Journal Club with Dr. Peter Attia | Metformin for Longevity & The Power of Belief Effects

In this journal club episode, my guest is Stanford and Johns Hopkins-trained physician, Dr. Peter Attia, M.D., who is also the host of The Drive podcast and the author of the bestselling book “Outlive: The Science & Art of Longevity.”

We each present a scientific paper and discuss the findings’ strengths, weaknesses and actionable takeaways.

First, we discuss an article that addresses whether taking the drug metformin can enhance longevity. Then, we discuss an article on belief effects (similar to placebo effects), showing how the effects of a drug on the brain and cognition depend on one’s belief about the dose of the drug taken, not the actual dose.

Our conversation also highlights how to read, interpret and critique scientific studies. This episode ought to be of interest to those curious about health and longevity, medicine and psychology and for anyone seeking to better understand how to read and digest scientific findings.

Articles

• Reassessing the evidence of a survival advantage in Type 2 diabetes treated with metformin compared with controls without diabetes: a retrospective cohort study (International Journal of Epidemiology)
• The Hallmarks of Aging00645-4?returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0092867413006454%3Fshowall%3Dtrue) (Cell_)
• Can people with type 2 diabetes live longer than those without? A comparison of mortality in people initiated with metformin or sulphonylurea monotherapy and matched, non-diabetic controls (Diabetes Obesity and Metabolism)
• A thalamic circuit represents dose-like responses induced by nicotine-related beliefs in human smokers (bioRxiv)

Other Resources

• TAME (Targeting Aging with Metformin) Trial
• Interventions Testing Program (ITP)
• Slow-Carb Diet (Tim Ferris)
• Dr. Alia Crum: Science of Mindsets for Health & Performance (Huberman Lab episode)
• Nicotine’s Effects on the Brain & Body & How to Quit Smoking or Vaping (Huberman Lab episode)
• Adderall, Stimulants & Modafinil for ADHD: Short- & Long-Term Effects (Huberman Lab episode)
• Neural correlates of interspecies perspective taking in the post-mortem Atlantic Salmon: an argument for multiple comparisons correction (Dead salmon study)