Does this Dog Supplement Really Work to REVERSE AGE? (PART 1) | 19 - Longevity This Week #3 (1/2)
Don't just swallow information whole—question it, test it, poke and prod it to see if it holds up under scrutiny.
One of our core goals at the Optispan Podcast is to help you become your own detective of research in the geroscience field and beyond. Critical thinking is our compass. We want to help you dig into every aspect of a study: are the methods they used solid? Was the sample size big enough? Did they crunch the numbers right? What's the most reasonable interpretation of the data? Might a conflict of interest skew the results?
In this episode, Matt puts the spotlight on a recent finding that made a splash in the longevity community: a combination senolytic/NAD booster product that researchers suggested had the potential to reverse age-related decline in dogs. Matt goes over what the product might contain (spoiler: we're not sure), what we do and don't know about it, and his personal feelings about whether it should actually be on the market for pet owners to purchase.
Check out the links below for further information and/or reading about some of the things we discussed in this podcast episode. Note that we do not necessarily endorse or agree with the content of these readings, but present them as supplementary material that may deepen your understanding of the topic after you listen to our podcast. This list is in no way exhaustive, but it’s a good start!
You can get more information about and purchase the LeapYears product here. Animal Biosciences, the company selling the product, describes LeapYears as "the only dual action dog supplement system that targets aging at the source – the cellular level." The website provides several resources about dog aging, cellular senescence, NAD boosters, and its clinical trial results.
This is the preprint upon which the LeapYears product is based. Preprints are drafts of full papers that have not yet undergone peer review—a process of ensuring the credibility, validity, and reliability of published research by subjecting it to rigorous evaluation by independent experts. Preprint results can be exciting, valid, and spark interesting discussions, but should be interpreted with caution. This preprint provides some insight into the nuances of the clinical trial that led to the product's eventual introduction to the pet market.
The press release covering the LeapYears drug, originally published in Feburary 2024, makes several claims that Matt interrogates in this episode. In response to pushback on one of the claims, the Animal Biosciences team made a correction to a quote by founder and Harvard genetics professor David A. Sinclair about the supplement's ability to reverse dog aging.
Can Your Dog Live Longer With a Pill?
This article breaks down how the clinical trial tested the LeapYears formulation for its effects on older dogs. It discusses the statistical significance of the clinical trial's findings, and offers a perspective on how to interpret statistically significant data points among a basket of other statistically insignificant outcomes. It also discusses external confounders that could have influenced the clinical trial results.
