There is likely no organ in the human body that serves as a better model for studying human aging than the ovary. The principal reason is clear: it is the one organ that consistently ages ahead of all others and, on average, ceases to function by age 52. Moreover, in approximately 10% of cases, the ovary undergoes premature aging, and in about 1% of women, it stops functioning before the age of 40. This stands in stark contrast to its male counterpart—the testis—which, although it does age, continues to fulfill its reproductive function well into advanced age, as evidenced by several well-known male figures (see table).

With the ovary, thus, being a very obvious target for aging research, the opposite is also true: Whatever is discovered in general human aging research, may have relevance for ovarian aging. The Reproductive Times, therefore, follows aging research closely.

Do multivitamins slow biological aging?

As JoAnn Manson, MD, DrPH, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, recently reported in an article in Medscape OB/Gyn (1), a study presented at the 2025 American Heart Association meeting in New Orleans (COSMOS) suggested just that. The study, a prospectively randomized trial, aimed to determine whether daily multivitamin supplementation could slow biological aging, as measured by DNA methylation using epigenetic clocks.

In her article, Dr. Manson also noted that previous studies had shown similar findings. For example, the Physicians' Health Study II and the 2022 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force review reported that multivitamin supplementation was associated with a reduction in the incidence of invasive cancers, a decreased risk of cataracts, and less memory loss and cognitive decline, as observed in three sub-studies of the COSMOS trial. The conclusion that these benefits may result from a slowing of biological aging, therefore, appears reasonable.

Using five different epigenetic clocks to assess biological aging in the COSMOS trial, all five showed signals of slower aging in the multivitamin group compared to placebo—by approximately 10–20% over two years, which corresponds to about four months of reduced aging.

It might be time to start taking a daily multivitamin!

Reference

1. Manson J-A,E. Medscape Ob/Gyn. https://www.medscape.cpm/viewarticle/multivitamins-slow-biological-aging-large-trial-2025a10006u7

Promoting longevity and the health span

Regular readers of this publication are already well aware of how much we value Ground Truths by Eric Topol, MD, on Substack as a trusted source of insight. Today is no exception. In a recent post, Dr. Topol published one of his signature in-depth analyses under this very title, highlighting the growing number of companies in the consumer space that claim to promote improvements in lifespan and health span. These companies often emphasize extensive testing for the early detection—and in some cases, even prevention—of disease (1).

The figure below, taken from his publication, lists several of these emerging companies.

And for those among our readers who are interested in even more detail, the Table below offers some rather telling information.

His article—as always—offers significantly more detail. For those interested in the subject, we highly recommend the easily accessible reference listed below. Although based on a “quick poll,” interest in the topics of longevity and health span still appears relatively limited: only 13% of respondents reported being consumers of one or more of the 10 companies operating in this space, with 6% claiming to have benefitted and 7% experiencing no clear benefit. Nonetheless, this clearly represents a rapidly expanding new “medical specialty area.”

As a further expression of our admiration for Dr. Topol’s new role as one of the most effective—if not the most effective—translators of contemporary medical science for the broader public, we’re excited to share a plug for his upcoming book, Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity, scheduled for release on May 6. In this book, he outlines a strategy for the primary prevention of the three major age-related diseases—cancer, cardiovascular conditions, and neurodegenerative disorders. With the aid of artificial intelligence (A.I.), we can now predict who is vulnerable to these conditions and at what age they are likely to emerge. Naturally, earlier risk is of greater concern than later onset and will likely become a major target of future treatment efforts.

On a related note, Heidi Ledford, a writer for Nature, addressed the same topic in a much shorter article, observing that “armed with an influx of cash and public enthusiasm, researchers are now looking to improve how aging is measured” (2). However, she also notes that the current hype around aging research doesn't always reflect the underlying controversies—particularly when it comes to the concept of measuring aging itself.

The aforementioned epigenetic clocks have now been applied in numerous studies across different organs. Yet, as one scientist interviewed in her piece pointed out, these clocks have generally not been sufficiently validated for use in clinical trials. Even more telling, her article underscores a deeper issue: to this day, there is still no consensus on what these markers are actually measuring. In a survey conducted at a scientific conference on aging, roughly 30% of attendees defined aging as “loss of function over time.” Others described it as the “accumulation of damage,” a “developmental stage,” or as an “increase in disability and death.”

References

1. Topol E. Ground Truths. March 22, 2025. https://erictopol.substack.com/p/the-business-of-promoting-longevity

2. Ledford H. Nature 2025;638:875-876

The Explosively Growing Anti-Aging Business

HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS: When really does it arise?

Direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DtCGT) – much to be concerned about