Interventioner

Blueprint Micro-Experiments: A Catalogue of Bryan Johnson's Self-Trials

En daterad, källbelagd genomgång av de enskilda självexperimenten i Bryan Johnsons Blueprint-protokoll, inklusive de han övergav.

Redaktörsgodkänd Bevisning: Tier 4
Senast verifierad2026-08-06
EvidensVarje resultat i denna genomgång är en mätning på en enda person, oftast egenrapporterad, med riktig instrumentering men utan kontrollgrupp. Flera åtgärder (plasmabyte, rapamycin) övergavs av Johnson själv efter att biverkningarna vägde tyngre än den obevisade nyttan, vilket säger mer än de åtgärder han behållit.
KontroversDenna katalog dokumenterar en enda persons självexperiment med receptbelagda läkemedel utanför godkänd indikation (rapamycin, 17-alpha-estradiol), en oreglerad genterapi utomlands (follistatin) och kliniska ingrepp (plasmabyte, TPE) som medför verklig medicinsk risk. Ingen kontrollerad studie har testat kombinationen som en helhet. Blueprint är samtidigt ett kommersiellt bolag för kosttillskott, mat och hudvård som Johnson äger, så hans offentliga påståenden fungerar också som marknadsföring för produkter han säljer. Interna dokument visade att hans biologiska ålder ökade med nästan 10 år under en tvåårsperiod, tvärtemot den marknadsförda minskningen på 5,1 år, och 60% av omkring 1 700 produkttestare rapporterade minst en biverkning. En förlikning i Kalifornien enligt Proposition 65 i februari 2025 gällde bly och kadmium i Blueprint-matprodukter som marknadsförts som fria från tungmetaller. Flera insatser han tidigare förordat, som rapamycin, plasmabyte och metformin, övergavs senare när biverkningarna vägde tyngre än nyttan.

Blueprint är inte ett experiment. Det är en pågående serie av experiment, alla med eget startdatum, egna mätvärden och i flera fall ett tyst slut. Det tydligaste exemplet är plasmabytet 2023 med sonen Talmage, då 17 år, och fadern Richard, då 70. Läkare tappade plasma från Talmage, förde in den i Bryan, och tappade sedan Bryans plasma till Richard, ett upplägg som beskrevs som världens första plasmabyte över tre generationer [1]. Johnson mätte blodmarkörer, bilddiagnostik och sensordata före och efter. I juli 2023 skrev han på X: "inga fördelar upptäckta" [2]. Han avbröt det offentliga protokollet dagar senare, med resonemanget att hans egen plasma knappast gav mer nytta än en främlings, och att ungdom i en vätska inte tycktes gå att överföra [2].

Rapamycin höll i sig betydligt längre. Johnson lade till transplantationsläkemedlet i Blueprint 2019 och testade scheman i nästan fem år: en gång i veckan vid 5, 6 och 10 mg, varannan vecka vid 13 mg, och ett växlande 6/13 mg-mönster vecka för vecka [3]. I Netflix-dokumentären, där han fortfarande tog läkemedlet, kallade han det "det mest aggressiva rapamycinprotokollet av alla i branschen". Bara månader efter inspelningen, i september 2024, slutade han. På sin blogg förklarade han beslutet med återkommande hud- och mjukdelsinfektioner, höjda blodfetter, högre fasteglukos och snabbare vilopuls, och skrev att "fördelarna med livslång dosering av rapamycin inte motiverar de kraftiga biverkningarna" [3][4]. Ett blogginlägg i december 2024, som citerade en analys av 16 epigenetiska klockor, rapporterade att rapamycin visade ökat biologiskt åldrande på två av dem och ingen effekt på resten, ett resultat Johnson kallade ett stöd för sitt beslut att sluta. Samma inlägg bekräftade att metformin fortfarande ingick i protokollet vid det tillfället [4].

