Cellular Rejuvenation Through Plasma Dilution Is Underexplored — The Irina Conboy Data Changes Everything

In 2020, Irina and Michael Conboy published a finding that should have reoriented the entire parabiosis field: neutral blood exchange (simply diluting old blood with saline + albumin) produced rejuvenation effects EQUAL to young blood transfusion (Mehdipour et al., 2020, Aging).

This means the benefit of young blood isn't about what young blood contains — it's about diluting what old blood contains. The inhibitory factors in aged plasma (TGF-β, CCL11, β2-microglobulin, and others) are the primary drivers of tissue aging, not the absence of youthful factors.

Hypothesis: Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE), already FDA-approved for autoimmune conditions, will prove to be the first effective systemic anti-aging intervention in humans. Monthly TPE starting at age 50 will reduce all-cause mortality by 15-20% over a 10-year period, primarily through reduction of circulating inflammatory and pro-aging factors.

Prediction: A randomized trial of monthly TPE in adults 60-70 will show measurable improvements in epigenetic age (DunedinPACE), inflammatory markers (CRP, IL-6), and cognitive scores (MoCA) within 6 months.