists, if you are obeseOutcome trials show fewer cardiovascular events.
- Dietary nitrate for blood pressureModest, real, cheap. Not a heart-disease cure.
Worth watching
Real science, human trials under way, not ready for you.
- Lp(a) lowering drugsOutcome trials reading out now.
- Partial epigenetic reprogrammingFirst human trial, in the eye. Phase 1.
- Stem-cell islets for type 1 diabetesPhase 3. Still needs immunosuppression.
- RentosertibWatch for a healthy-volunteer aging study.
Not worth your money yet
Sold widely, but no human outcome evidence.
- NAD+ boosters (NMN, NMNH, NRH)Raise blood NAD. No outcome data.
- Molecular hydrogen waterOne 40-person pilot. Heavily marketed.
- TaurineMouse data. Human trials ongoing.
- Ivermectin for cancerCase reports only. Melanoma self-treatment is dangerous.
The radar
All 46 entries, most advanced first. Each name opens its own page with the evidence, sources and change history.
| Approach | Stage | Evidence | One-line verdict | Reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rapamycin (mTOR inhibition)Aging itself | Approved drug, off-label use | Cstrong animal data | Extends lifespan across many animal species, but there is no human outcome data for longevity and side effects such as poor wound healing and infection are real. | Jul 2026 |
| Acarbose (alpha-glucosidase inhibitor)Aging itself | Approved drug, off-label use | Cstrong animal data | One of the most reproducible lifespan extenders in mice, mainly in males, but there is no human longevity trial. | Jul 2026 |
| Anti-amyloid antibodies (Lecanemab / Donanemab)Brain & neurodegeneration | Approved | Aoutcome RCTs | Slows cognitive decline by about 27 to 35% in early Alzheimer's, which is not a cure, and brain swelling or bleeding is a real risk. | Jul 2026 |
| GLP-1 / GIP receptor agonists (semaglutide, tirzepatide)Diabetes & metabolic | Approved | Aoutcome RCTs | Large outcome trials show fewer cardiovascular events and kidney protection, with open questions on muscle loss and lifelong use. | Jul 2026 |
| Casgevy (exa-cel) — sickle cell & beta-thalassemiaGenetic & blood disorders | Approved | Cuncontrolled, large effect | Ended pain crises or transfusion dependence for most patients in uncontrolled trials, at very high cost and with intensive conditioning. | Jul 2026 |
| Lenacapavir twice-yearly PrEP (Yeztugo)Infectious disease | Approved | Aoutcome RCTs | Randomised trials showed zero HIV infections among more than 2,100 women and about 96% lower incidence in a second trial. | Jul 2026 |
| Cardiorespiratory fitness (VO₂max) & strengthAging itself | Established | Blarge cohorts | In large observational cohorts the top VO₂max quartile has about 4 to 5 times lower all-cause mortality than the bottom, and nothing pharmacological on this list comes close. | Jul 2026 |
| Restoring nitric oxide — dietary nitrate (beets/leafy greens), sunlight, exerciseHeart & cardiovascular | Established, for blood pressure only | Bblood pressure RCTs | Lowers systolic blood pressure by about 3 to 5 mmHg in randomised trials, but there is no outcome data showing it prevents heart attacks, deaths or plaque. | Sep 2026 |
| Phenotypic age (PhenoAge) — biological age from nine routine blood markersDiagnostics & early detection | Available now, as a risk score | Blarge validated cohorts, no trial | A well-validated mortality risk score you can compute from a normal blood panel for free. It predicts; no trial shows that driving the number down changes what happens to you. | Oct 2026 |
| Rentosertib (ISM001-055) — AI-discovered TNIK inhibitorAging itself | Phase 3, for lung fibrosis | Cpost-hoc biomarker | Six aging clocks moved in 42 lung-fibrosis patients over 12 weeks, a design that cannot separate slowed aging from a treated lung, and no healthy-volunteer or outcome data exist. | Sep 2026 |
| Pelareorep (oncolytic reovirus) — pancreatic cancerCancer | Phase 3, pancreatic cancer | Cresponse rates only | Response rates in later-line settings beat the approved comparator, but that is not randomised survival data and the Phase 3 has not reported. | Jul 2026 |