I oktober 2024 följde total plasmabyte (TPE): sex sessioner där hans egen plasma ersattes med albumin, beskrivet som avlägsnande av gifter snarare än transfusion. Han mätte åldrandetakt, organåldrar och mikroplastnivå före och efter, och rapporterade att kliniken bedömde hans plasma som den renaste de sett [5]. Detta liknar, utan att replikera, en faktisk studie: en placebokontrollerad studie från 2025 från Circulate Health och Buck Institute fann att TPE plus IVIG sänkte biologisk ålder med i genomsnitt 2,6 år i en kohort, mätt med multi-omiska markörer [6]. Johnsons version med sex sessioner på en enda person kan inte skilja en Blueprint-specifik effekt från studiens populationssignal.

17-alfaöstradiol ingår i hans stack som den mänskliga motsvarigheten till ett fynd om livslängd hos möss: hanmöss som fick ämnet fick 19% längre medianöverlevnad, utan effekt hos honor [7]. Data om dosering hos människoliknande djur sträcker sig bara till små tolerabilitetsstudier på rhesusapor och silkesapor, inte randomiserade studier på män [8][15]. Det är just detta glapp mellan musdata om överlevnad och primatdata om säkerhet som Johnson doserar bortom.

Kosten är fast satt till ungefär 1977 kalorier fördelat på tre måltider inom ett sex timmar långt fönster, en siffra som speglar hans födelseår 1977: Super Veggie, Nutty Pudding och en roterande tredje rätt, plus en matsked olivolja och 6 gram kakao per måltid [10]. Nattliga erektioner registreras med en ringsensor. Han har publicerat data om varaktighet och frekvens jämfört med sin sons, vilket väckte kritik i januari 2025 för den familjedynamik det avslöjade.

Hans DunedinPACE, den epigenetiska åldrandeklockan byggd på Dunedin-födelsekohorten, har egenrapporterats med olika värden vid olika testtillfällen och i olika källor, från cirka 0,48-0,50 på topplistan Rejuvenation Olympics till cirka 0,69 i en oberoende granskning från 2026, där han ändå legat nära toppen bland de som testat sig upprepade gånger [13]. Morgan Levine, som hjälpte till att bygga dessa klockor, har offentligt sagt att det populära påståendet "31 år yngre" felaktigt behandlar ett hastighetsmått som om det vore en tidslängd [14]. Granskare har också pekat på publicerad data om klockornas tillförlitlighet, som visar betydande brus mellan upprepade mätningar hos samma klocka, ett tak för vad en enda persons upprepade test egentligen kan bevisa [13].

Han rapporterar DEXA-baserade mätningar av bentäthet och kroppssammansättning som sträcker sig flera år tillbaka, samt ett VO2max-värde på 58,7 mL/kg/min som han sa placerade honom bland de bästa 1,5% av 18-åringar. Hans hudåldersscore ska ha förbättrats från 64 till mellan 37 och 42 med hjälp av tretinoin, niacinamid, C-vitamin och mineralbaserat solskydd [11]. Hans hårprotokoll, en specialtillverkad lösning med minoxidil 7%, cetirizin och latanoprost, vände synlig uttunning och gjorde ungefär hälften av hans grå hår mörkare igen, även om han rapporterade att han dämpade DHT för mycket, till 5,8 ng/dL vid dubbel daglig användning, och därför gick ner till en gång per dag [12]. Follistatin-genterapin 2023 i Honduras, utförd av startupen Minicircle utanför FDA:s tillsyn, ledde till direkta varningar: läkaren och forskaren Christin Glorioso sa att oreglerade konstruktioner som denna "troligen kommer att döda någon genom att orsaka cancer eller leversvikt" [9].

