CAN BLOOD PLASMA TRANSFUSIONS SLOW DOWN YOUR AGING process? Rejuvenation through a vampire-like blood movement from a young person into an older one. Sounds interesting, but is there evidence that the approach works? Today we examine young blood transfusions.
Have you heard about this novel idea of combating the natural aging process? Recent experimental tests inspired by a technique known as parabiosis have gotten the attention of many. Nevertheless, there is no clear evidence of its effectiveness.
But before we get to parabiosis, let’s look at the history of vampires, walking corpses, and blood-sucking ghouls. At the heart of the vampire myth is the consumption of human blood or other essences (bodily fluids or psychic energy, for example), with sharp teeth or fangs aiding this mischief.
The books and movies I have read usually illustrate vampires as “undead,” revived miraculously after death. The creatures rise from their coffins or graves in numerous movies each night. I envision them as having pale skin, but their appearance can range from beautiful to hideous, depending on the storyteller.
In many depictions, vampires are unable to cast a shadow or reflection. This characteristic explains why there are no photographs or film records.
Becoming a vampire is forever. You don’t get to change your mind about it later. I think that’s one of the big drawbacks of anything permanent. How will you know how you will feel in five or ten years? Even with a tattoo. — Stephenie Meyer
Vampires in history
Creatures with vampiric features go back at least as far as the ancient Greeks, with stories of the beasts attacking people in their sleep and draining their body fluids.
In popular legend, a vampire (or vampyre) is a creature that preys on humans, generally by using their fangs to consume blood. Vampires are prominent characters in folklore and fiction of several cultures, especially in Europe.
In medieval Europe, during periods of rampant disease (and ignorance about how infectious diseases spread), tales of walking corpses drinking the blood of the living and spreading plague flourished. Vampires reputedly preyed first on their own families.
Western Europeans popularized the term vampire after reports of an 18th-century mass hysteria of a pre-existing folk belief in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. People put corpses on stakes and accused others of vampirism.
Today, most of us regard vampires as fictitious, although a belief in vampiric creatures persists in some cultures. For example, the Chupacabra(“goat-sucker” in Spanish) is a legendary creature in parts of the Americas, with sightings first reported in Puerto Rico in 1005.
The “goat sucker” designation is a product of the animal’s reported vampirism — the Chupacabra allegedly attacks livestock such as goats and drinks the blood of its victim.
Some describe the creature as reptilian (for example, in Puerto Rico and Latin America), typically a heavy creature the size of a small bear. The Chupacabra has a row of spines stretching from the neck to the tail base. Others, for example, in the Southwestern United States, describe it as more similar to a dog.
Have you heard of the Sigbin (or Sigben)? This legendary creature in the Philippines shares many characteristics with the Chupacabra. Sigbins emerge at night to suck the blood of victims from their shadows.
The Sigbin reportedly walks backward, with its head lowered between its hind legs, and can become invisible to other creatures, especially humans.
Reports indicate the Sigbin looks like a hornless goat with very large ears that can clap like a pair of hands. It also has a long, flexible tail that can act as a whip. Finally, the beasts emit a horrendous odor.
Oh, one more thing: The Sigbin emerges during Holy Week, searching for children that it can kill to get their hearts, which the animal fashions into amulets.
As a physician and amateur historian, I find these stories fascinating. Modern research suggests that some of the characteristics associated with vampires it similar to those associated with certain diseases, including the wasting linked to tuberculosis. Porphyria causes sunlight sensitivity, while pellagra is a disease that thins the skin. Finally, rabies can cause biting tendencies and sensitivities that might cause repulsion by garlic or light.
Vampires and rabies
For folks in the 1700s, vampires were not simply legends; the creatures warranted genuine concern. People appeared genuinely concerned about them.
Understandably, a public health intervention emerged: Once folks identified and buried a vampire, they drove a large wooden stake into the ground and through the monster’s heart to ensure it could not climb out at night to feast on locals.
“Vampires were the sole matter of conversation between 1730 and 1735.” — Voltaire.
Could the mythical blood-sucking beast be associated with rabies, a serious medical condition? The answer may be yes.
Rabies is a deadly virus transmitted to humans via the bite of an infected animal. The disease kills nearly 60,000 individuals yearly, translating to an estimated one death every nine minutes. While the initial symptoms are flu-like, once they appear, rabies is fatal virtually all the time.
Dogs are the main source of human rabies deaths, contributing up to 99 percent of all rabies transmissions to humans. Vaccinating dogs is the most cost-effective strategy for preventing rabies in people. Physicians use the same rabies vaccine to immunize people after exposure or, less commonly, before exposure to rabies. Other animal vectors include skunks, coyotes, foxes, and (wait for it) vampire bats.
Forty percent of those bitten by a suspected rabid animal are under the age of 15. The World Health Organization explains that immediate and thorough wound washing with soap and water after contact with a suspect rabid animal is critical and can save lives. Immediate treatment (before symptoms emerge) is central to having a chance of surviving a rabies infection.
Vampires and rabies: A neurologist’s perspective
Dr. J. Gómez-Alonso, a Spanish neurologist, offered an intriguing theory in his 1998 article in Neurology. He begins by observing that vampires are almost always depicted as male. Did you know that rabies affects men seven times more than women?
Dr. Gómez-Alonso added that those infected with rabies typically become remarkably aggressive, sometimes attempting to bite other people. If you are a vampire movie fan, you probably already know that once a vampire bites you, you become one of them; both vampire and rabies transmission is usually through a bite.
