May 23, 2019
You've no doubt heard of controversial "young blood transfers", made popular of late in the anti-aging and longevity industry by articles such as:
-Questionable “Young Blood” Transfusions Offered in U.S. as Anti-Aging Remedy
-Startups Flock to Turn Young Blood Into an Elixir of Youth
But what has completely flown under the radar is the fact that plasma transfusions of young blood have been found in clinical research studies to have never-before-seen effects on chronic health conditions such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, autoimmunity and many others.
In today's podcast, with Mark Urdahl and his lead nurse Gloria, you'll get never-before-heard breakthrough information on how young blood transfusions really work for these conditions, along with their true effects on anti-aging and longevity. Mark Urdahl, one of my guests on this podcast, serves as Chairman and CEO of the Young Blood Institute, a non-profit corporation conducting clinical trials in the use of therapeutic plasma exchange as a modality to systemically prevent cellular senescence and the onset of associated immunological, neurological, and cardiovascular disorders.
Mr. Urdahl and his team at the Young Blood Institute have also pioneered the concurrent use of the world’s most advanced, state-of-the-art, ultrasensitive, high-precision blood serum measurement technologies to capture comprehensive “big data” of the human body, an unprecedented combination of testing technologies in human medicine or human clinical research, in order to understand never-before-seen correlations which might lead to discovery of root causes of age-associated disorders.
He began his career with IBM Biomedical Systems, which, in partnership with the National Cancer Institute, invented the world’s first automated blood cell separator, first commercially produced by IBM in the 70’s as the IBM 2997. After IBM sold its Biomedical Systems business unit to COBE Laboratories in 1984, Mr. Urdahl became a systems engineer supporting IBM large systems accounts, including notable innovators in health care management.
Mr. Urdahl went on to lead a distinguished career at IBM, where he held management positions in marketing and sales, technology development, corporate development. After IBM, he founded Applied Science Fiction (ASF), a digital imaging company where he served as Chairman and CEO, overseeing the development of over 150 patent applications and licensing its technology to nearly every major imaging OEM worldwide, including Nikon, Agfa, Minolta, and many others.
Mr. Urdahl subsequently formed the Young Blood Institute as a non-profit 501 (c) (3) corporation to research anti-aging therapies under clinical trials, recruiting world-class principal investigators, establishing a nation-wide network of nurses and private care physicians, creating the most advanced biomarker testing platform in the world, and developing a “big data” database capable of storing data in the cloud in perpetuity.
In 2008 Mr. Urdahl led an investment group to acquire the storage network monitoring business unit of Finisar Corp, including a portfolio of 20+ patents/applications, to form a privately held company, Virtual Instruments. He subsequently formed the Young Blood Institute to research anti-aging therapies under clinical trials, recruiting world-class principal investigators, establishing a nation-wide network of nurses and private care physicians, creating the most advanced biomarker testing platform in the world, and developing a “big data” database capable of storing data in the cloud in perpetuity.
During our discussion, you'll discover:
-The history of the world's first blood cell separator...
- Invented by George Judson in 1965 after his son was diagnosed with leukemia
- Blood cells were separated manually; very laborious
- IBM funded this research and many other inventions that have benefited humanity
- Taber's Medical Encyclopedia
-What is blood cell separation and exchange?...
- Similar to a PRP draw
- Blood drawn from one arm; spun around in centrifuge; separates red, white, plasma (by gravity);
- Machine can draw whichever component you want (platelets, plasma, red cells, etc.)
- Blood is reinserted into the arm sans whichever component you want (ex. plasma) and new plasma is inserted via IV
- New plasma comes from various sources: actual plasma and
purified plasma components
- Broke college kids donate plasma for gas money (creating a very large plasma pool)
- Water is taken out of the plasma; what's left is albumin, immunoglobulins, fibrinogen
- Similar to frozen lemonade (just add water)
-How Mark became interested in the transfer of young blood...
- Was involved in several high-tech yet unfulfilling tasks; desired to do more for humanity
- Heterochronic
parabiosis: the joining of two mice together, one old, one
young
- Systemic milieu
- Findings of mouse research:
- There was one solution (young blood) to multiple problems; however, each problem had its own funding, infrastructure, bureaucracy, etc.
- Both parties are affected: younger deteriorate; older improve
- Initial goal: reboot the immune system for people over the age of 50
-Why the Young Blood Institute operates as a non-profit organization...