Det som avslutas är lika viktigt som det som läggs till. Utöver rapamycin och plasmabyte har Johnson offentligt talat om att pausa metformin efter drygt fem år, med motiveringen att det byggt upp en mitokondriell kapacitet han sedan inte kunde dra full nytta av, och att han bytt till ett cykliskt schema istället för daglig dosering. Han har också berättat att han mikrodoserar litiumorotat med 1 mg dagligen, ett ämne utan någon avslutad human longevity-studie bakom just den dosen. Varje avslutad åtgärd dokumenteras lika öppet som tilläggen, och det är själva poängen med att följa upp det: ett så noggrant instrumenterat protokoll ger lika ofta negativa som positiva resultat, och Johnson har, vilket ska tillskrivas honom, publicerat båda.

Blueprint is not one experiment. It is a running series of them, each with its own start date, its own measurement, and in several cases its own quiet ending. Sorted below by current status, then by date. Filter to see what he dropped, what changed, and what is still running.

Dropped juli 2023

Three-generation plasma exchange

Plasma drawn from his son Talmage (then 17) infused into Bryan; Bryan's plasma then given to his father Richard (then 70) at a Texas clinic. Talmage received no replacement for the blood. Billed as the world's first three-generation plasma swap.

Measured
Blood biomarkers, imaging, device data, before/after.
Result
“No benefits detected,” posted by Johnson on X in juli 2023. Stopped days later. He later claimed his father's “aging speed” dropped 25 years after receiving one litre of his plasma, but conceded the effect could not be separated from simply removing old plasma. The result was never published in peer-reviewed form.[1][2]
Dropped 2019 – september 2024

Rapamycin

Transplant-rejection drug, run through several schedules: weekly at 5, 6, and 10 mg, biweekly at 13 mg, then alternating 6/13 mg week-on week-off. Called it “the most aggressive rapamycin protocol of anyone in the industry.”

Measured
Skin/soft-tissue infection rate, blood lipids, fasting glucose, resting heart rate, epigenetic clocks (16-clock panel).
Result
Quit after recurring skin and soft-tissue infections, elevated blood lipids, higher fasting glucose, and a faster resting heart rate. A december 2024 16-clock analysis showed increased biological aging on 2 of 16 clocks and no effect on the rest. A juni 2026 article in a major scientific journal quoted a biochemist stating plainly that “there's nothing in Bryan Johnson's protocol that would change his maximal lifespan.”[3][4]
Paused / moved to cycling Multi-year, paused after 5+ years

Metformin

Diabetes drug taken for more than five years, then paused in favor of a cycling schedule instead of daily dosing.

Measured
Self-reported mitochondrial capacity.
Result
Reported it built mitochondrial capacity he then could not fully use — stated reason for the pause and switch to cycling.[4]
Adjusted after side effect 2024, dose adjusted

Hair regrowth protocol

Custom topical combining minoxidil 7%, cetirizine, and latanoprost, applied to reverse thinning and greying.

Measured
Visible hair thinning, grey-hair proportion, DHT level.
Result
Reversed visible thinning and roughly half his grey hair. Over-suppressed DHT to 5.8 ng/dL at twice-daily use, so cut back to once daily.[12]
Omtvistad Ongoing, multiple test dates

DunedinPACE pace-of-aging tracking

Epigenetic pace-of-aging clock built on the Dunedin birth cohort, self-reported at different values across different test dates and outlets.

Measured
DunedinPACE score across repeat tests.
Result
Reported at 0.69 in the 2025 Netflix documentary, 0.64 in later data, and 0.503 (ranked best-in-world) on the 2026 Rejuvenation Olympics leaderboard. Morgan Levine, PhD, who helped build these clocks, has publicly said the popularized “31 years younger” framing misapplies a rate measure as a duration. Publicerad clock-reliability data also show meaningful replicate-to-replicate noise, capping what any single person's repeat test can prove.[13][14]
One-time, not repeated 2023, Roatan, Honduras

Follistatin gene therapy

$25,000 gene therapy delivered by startup Minicircle outside FDA oversight, intended to boost muscle mass via follistatin.