| Individualised neoantigen therapy (intismeran autogene, mRNA-4157/V940) — melanomaCancer | Phase 3, positive topline | BPhase 3 unpublished | Phase 3 beat Keytruda alone on recurrence, but only a press release exists, hazard ratios are unpublished and overall survival is immature. | Sep 2026 |
| 40 Hz gamma sensory stimulation (GENUS / Cognito) — Alzheimer'sBrain & neurodegeneration | Phase 3, no results yet | Csmall human trial | Strong mouse data and one small human feasibility trial, but the Phase 3 has not reported and human efficacy is not established. | Sep 2026 |
| GLP-1 analogs (repurposed) for brain healthBrain & neurodegeneration | Phase 2/3 | Cemerging data | Early signals of better memory, but large trials are still running and no brain benefit is proven. | Jul 2026 |
| Lipoprotein(a) lowering (pelacarsen / olpasiran)Heart & cardiovascular | Phase 3, outcome trials | Bsurrogate RCTs | Cuts Lp(a) by 80 to 98% in trials, but outcome trials have not yet shown that this prevents heart attacks or strokes. | Jul 2026 |
| Stem-cell islets for Type 1 diabetes (Vertex zimislecel / VX-880)Diabetes & metabolic | Phase 3 | C12-patient early trial | 10 of 12 patients were off insulin at one year in an early trial, but it needs chronic immunosuppression and Phase 3 results are not out. | Jul 2026 |
| Retatrutide (triple GIP/GLP-1/glucagon agonist)Diabetes & metabolic | Phase 3 | Bweight-loss trials | Top doses cut body weight by about 28 to 30% in trials, but outcome trials are still running and it is not approved. | Jul 2026 |
| Senolytics (Dasatinib + Quercetin, Fisetin)Aging itself | Phase 1/2 | Csmall human studies | Small human studies show the drugs can be given, with off-target side effects, but no durable benefit in people has been shown. | Jul 2026 |
| Personalized mRNA cancer vaccine (autogene cevumeran) — pancreaticCancer | Phase 1/2, pancreatic cancer | Csmall early trial | Nearly 90% of patients whose immune system responded were alive up to six years later in a small early trial, and randomised survival results have not been reported. | Jul 2026 |
| CAR-T against solid tumorsCancer | Phase 1/2 | Cearly responses | Encouraging early responses in gastric and some childhood tumours, but it is not curative for most solid cancers. | Jul 2026 |
| Stem-cell dopamine neurons for Parkinson's (Aspen ASPIRO / Sumitomo raguneprocel)Brain & neurodegeneration | Phase 1/2, conditional approval in Japan | Csmall cohorts | Motor symptoms eased or stabilised for up to two years in small cohorts, with no large randomised results yet. | Jul 2026 |
| In-vivo CRISPR base & prime editingGenetic & blood disorders | Phase 1/2 | Cearly trials | Single doses durably knock down target proteins in early trials, but the platform is young and long-term data do not exist. | Jul 2026 |
| CD19 CAR-T immune 'reset' for lupus & autoimmunityAutoimmune disease | Phase 1/2 | Csmall cohorts | Drug-free remissions lasting past one to two years in small cohorts, with durability and infection risk still under study. | Jul 2026 |
| Partial epigenetic reprogramming (Life Biosciences ER-100)Aging itself | Phase 1, in the eye | Danimal data only | A first-in-human safety trial in the eye has started, but every efficacy result so far comes from animals. | Jul 2026 |
| PCSK9 base editing (Verve VERVE-102)Heart & cardiovascular | Phase 1 | Csmall Phase 1 | One infusion durably lowered LDL in a small Phase 1, but there is no heart-attack outcome data and the long-term safety of a permanent edit is not established. | Jul 2026 |
| Allogeneic 'off-the-shelf' CAR-T (TyU19)Autoimmune disease | Phase 1 | Cearly patients | Donor cells cleared B cells and produced deep remission in early patients, with only six months of follow-up. | Jul 2026 |
| Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE / 'blood cleaning')Aging itself | Early clinical | Csmall trial, surrogate | A small trial lowered biological-age scores by about 1.3 years, a surrogate marker, and there is no outcome data. | Jul 2026 |
