Anyone tried low-dose rapamycin plus spermidine for autophagy?

Posted by honestpriya in Longevity & Anti-Aging - 5 points, 4 comments.

Hello, I am pretty new to all this so please be patient with me.

I have been reading up on autophagy because it seems to come up everywhere in longevity content lately. From what I understand, it is basically the clean-up process where the cell recycles old stuff.

Rapamycin seems to be the big one for this, with the mTOR mechanism, and spermidine is supposed to do something similar through a different path. I am honestly wondering if using both makes sense, or if that is overkill since they both push the same direction.

I am not looking for a personal dose or anything like that, just trying to understand the logic. The half-lives are quite different too, rapamycin is around 62 hours and spermidine seems much shorter, so I imagine the timing question is not simple. Has anyone here actually tried both together, and how did it go for you?

Also, if anyone has good sources or studies I should read, I would really appreciate that. I like to look things up before I try anything new.

Comments

• fasted_scientist: Good on you for wanting to read the actual studies before trying anything, that already puts you ahead of most people posting here. The "overkill" question is fair, but they aren't really doing the same thing at all. MTOR inhibition and autophagy induction through acetylation are separate pathways, so combining them is a recognised research angle rather than doubling up on the same lever. Half-life matters loads for rapamycin especially, 62 hours means steady state takes ages to build and ages
• honestpriya: Thank you, that clarifies the pathway thing actually, I was reading it as both pushing autophagy so I assumed they would just stack. Good to know they work through different routes, that makes the combination less redundant in my head. The steady state point is something I had not thought about. I read people take rapamycin once weekly, but with 62 hours half-life the drug is basically still there from the previous dose, right? So is the weekly spacing actually about keeping some level constant
• runner_aaron: Yeah the half-life thing on rapamycin is what always puts me off, 62 hours is a long commitment for someone who just wants to trial it. Spermidine being shorter makes it feel more forgiving if something feels off. Curious though, do you think the autophagy readouts in studies actually translate to anything you'd notice day to day, or is this more of a long game thing where you're flying blind?
• honestpriya: Honestly the day to day question is exactly what worries me too, since I cannot really measure anything at home. Like, with rapamycin I have read about people tracking lipids or getting bloodwork, but for autophagy itself there is no easy readout you can check. So I think it is mostly flying blind and just trusting the mechanism, which feels a bit much for someone who is new to all this.

Community discussion - research and educational context only. Not medical advice.