Measured
Not independently reported.
Result
Physician-scientist Christin Glorioso publicly warned that unregulated constructs like this “likely will kill someone by inducing cancer or liver failure.”[9]
Unclear / not confirmed dropped oktober 2024

Total plasma exchange (TPE)

Six sessions replacing his own plasma with albumin and immunoglobulin, framed as toxin removal rather than transfusion. In januari 2025 he abandoned the son-based method entirely in favour of TPE with albumin.

Measured
Pace of aging, organ ages, microplastic load, before/after.
Result
Reported his plasma was rated the cleanest the clinic operator had seen. A separate 2025 controlled trial (Circulate Health / Buck Institute, not run by Johnson) found TPE + IVIG cut biological age by 2.6 years on average across a cohort — Johnson's 6-session, n=1 version cannot separate a Blueprint-specific effect from that population-level signal.[5][6]
Ongoing Ongoing

17-alpha-estradiol

Human use of a compound whose evidence base is a mouse-lifespan finding: male mice given 17-alpha-estradiol gained 19% median survival, with no effect in females.

Measured
Self-dosing against a hormone target; no human RCT exists to measure against.
Result
Human-adjacent safety data extend only to small tolerability studies in rhesus macaques and marmosets — not RCTs in men. Johnson is dosing ahead of the human evidence.[7][8][15]
Ongoing Ongoing

1,977-calorie diet

Fixed at roughly 1,977 calories (matching his 1977 birth year) across three meals in a six-hour window: Super Veggie, Nutty Pudding, and a rotating third plate, plus 1 tbsp olive oil and 6 g cocoa per meal.

Measured
Body composition, metabolic markers (via broader Blueprint panel).
Result
No independent outcome data published beyond the general Blueprint biomarker reports; the calorie target itself is a stated design choice, not a measured optimum.[10]
Ongoing Ongoing

Nocturnal erection tracking

Ring-style sensor tracking nighttime erection duration and frequency, published against his son Talmage's data. He claims Botox injections and shockwave therapy lowered his “erection biological age” to roughly 20 years.

Measured
Duration and frequency via wearable ring sensor.
Result
Drew public backlash in januari 2025 over the family dynamic of comparing the data to his then-19-year-old son's.
Ongoing Ongoing, multi-year

DEXA and VO2max scans

Recurring DEXA-based bone density and body composition scans, plus cardiovascular fitness testing.

Measured
Bone density, body composition, VO2max.
Result
VO2max reading of 58.7 mL/kg/min, reported by Johnson as ranking in the top 1.5% of 18-year-olds.
Ongoing Ongoing, updated 2025

Skincare protocol

Daily topical regimen: tretinoin, niacinamide, vitamin C, mineral sunscreen.

Measured
Self-reported skin-age score.
Result
Skin-age score reportedly improved from 64 to the high 30s/low 40s.[11]
Ongoing Ongoing

Lithium orotate microdosing

Microdosing lithium orotate at 1 mg daily.

Measured
Not independently reported.
Result
No completed human longevity trial exists behind this dose — self-dosing without a matching efficacy trial.

Protocol audit: claim conflicts, safety signals, and commercial context

Independent findings that sit outside the self-experiment catalogue. Each is labelled by type and evidence basis. None of these are Johnson's own claims; they are external, verified findings from internal documents, legal records, and scientific commentary.

Claim conflict mars 2025 Internal document review

Internal data showed biological age increased by nearly 10 years

Internal documents reviewed by a major newspaper showed Johnson's biological age increased by almost 10 years between januari 2022 and februari 2024 — the opposite of the 5.1-year decrease featured in the Netflix documentary and Blueprint marketing.

Johnson responded that the decision to highlight the 5.1-year figure was made by the documentary's production team, and that “biological age measurements can vary.” He called the reporting a “hit piece” before publication. The newspaper's spokesperson stated they were confident in the accuracy of the story, which involved reviewing legal and internal documents and interviewing 30 individuals connected to Johnson and his company.

Säkerhet signal mars 2025 Internal study documents

60% of roughly 1,700 product testers reported at least one adverse effect

Of approximately 1,700 people who tested Blueprint produkter in an internal study, around 60 percent reported at least one negative side effect, including lowered testosterone levels and some progressing to a prediabetic state.