| Geroprotector stack — interventions that lower epigenetic ageAging itself | Human biomarker data | Cassociations, surrogate marker | A review of interventions associated with lower epigenetic age, a surrogate marker, with no outcome data showing that the stack extends human life. | Jul 2026 |
| Urolithin A (mitophagy activator)Aging itself | Human biomarker trials | BRCTs, function markers | Randomised trials show modest gains in muscle strength, endurance and immune markers, but there is no lifespan or disease-outcome data. | Jul 2026 |
| Molecular hydrogen (hydrogen-rich water)Aging itself | Early clinical, one pilot | Dsingle pilot | One unreplicated 40-person pilot found longer telomeres, a surrogate marker, there is no outcome data, and most claims come from sellers. | Jul 2026 |
| Defocus-based myopia control + active focus (behavioral / 'Endmyopia')Vision & eyes | Early clinical, trials in children | Cchild RCTs, adult anecdote | Randomised trials show defocus training slows eye growth in children, but adult reversal rests on one case that has not been peer reviewed. | Jul 2026 |
| Systemic in-vivo reprogramming (Yamanaka factors)Aging itself | Preclinical | Dmouse studies | Mice show reversed aging markers, but the cancer risk is unsolved and no person has received it systemically. | Jul 2026 |
| Trametinib + Rapamycin combinationAging itself | Preclinical, mice | Dsingle mouse study | The combination extended mouse lifespan by about 27 to 29% in one study and has not been tested for aging in people. | Jul 2026 |
| Taurine supplementationAging itself | Preclinical, human trials under way | Danimal data only | Extended healthy lifespan by about 10 to 12% in mice, but there is no human outcome data and later analyses question whether taurine really declines with age. | Jul 2026 |
| Next-gen NAD+ boosters (NMN / NMNH / NRH)Aging itself | Supplement, early trials | CNAD levels only | Trials show these supplements raise NAD+ levels 2 to 3 times, but there is no human outcome data on lifespan or disease. | Jul 2026 |
| Mitochondrial transplantation & mtDNA repairAging itself | Preclinical | Dmouse and lab | Mitochondrial DNA damage rising after 60 is documented, but correcting it has only been shown in mice and no human transplant data exist. | Jul 2026 |
| Targeting 'inflammaging' (chronic low-grade inflammation)Aging itself | Preclinical | Done mouse study | Boosting one anti-inflammatory protein made old mice stronger, while human approaches remain early with no outcome data. | Jul 2026 |
| Lithocholic acid (LCA) — a calorie-restriction mimeticAging itself | Preclinical, animals only | Danimals only, no human data | Two Nature papers show a bile acid reproducing calorie-restriction effects in mice, worms and flies. There is no human data, and the same molecule is a standard way to induce liver injury in rodents. | Oct 2026 |
| Creatine to potentiate immunotherapyCancer | Preclinical | Dmouse study | Improved anti-tumour immune signalling in mouse melanoma and has not been tested in people with cancer. | Jul 2026 |
| RNA-triggered chromatin shredding (CRISPR-Cas12a2) for p53-mutant cancersCancer | Preclinical, lab only | Dlab only | Selectively killed p53-mutant cells in the lab, and nobody yet knows how to deliver it to every tumour cell in a living body. | Jul 2026 |
| Ivermectin (repurposed / topical) for skin lesions & cancerCancer | Preclinical, case reports | Dcase reports | Lab and mouse data plus uncontrolled case reports, no controlled human trial, and self-treating melanoma risks a fatal delay. | Jul 2026 |
| Helicobacter pylori eradication for gastric cancer preventionCancer | Approved treatment, prevention benefit population-dependent | BRCT incidence data in high-incidence populations; no all-cause mortality benefit when pooled | Eradication clearly lowers gastric cancer incidence where the bacterium and the cancer are common, but the largest pooled analysis shows no all-cause mortality benefit, and no country with Austria's incidence screens for it. | Oct 2026 |
| Tumor-colonising bacteria as cancer therapy (Ewingella americana)Cancer | Preclinical, mice only | Dmice only; safety claim contradicted | Beat two standard drugs in mice in a single unreplicated study, and the strain it proposes to inject is a documented opportunistic pathogen in exactly the immunocompromised patients who would receive it. | Oct 2026 |
