In this episode of Levity, hosts speak with Dr. Matt Kaeberlein, a leading aging researcher known for his work on the Dog Aging Project and as co-founder of several longevity-focused ventures. Kaeberlein discusses why he believes current biological age tests are being misused in medicine and why he considers this practice irresponsible, even calling it “medical malpractice.”

Key Points:

Matt Kaeberlein cautions that today’s biological age tests are often misleading and misapplied in clinical settings, risking poor medical decisions. He urges the field of longevity research to embrace rigorous science, responsible patient care, and realistic expectations to ensure genuine progress.

• Critique of biological age tests – Kaeberlein argues these tests don’t truly measure biological age but rather correlations of correlations, making their results unreliable.
• Why it’s “medical malpractice” – He stresses that physicians should not use tests they don’t understand, that lack clear accuracy/precision, or that are not actionable in clinical care.
• Direct-to-consumer risks – Many companies selling such tests operate without rigorous validation, leading to misleading claims for consumers.
• Epigenetic potential – While skeptical of today’s commercial tests, Kaeberlein remains optimistic about epigenetics as a research tool and for applications like multi-cancer detection.
• Therapeutic plasma exchange – He shared his personal experience with this FDA-approved procedure, which replaces plasma and may benefit cognitive health, though he found no immediate effects himself.
• Self-experimentation and rapamycin – Kaeberlein has explored interventions like rapamycin for specific health issues but emphasizes that strong human data is still lacking.
• Challenges in longevity medicine – He highlights how financial incentives often push longevity clinics toward elite, expensive models, leaving most people behind.
• Need for responsible communication – Sloppy use of terms like “biological age” damages the credibility of aging research and risks misleading the public.