Company promising elixir of youth with ‘young blood’ transfusion to open New York clinic
Image: INQUIRER.net
A startup company offering longevity through “young blood” transfusions plans to open a New York office.
Ambrosia Medical, whose name was inspired by the mythical fruit of the Greek gods that gave immortality, claims to help conquer aging by infusing the blood of young people into their aged clients, reports Business Insider.
Thanks to roughly 100 inquiries about the treatment, the company intends to open its first New York clinic before the year ends. It plans to make the new clinic its flagship location.
The company conducted its first US clinical trials in 2017 to determine whether the blood of young donors would rejuvenate the organs of elderly clients. Participants in the trials paid $8,000 to try out this new method of overcoming aging. However, the commercial price tag may still change, according to founder Jesse Karmazin, who is a Stanford medical graduate.
Although the results have yet to be made public, Ambrosia claimed the outcomes were “really positive,” as stated in the report.
The treatment trial involved infusing blood plasma from 16- to 25-year-old donors into 150 patients whose age ranged from 35 to 92. After the transfusion, the patients reported renewed focus, better memory and sleep, greater muscle tone, and improved appearance.
Meanwhile, Stanford University neuroscientist Tony Wyss-Coray, noted that there was no clinical evidence that the treatment had beneficial effects. He also led a team in 2014 that studied young plasma in mice.
Consequently, Karmazin said he was inspired by the concept of parabiosis, which connects the veins of two living animals. This is a 150-year-old surgical technique tested on mice.
In a 2016 study, bioengineering professor Irina Conboy, of the University of California at Berkeley, tried infusing young mouse blood into an older mouse, but could not find any definitive result.
“The effects of young blood on old tissue seems to be rejuvenating; however, there is no concrete evidence that young blood is what is causing the change in results. It may very well be the dilution of old blood,” said study co-author Ranveer Gathwala, a stem-cell researcher.
Nevertheless, Ambrosia appears convinced that its treatment is one more step closer to improving human longevity. Alfred Bayle /ra
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