Longevity & Mitochondria
Mitochondrial and longevity-adjacent compounds reported to influence ageing and energy metabolism.
SS-31 (Elamipretide): The Mitochondrial Peptide That Got an FDA Approval — and Failed Its Biggest Trials
SS-31 binds cardiolipin to repair mitochondrial bioenergetics. It is now FDA-approved for Barth syndrome, but its heart-failure and myopathy trials failed.
NAD+ Boosting: What the Evidence Actually Shows
NAD+ precursors reliably raise blood NAD+ and are well tolerated, but human healthspan benefits stay unproven and IV NAD+ has essentially no outcome evidence.
MOTS-c: The Mitochondrial "Exercise Mimetic" Peptide — What the Evidence Actually Shows
A clear-eyed look at MOTS-c: strong mechanistic and rodent data for AMPK activation and insulin sensitivity, but human efficacy of the injected peptide is unproven.
Epithalon (Epitalon): The Telomerase Peptide, Examined
A clear-eyed look at Epitalon, the pineal tetrapeptide pitched as a telomerase activator — what the evidence actually shows, and why it is weaker than the hype suggests.
AICAR: The Original "Exercise in a Pill" — What the Evidence Actually Shows
AICAR is the prototype AMPK-activating exercise mimetic. The endurance hype rests entirely on mice; the only positive human data are from heart surgery.
5-Amino-1MQ: The NNMT Inhibitor Behind the "Fat-Loss Peptide" Hype
5-Amino-1MQ is a small-molecule NNMT inhibitor with promising mouse and cell data for fat loss and muscle ageing — but zero human trials and no approval.