You’ve heard of biohacking buff Bryan Johnson. Now meet this recent face.
Dr. Jonathann Kuo runs Extension Well being, a Manhattan longevity clinic specializing in dear age-defying therapies, corresponding to $12,000 plasma alternate periods and $5,000 sex-enhancing therapies.
Followers embrace biohackers, CEOs, stars like Justin Baldoni, athletes like Troy Aikman, and even royalty who’ve money to spare for cutting-edge care.
Kuo, 46, began the ache clinic Hudson Well being and ultimately shifted his focus from ache administration to regenerative drugs and mobile well being after having an in depth encounter with Father Time.
“Regardless of being a physician, I used to be chubby. I used to be pre-diabetic, I had mind fog. I couldn’t focus,” Kuo informed The Publish. “I used to be actually sluggish, and this was, like, in my late 30s. I used to be like, ‘What’s occurring?’”
The daddy of two traveled the world, consulted different medical doctors, examined novel know-how and devised a biohacking plan about six years in the past.
Now trim with chiseled options and a boyish face, Kuo practices what he preaches at Extension Well being, 160 seventh Ave S, which formally rebranded final summer season as a rejuvenation vacation spot.
“There’s no different place in New York Metropolis, or actually, even around the globe that I do know of that has all of those latest therapeutics,” Kuo stated.
He plans to roll out a $250,000 annual membership protecting the “most superior testing and therapeutics accessible.” Two “reasonably priced” tiers will begin round $10,000 a yr. Companies now are à la carte.
“You may spend anyplace from a number of hundred {dollars} to tens of 1000’s of {dollars}. There’s a worth level for everybody,” Kuo stated. “My aim is to make this accessible for as many individuals as I can.”
Frequent flyers
The comfy and plush West Village house, that includes a lush wall of greenery that symbolizes progress and vitality, usually attracts two forms of sufferers.
There are these with persistent sickness — individuals affected by Lyme illness or longtime mildew publicity who’ve been “failed [by] the standard medical system,” Kuo stated.
And the opposite half are biohackers, millennial celebrities and mid-life CEOs seeking to reboot their our bodies, even jetting the world over for days or perhaps weeks of therapy.
Latest acolytes embrace multi-hyphenate La La Anthony, 45, “It Ends with Us” filmmaker Justin Baldoni, 41, Tesla director (and brother of Elon Musk) Kimbal Musk, 52, and soccer nice Troy Aikman, 58.
“A few of these are very wholesome 50-year-olds, 60-year-olds with nothing fallacious,” Kuo stated of his sufferers. “However they’re simply very all for what’s on the market, what’s subsequent?”
New beginnings
New sufferers endure an intensive analysis and share their well being objectives. Consultations begin at $400.
“Most sufferers nowadays, they complain about nervousness points, sleep points, mind fog points, vitality points — and conventional drugs actually doesn’t have nice methods of addressing that,” Kuo stated. “And so I’ve give you all these little protocols and peptide therapies and procedures that may assist with that.”
The US Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) hasn’t accepted any medication to deal with ageing as a result of the company doesn’t contemplate ageing a illness, however medical doctors can nonetheless prescribe drugs “off-label.”
Kuo goals to optimize three key physique perform indicators — metabolism, hormones and irritation.
His $999 complete diagnostic package deal features a DEXA scan to disclose physique composition and bone density; a VO2 max check to focus on cardio endurance and cardiovascular health; a 3D postural alignment scan; a check to find out the variety of energy burned at relaxation; bloodwork to evaluate biomarkers, hormone ranges, irritation and metabolic markers; and a session.
“That’s a extremely whole lot since you are actually getting the entire fundamental info that you’d have to make a plan,” Kuo stated.
The fundamental diagnostic package deal, which doesn’t embrace the bloodwork, prices $699. Affected person insurance coverage could cowl some lab work, however not a lot else.
‘Pep’ within the step
On the base stage, Kuo targets weight loss plan, sleep and train for enchancment.
“With out these three elementary pillars, you’re actually not going to get anyplace,” he stated.
Degree 2 therapeutics are peptides, dietary supplements and drugs. Peptides are brief chains of amino acids that affect a cell’s perform by binding to receptors on its membrane.
In anti-aging therapies, peptides can stimulate collagen manufacturing to cut back the looks of wrinkles, shield the pores and skin from environmental stressors and performance as antioxidants. They are often administered through injections, drugs or topical lotions.
Peptides can value over $300 a month — some sufferers take a number of of them.
“You are able to do a lot with peptides and hormones,” Kuo stated. “You simply can actually optimize somebody metabolically, hormonally, get their irritation ranges down, get their weight down, get their insulin resistance good and excessive, simply make their methods perform higher. On the finish of the day, it comes right down to mobile well being.”
Retired hairdresser Craig Linsley, a affected person of Kuo’s for greater than a decade, stated he takes three peptides to maintain his arthritis at bay. He estimates they collectively value round $5,000 a yr.
“I simply really feel stronger and extra sturdy,” Linsley, 67, informed The Publish.
Don’t have any concern
Degree 3 is the extra superior regenerative drugs — gene remedy, plasmapheresis (eradicating, treating and returning blood plasma to the physique) and resets of the autonomic nervous system.
Kuo is thought for these “neuro resets,” that are alleged to recalibrate the fight-or-flight response, boosting focus, reminiscence, mind perform, sleep, digestion and immunity. The ten-minute process is supposed to alleviate nervousness, stress and PTSD.
Kuo injects an area anesthetic into nerves within the neck to briefly block indicators to the mind’s concern middle and injects fluid across the vagus nerve to alleviate strain and promote rest.
“I’ve achieved 1000’s of those circumstances,” Kuo stated of the neuro reset. “To not brag, however I see a number of heads of state within the Center East and royal households [who come to] New York for this sort of therapy.”
The neuro reset is $1,500. The “full neuro reset” with ketamine remedy is $2,000 — some individuals do 4 neuro resets a yr.
In actual fact, Kuo tends to see sufferers quarterly to repeat scans and blood exams to trace their progress.
Luke Morong, 37, stated he visits Extension Well being about as soon as a month.
He was initially attempting to keep away from surgical procedure for a herniated disc in his neck — and he discovered aid with peptides, exosomes (tiny packets of RNAs) and platelet-rich plasma remedy (utilizing his personal blood to advertise therapeutic) to the tune of $20,000 to $30,000.
He’s since “gone down the rabbit gap” by experimenting with different therapies.
“The balancing act is quite a lot of it will get costly fairly rapidly,” Morong, who works in actual property personal fairness, informed The Publish.
What’s subsequent
Apart from launching membership packages, Kuo is all for establishing an internet vacation spot for longevity drugs like metformin and rapamycin, a controversial immunosuppressant the death-delaying evangelist Bryan Johnson, 47, lately dropped from his routine.
Kuo, who collaborates with Johnson, has been taking rapamycin for practically a decade for its anti-aging powers. He famous that there’s no “one measurement matches all” path to an extended life.
As Extension Well being’s lead guinea pig, Kuo is continually exploring new medication and approaches — he’ll quickly check a blood filtration therapy within the clinic — and brainstorming with fellow youth chasers.
He’s in a “very energetic group chat” with 200 longevity medical doctors from throughout the US.
“I need to separate out the noise from what’s actual and be capable to supply that to our shoppers,” Kuo stated.