- Humanitarian research
- No proprietary issues such as IP,
- Much learning that yet needs to occur
- For profit companies naturally focus on profit;
- Can be contradictory to the idea of research and discovery
- Takes years for truths to emerge (because of investors, stock, etc.)
-The philosophy behind the research and work at the Young Blood Institute...
- Janko Nikolich-Žugich - The immunobiologist at the YBI
- Valid clinical evidence requires data
- How do you prove you've prevented something? By proving it existed in the first place
- Anecdotal data suggests the effects of plasmapheresis extends beyond the indication that is being treated
- Cast a wide net, gather as much data as possible (treat the whole elephant)
- What biomarkers are being tracked:
- Standardized patient care physical exams
- Muscle biopsies
- Muscle function
- Neurological/cognitive function
- Many more
- All tests done before the young blood transfer
- Not trying to cure; trying to prevent
- Don't test for telomeres because it's testing whole blood
- Each cell subset has different telomere lengths
- Wide disparity in test results
- Cells are aware of changes in environment, not calendar times
-A dramatic real-life example of 2 70-year old Youngblood Institute patients...
- The plasma that was withdrawn was rather putrid looking
- After 2-3 treatments (removing old plasma, injecting young plasma) the plasma condition normalized
- Getting rid of the old plasma really matters
- Decrease in whole blood viscosity
- Low shear viscosity: "stickiness" of the blood
-What is "big data of the body"?...
- Digital biomarkers: Apple Watch, HRV, sleep cycles, etc.
- Unprecedented ensemble of data assembled in one place
- Correlations (meta data)
- Data is mined over time
-The government's intervention in this type of technology...
- FDA shut down a for-profit company in the field
- Mark supports the FDA's action and caution
- Infusions are additive; can cause circulatory overload
- YBI does a transfusion; blood volume stays constant
- Mark doesn't fear an FDA shutdown of the Youngblood Institute because they are in agreement with and support their actions
-How something called a "neuro protocol" may lead to breakthroughs in the treatment of Alzheimers...
- Article: Plasma exchange for Alzheimer's disease Management by Albumin Replacement (AMBAR) trial: Study design and progress
- An extension of current protocol: 6 treatments over a 6 week
period
- Add a partial monthly treatment for 12 months
- Mark's lead nurse, Gloria, was the lead on the AMBAR study, and had shocking stories to tell
- Could potentially lead to treatment of Parkinson's and ALS
- 60% success in arresting the development of Alzheimers
- The End of Alzheimer's by Dr. Dale Bredesen
- Proper clinical trial: unbiased investigators who look at data, not the subjects
-The role of a head nurse in a plasma transfusion...
- It's largely a nurse's procedure
- Top 6 nurses at the YBI have 230+ years of experience
- Get lead physicians observations; head nurse will sometimes provide that for them
- Interact with patients and get their observations
- Alzheimers affects the family of the patient more than the patient (due to their loss of memory)
-Gloria's observations treating patients, both with the AMBAR study and at the YBI...
- "Early results on Parkinson's and ALS patients are very encouraging"
- Grifols did a placebo test on
patients:
- Patients already had minimum mild level of Alzheimers
- "Sham" is used in the best possible sense
- Patients perceived they were receiving the treatment when they were not
- Treated over 180 subjects over a four year period
- One patient in particular deteriorated rapidly while on the sham study
- "Predictive biomarkers" are used to admit patients into the YBI treatments
- Some of the good stories:
- Orchard farmer in his 80's showed remarkable improvement after approx. 8 months (18 treatments)
- Woman who just turned 60, lost her joy for life; after 2 months, daughter reported amazing progress; flirting with everyone after 5 months
- Patients regain previously lost memories
-Can apheresis be used as an anti-aging treatment even if one doesn't have Alzheimers?...
- "Apparent health" can be a misnomer; all of a sudden someone can have 3 major diseases
- YBI doesn't treat patients as young as 30 years old
- Alzheimers, Parkinson's, ALS symptoms begin very young
-Why these studies and treatments are still occurring more or less behind the scenes...
-And much more...
Resources from this episode:
-The End of Alzheimer's book by Dr. Dale Bredesen
-My first interview with Dr. Matt Cook
-My second interview with Dr. Matt Cook
-Biohacking Alzheimers, Age Reversal, Young Blood, Stem Cells, Exosomes podcast
-My podcast with Tom Ingoglia of the NAD injection clinic in San Diego
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Do you have questions, thoughts or feedback for Mark, Gloria or me? Leave your comments below and one of us will reply!