Garlic, light, and mirrors
Rabies sometimes causes people to oppose surprising or strong stimuli, including odors such as garlic, light, and mirrors. In his thought-provoking article, Gómez-Alonso observes that “a man was not considered rabid if he was able to stand the sight of his image in a mirror.”
Imagine the sight of someone who has contracted rabies: The face distorts as the muscles spasm, with lips curling back to show the teeth and vocal cord contracture leading to hoarse-sounding vocalizations. Mouth frothing or bleeding can occur, too. Sound familiar? But there’s more. Rabies infection can make sleep challenging, causing affected individuals to be more likely to engage in night wandering.
Vampires have a reputation for being lascivious, and those infected with rabies can be hypersexual and easily aroused. In addition, men with rabies may have painful erections that can sometimes last for days.
Vampire transformation
Gómez-Alonso observes that writers often portray vampires as transforming into other animals (for example, a bat). Animals with rabies behave similarly to humans with the infection. Could someone in the 18th century see a human with rabies behaving similarly to an animal and make a connection? Voila, we have the animal and the beast morphing into one another.
Finally, a person with rabies often dies from asphyxia or cardiorespiratory arrest. In such instances, blood in the body can remain liquid for some time. Given the fear of vampires, people in the 18th century often dug up bodies to ensure they had not become vampires. Liquid blood oozing from a body might elicit some legitimate concerns.
Moreover, with tissue breakdown, the internal organs can produce gas and swell. The result can be distension-related blood coming out of the mouth. Exhume a corpse, and you might see fresh blood emerging from the mouth, confirming that the undead had been feasting on humans during the night.
Coincidence? You decide.
Blood transformation to slow aging
Thank you for indulging me in wandering through a bit of the fascinating history of vampire folklore. Let’s get back to today’s main subject: Can we combat the “natural” aging process by receiving blood from younger, more healthy individuals?
Dracula may be the most important work of vampire fiction. The tale of the Transylvanian count who uses supernatural abilities (including shape-shifting and mind control) to prey upon innocent victims inspired countless works.
You may know of the 1931 film adaptation starring the Hungarian-born actor Bela Lugosi. The cruel acts of the 15th-century prince Vlad III Dracula of Transylvania, known as Vlad “the Impaler,” and Countess Elizabeth Báthoryprobably inspired the novel driving the film. The latter murdered dozens of young women during the 16th and 17th centuries to bathe in (or possibly drink) their blood to preserve her vitality.
Are the undead correct? Might we rejuvenate ourselves with transfusions of blood from others? Several researchers have recently shown that exposing geriatric mice to the blood of younger individuals (but not the blood of other elderly mice) leads to health improvements in several domains. Blood transfusions lead to better cardiac health, cognition, and tissue regeneration.
Rejuvenating blood transfusions: Not so fast
The mice data are impressive, but ethical considerations aside, there is no good evidence to support the transfusion approach for humans. Much of the available literature is flawed (for example, lacking placebo controls or having a very small number of participants).
Let’s look at one of the better studies, a crossover randomized clinical trial. Conducted in collaboration with the business startup Alkahest, researchers looked at the use of plasma from young (ages 18 to 30) donors to treat Alzheimer’s disease symptoms.
Researchers randomized eighteen patients with Alzheimer’s disease, ages 50 to 90, to receive four weekly infusions of young plasma (versus saline/saltwater). A six-week washout followed, and the subjects crossed over to receive the other treatment.
The results? The interventions appeared safe and well-tolerated. While the investigators did some tests for effectiveness, the study did not have enough power to say anything meaningful about most of the metrics.
However, there did appear to be a significant improvement (in the plasma groups) in two metrics: the Functional Activities Questionnaire and the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study Activities of Daily Living Inventory. A closer examination of the results shows a possible placebo effect, with the researchers not adequately controlling for this.
There is no good human evidence that young plasma is an effective intervention for any age-related health issue. Small, limited-duration clinical trials continue. Recognizing the lack of good evidence, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a 2019 warning against transfusions for rejuvenation and treatment of age-related health issues, expressing concern that “some patients are being preyed upon by unscrupulous actors.”
Here’s longevity expert Dr. Peter Attia’s take:
“The mice results are compelling, so with more clinical trials, is it possible that plasma transfusions could someday be approved for use in humans seeking a fountain of youth? Unlikely, but that’s not to say these results won’t lead to other human therapies. Contrary to what you might have learned from vampire films, there’s nothing magical about blood. Essentially, it consists of proteins, metabolites, cells, ions, and other substances drifting around in the water.”
The brilliant Dr. Attia adds, “If young blood has anti-aging or other beneficial health effects, those effects are caused by some definable agent or combination of agents present within that blood. By identifying and isolating those key elements, we may someday be able to create synthetic analogs capable of replicating the beneficial effects of parabiosis without a drop of blood required. Apart from circumventing certain ethical concerns, this approach might even allow for improvements in the therapeutic benefits of parabiosis, as derivatives of the compounds of interest could be engineered to optimize stability and efficacy.”
Mice research points to some potential candidate compounds. These substances include GDF11, a circulating protein that, when administered in isolation, can reverse heart enlargement (cardiac hypertrophy) in aged mice.
We are a long way from using young blood transfusions to promote health.
The information I provided in this blog is for educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a medical professional or healthcare provider if you seek medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment. I am not liable for risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information in this blog.
