Eric Topol > Quotes

“First, these foods and beverages contain additives and industrial ingredients. It’s a long list, but here are some of the chemicals you should avoid or limit: coloring agents, sweeteners such as maltodextrin, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrates, dextrose, lactose, artificial sweeteners, hydrogenated oils, palm oil, calcium propionate, soy protein isolate, modified starches such as maltitol, calcium caseinate, hydrolyzed beef gelatin, and emulsifiers such as soy lecithin, xanthan gum, guar gum, and diacetyl tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides.”
― Eric Topol, Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity

“of powerful inflammation blockers inhibit the cGAS-STING pathway (cyclic GMP-AMP synthase stimulator of interferon genesis), which has been implicated in inflammaging of the aged brain. Treatment”
― Eric Topol, Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity

“Well beyond tracking age, such immune system assessments may be fundamental to promoting health span. As we’ve seen with cancer, our inability to quash it early helps explain how cancer cells can spread. By the same token, the immune system reaction to misfolded proteins in our brain is central to degenerative diseases of our brain and the atherosclerosis of our arteries.”
― Eric Topol, Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity

“Today, we do little to characterize a person’s immune system’s status beyond a conventional blood test. Although this tells us the number of white blood cells (neutrophils) and lymphocytes, it is grossly insufficient. Even the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio has some negative prognostic information for lifespan when high, but we ignore that. A”
― Eric Topol, Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity

“In 2024, Consumer Reports’ cover article “How to Eat Less Plastic” ranked eighty-five specific food products (Annie’s organic cheesy ravioli came out on top with 53,579 ng total phthalates per serving, followed by Wendy’s crispy chicken nuggets at 33,980 ng). Strategies suggested to limit exposure included avoiding plastic food storage containers, fast foods, and high-fat foods (higher level of plasticizers that are fat soluble); using water bottles made of glass or steel and kitchen tools made of wood or steel; and limiting use of vinyl. Despite the urgent need to address the ever-growing plastic crisis, little has been done.”
― Eric Topol, Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity

“Getting your polygenic risk score should not be expensive or difficult. The data can be derived from a gene chip (array) used by companies like 23andMe or AncestryDNA or”
― Eric Topol, Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity

“and ongoing clinical trials in Alzheimer’s disease. If it is proven beneficial for preventing or slowing the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, the suppression of brain inflammation by the GLP-1 drugs through the gut-brain axis, despite their lack of direct penetration across the blood-brain barrier, may turn out to be the fundamental mechanism. The company BioAge is assessing the combination of a GLP-1 drug and azelaprag (mimicking apelin, a muscle peptide that is reduced with aging) in a clinical trial for extending health span. There are several other potent anti-”
― Eric Topol, Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity

“out. We began this part of our discussion of antiaging with immune-enhancing approaches, so it is fitting we conclude with anti-inflammatory drugs. These drugs are beginning to be assessed in clinical trials. The GLP-1 family of drugs have been shown to improve various aging clocks in old mice at least as well as rapamycin, with particular impact on reversing the epigenetic clock of the hypothalamus. The ability to reduce the toll of age-related diseases affecting the heart and kidneys has already been shown, and there are encouraging data for potential disease-modifying benefit for Parkinson’s”
― Eric Topol, Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity

“The reversal of scarring (fibrosis) that occurs in many organs, previously considered as irrevocable, is being actively pursued in clinical trials with engineered T cells, known as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR-T) treatment, and new drugs, one of which was discovered using generative AI. CAR-T directed against fibrosis was used in mice to restore heart function. It was also used to achieve long-term remission of asthma and in the experimental model of multiple sclerosis to deplete a specific type of T cell population that attacks the body’s cells. This groundbreaking work is not just in animal models: a single shot of engineered T cells has achieved remissions, without the need for immunosuppression therapy, in patients with lupus and other autoimmune conditions.”
― Eric Topol, Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity