Dr. Jeffrey GladdenFounder & CEO of Gladden Longevity

Cryonics Explained: Could It Help Us Live Longer?

19 Oct 2026 · 1 min

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1:28

In this segment Dr. Jeffrey Gladden explains how age‑related involution of the thymus gland impairs the production of new T‑cells, leading to an aging immune system that eventually fails to respond to infections, clear senescent cells, or eliminate emerging cancers. He describes a reported biochemical protocol—growth hormone, DHEA (a precursor hormone), and metformin—that aims to rejuvenate the thymus. The combination activates AMPK (promoting longevity) while counteracting mTOR activation from growth hormone, creating a balanced approach. According to the cited study, participants experienced a reversal of epigenetic age by roughly one to one and a half years within a year of treatment. Gladden emphasizes that immunosenescence is a major cause of mortality, making thymic rejuvenation a potential strategy for extending healthy lifespan.

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A lot of aging is related to involution of the thymus gland, which is this gland that sits below the mediastinum here in the center of your chest, at the base of your throat. And that when that involutes, the immune system has trouble producing new T cells, thymus cells. And so then you're left with an aging immune system, and what you've got is what you've got, and eventually it runs out. So his theory was that if he could rejuvenate the thymus gland, then it would enable the immune system to rejuvenate as well and be more youthful. What they demonstrated was that they turned back epigenetic age. I think it was a year or a year and a half.
Year and a half, yeah.
Yeah, within 1 year of giving growth hormone, DHEA, which is a precursor hormone, and then metformin to counterbalance any blood sugar issues brought on by the growth hormone. And it also activates AMPK, which has a longevity benefit in and of itself. So, and counteracts the The mTOR activation by the growth hormones. It's kind of a balanced biochemical approach to, to trying to rejuvenate the thymus and the immune system. And we know that one of the main reasons that we die is from immunosenescence, where the immune system is no longer capable of responding to new challenges, either clearing out, taking out the trash— natural killer cells can't prune senescent cells properly— or you can't respond to the next virus that might show up on the planet, right? Or you can't kill off the mutation in the cell that could turn into cancer. Yeah.