Although Johnson had pledged to unveil the study's results by mid-2024, he released data for only about 300 participants — less than one-fifth of the total — indicating favourable outcomes in januari. The severity of the reported side effects remains uncertain.

Legal settlement februari 2025 Legal settlement record

California Prop 65 settlement: lead and cadmium in Blueprint foods

A settlement was reached over lead in Blueprint's “Nutty Pudding” and cadmium in the cocoa powder — produkter that had been marketed as free of heavy metals.

The company paid $25,000 and was permanently enjoined from selling the produkter in California without reformulation or Proposition 65 warnings. A subsequent analysis found the cocoa portionstorlek had been cut from two scoops to one, which brought daily cadmium exposure under the California threshold without actually reducing the cadmium concentration in the product.

Commercial context oktober 2025 Commercial estimate

Roughly $4.5M annual Amazon revenue; $60M raise after cash-flow warning

Despite the media profile, Blueprint generated only about $4.5 million in annual Amazon revenue. Johnson warned his leadership team in fall 2024 that the company was running out of cash, before a $60 million capital round closed in oktober 2025.

Johnson has stated the business prices produkter to break even and has had both profitable and loss-making months. He disputed the revenue framing as part of a broader press critique.

Metodik critique Ongoing Scientific commentary

No control groups: dozens of interventions tested in parallel

A leading aging-research institute director points out that serious clinical studies require control groups, while Johnson tests dozens of interventions simultaneously — making it impossible to isolate which single treatment causes any observed effect.

An independent longevity researcher and author has argued in a major scientific journal that no current intervention has been proven to extend human maximal lifespan by directly targeting aging. The protocol is described as a case study at best — the lowest level of scientific evidence — despite being presented with a scientific veneer.

Metodik critique Ongoing Scientific commentary

Changing a biomarker is not proven to extend life

A senior epidemiologist at a major US university has stated that unless scientific evidence shows that altering a given biomarker leads to longer or healthier lives, it is essentially a meaningless statistic.

Blueprint's biomarker panel covers over 100 measurements across blood, heart, cardiovascular, bone, brain, and fertility. The critique targets the core assumption of the protocol: that moving a biomarker in a “youthful” direction produces a clinical benefit. No current biomarker has been validated as a surrogate endpoint for human maximal lifespan.

Referenser

Every numbered citation in this entry links here. Each reference links out to the primär source.

  1. [1]

    Millionaire infuses himself with son's blood to stay young Tier 4

    Daily Hive staff · 2023 · Daily Hive

    Quotes Johnson's own Instagram announcement of the 'world's first multi-generational plasma exchange' and confirms the one-litre blood donation from Talmage, then 17, and the exchange with father Richard, then 70.

  2. [2]

    Millionaire Stops Blood Transfusions From Teen Son and Dad After 'No Benefits Detected' Tier 4

    Hannah Getahun · 2023 · Business Insider

    Primär confirmation of Johnson's own 'no benefits detected' statement and the juli 2023 discontinuation of plasma exchange.

  3. [3]

    Anti-aging guru Bryan Johnson ditches controversial drug after infections Tier 4

    Tracy Swartz · 2025 · New York Post

    Documents the full rapamycin dosing history Johnson posted on X: weekly 5/6/10 mg, biweekly 13 mg, alternating 6/13 mg schedules, and side effects.

  4. [4]

    Things that make you age faster, and slower Tier 4

    Bryan Johnson · 2024 · blueprint.bryanjohnson.com

    Primär källa: Johnson's own account of why he stopped rapamycin (glucose, lipids, resting heart rate) and confirmation metformin continued as of december 2024.

  5. [5]

    Anti-aging zealot replaces 'liquid gold' plasma in his body in quest for immortality Tier 4

    Metro staff · 2024 · Metro.co.uk

    Describes the six-session total plasma exchange (TPE) protocol, albumin replacement method, and baseline measurements Johnson tracked (pace of aging, organ ages, microplastics).