| HIV functional cure (bnAb CAR-T / broadly neutralizing antibodies)Infectious disease | Preclinical, early human work | Cearly human, mice | Reservoir reduction in early human work and viral suppression in mice, still far from a routine cure. | Jul 2026 |
| Psilocybin for brain aging & neurodegenerationBrain & neurodegeneration | Speculative | Done case report | A single Alzheimer's case report and preliminary lab data, not a basis for treating brain aging. | Jul 2026 |
| Whole-body ultrasonic CT scanner (Midjourney Medical)Diagnostics & early detection | Prototype, unvalidated | Dno independent validation | About a dozen people scanned, not FDA-cleared, and every image-quality claim comes from the company with no independent clinical validation. | Jul 2026 |
Nothing on the radar matches. Try a broader word or clear the filters.
Evidence grades: A, randomised outcome data in people. B, randomised human data on surrogate markers, or consistent large cohorts. C, small or uncontrolled human data, or strong animal data. D, animal or lab only, single pilot, or case reports. Grades describe the evidence, not our opinion of the idea. Grades were last reviewed 14 September 2026 and are open to challenge; write to us with the paper.
Guides
Longer answers to the questions people search for, built from the entries above.
NMN and other NAD+ boosters, urolithin A, taurine and hydrogen water, each graded by the human evidence behind it. None has outcome data yet.
Aging clocks, epigenetic age and telomere length are surrogate markers. What a younger result can and cannot tell you, with examples from the radar.
Rapamycin, acarbose, senolytics, rentosertib and reprogramming therapies, sorted by how far each has got in human testing and what the trials measured.
How we rate
- Stage is set by the most advanced credible program, checked against the trial registry, not the company's or the influencer's framing.
- Every load-bearing claim is verified against the primary paper before it goes on the page. If we cannot find the paper, the claim does not appear.
- Surrogate markers are labelled as surrogates. An aging clock, a telomere length or an LDL number is not a lifespan or a heart attack.
- We publish the science and correct the overclaim. If a viral thread gets the biology right and the conclusion wrong, the entry says so.
- Sellers are not sources. Posts whose purpose is to sell a supplement or a protocol do not enter the feed, whatever they cite.
- Changes are logged. Every move on the ladder, and every correction, is dated and public.
Who reviews
This site takes no advertising and no money from supplement, device or pharmaceutical companies. Nobody on this page sells a protocol or a product.
If that ever changes, it will say so here first. Readers who want to support the work can do so once the paid report exists, below. About the radar.
Corrections and downgrades
We would rather be seen fixing things than be assumed never to be wrong.
Nitric oxide entry: the source thread claimed LDL-lowering trials showed "zero mortality benefit". That is false. The CTT meta-analysis of about 170,000 patients found roughly 10% lower all-cause mortality per 1 mmol/L LDL reduction.
The thread was not added to the feed. The underlying science on dietary nitrate and blood pressure was staged on its own merits.
Molecular hydrogen: a widely shared post was found to be affiliate marketing and was removed from the feed. The entry stays, staged as a single unreplicated pilot.
Once a week, what moved on the ladder
A short email each Monday: the entries that changed stage, why, and the paper behind it. No roundup of everything that was tweeted. Unsubscribe in one click.
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The Longevity Reality Report, 2026 edition
All 46 entries with full evidence notes, the act, watch or ignore reasoning, and the questions to bring to your doctor. A PDF, updated through 2026 at no extra cost.