  6. [6]

    Clinical Trial and Multi-omics Analysis Demonstrates the Impact of Therapeutic Plasma Exchange on Biological Age Tier 2

    Buck Institute for Research on Aging · 2025 · Buck Institute News / Aging Cell

    Single-blind, placebokontrollerad human trial (Circulate Health/Buck Institute) finding TPE plus IVIG reduced biological age by an average 2.6 years by multi-omic markers, the population-level evidence Johnson's n=1 TPE experiment sits against.

  7. [7]

    Male lifespan extension with 17-α estradiol is linked to a sex-specific metabolomic response modulated by gonadal hormones in mice Tier 1

    Garratt M, Lagerborg KA, Tsai YM, et al. · 2018 · Aging Cell

    NIA Interventioner Testing Program-linked RCT-grade animal study establishing 19% median male lifespan extension in mice with no female effect, the evidence basis for Johnson's 17-alpha-estradiol use.

  8. [8]

    Assessing tolerability and physiological responses to 17α-estradiol administration in male rhesus macaques Tier 5

    Stout MB, Vaughan KL, Isola JVV, et al. · 2023 · GeroScience

    Primate tolerability and mechanistic data bridging mouse lifespan findings toward human dosing; not a human efficacy trial, underscoring the evidence gap in Johnson's self-dosing.

  9. [9]

    Bryan Johnson is being used as a human guinea pig in unproven tests to reprogram his genes Tier 4

    Christiaan Hetzner · 2023 · Fortune

    Reports the $25,000 follistatin gene therapy delivered by Minicircle in Roatan, Honduras, and quotes physician-scientist Christin Glorioso's warning that unregulated constructs like it likely will kill someone by inducing cancer or liver failure.

  10. [10]

    Bryan Johnson eats a strict diet of 1977 calories a day and 70 pounds of veggies Tier 4

    Insider Science · 2023 · Insider (via syndication)

    Reports the specific 1,977-calorie daily target, matching Johnson's birth year, as a deliberate design choice.

  11. [11]

    My New Skincare Protocol [2025] Tier 4

    Bryan Johnson · 2025 · blueprint.bryanjohnson.com

    Primär källa: Johnson's stated skin-age improvement from 64 to 37-42 and daily topical regimen (niacinamide, vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, tretinoin).

  12. [12]

    How I Reversed My Hair Loss Tier 4

    Bryan Johnson · 2024 · blueprint.bryanjohnson.com

    Primär källa: exact topical formulation (minoxidil 7%, cetirizine, latanoprost), application frequency, and Johnson's report of over-suppressing DHT to 5.8 ng/dL at twice-daily dosing.

  13. [13]

    Bryan Johnson's Best Result Is the One He Doesn't Lead With Tier 4

    Christian Thomsen · 2026 · Longevity Latest

    Critic/analyst piece distinguishing Johnson's headline DunedinPACE claim from his cardiometabolic bloodwork, citing Higgins-Chen et al. on measurement noise limits in single-subject clock readings.

  14. [14]

    Longevity Expert Explains How Bryan Johnson Has Not Reduced His Pace of Aging by 31 Years Tier 4

    Victor Ciardha · 2024 · nmn.com

    Reports Morgan Levine's direct public statement that DunedinPACE is a rate, not a duration, and that the '31 years' framing misuses the metric.

  15. [15]

    A pilot study evaluating dosing tolerability of 17α-estradiol in male common marmosets Tier 5

    Sathiaseelan R, Isola JVV, Santín-Márquez R, et al. · 2024 · GeroScience

    Small primate mechanistic pilot on 17-alpha-estradiol dosing tolerability; mechanistic-tier evidence bridging mouse lifespan data toward primates, not a human RCT.

Vidare läsning

Kurerade externa källor. Externa länkar öppnas i ny flik.