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Using Existing Drugs in New Ways to Treat & Cure Diseases of Brain & Body | Dr. David Fajgenbaum

Overview

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Using Existing Drugs in New Ways to Treat & Cure Diseases of Brain & Body | Dr. David Fajgenbaum

Huberman Lab

Nov 03

Using Existing Drugs in New Ways to Treat & Cure Diseases of Brain & Body | Dr. David Fajgenbaum

Using Existing Drugs in New Ways to Treat & Cure Diseases of Brain & Body | Dr. David Fajgenbaum

Huberman Lab

Huberman Lab

Nov 03

Overview Shownote Highlights Transcript Chapters Pins

Shownote

My guest is Dr. David Fajgenbaum, MD, professor of translational medicine and human genetics at the University of Pennsylvania. He explains how, unbeknownst to most doctors, many approved medications can successfully treat or even cure diseases other than ...

Highlights

Dr. David Fajgenbaum's journey from a terminal diagnosis to becoming a pioneer in drug repurposing reveals a powerful, underutilized strategy in modern medicine. Facing a rare and deadly disease with no approved treatment, he turned to science, self-agency, and innovation to save his own life—uncovering a broader potential for existing drugs to treat conditions far beyond their original use.

02:47

Effective treatments exist for many 'untreatable' diseases through drug repurposing.

04:06

Many FDA-approved drugs can treat more diseases than they are currently indicated for.

09:03

Lidocaine reduced five-year breast cancer mortality by 29% in a large Indian trial

17:22

Lithium may protect against Alzheimer's, but doctors avoid discussing it due to liability

21:15

Starting kids on a TNF inhibitor can prevent strokes, but the knowledge isn't widely spread.

21:53

Biomedical knowledge graphs enable discovery of new drug uses

27:25

Michael responded well to the first PD-1 inhibitor treatment for angiosarcoma and entered a nine-year remission.

31:36

Aspirin deserves more attention for preventing colon cancer and heart attacks.

36:10

Dose adjustment of colchicine was crucial for its effectiveness in reducing heart disease risk

47:53

After 11 weeks of worsening symptoms, a pathologist diagnosed Castleman disease, an atypical lymphoproliferative disorder with autoimmune features.

49:18

Blocking cytokine production extends life in sleep-deprived mice

54:56

Felt better with each chemo dose even as the immune system was destroyed

1:01:41

Scientists are incentivized to discover new things rather than apply existing knowledge broadly.

1:10:59

Rapamycin has kept me in remission for over 11 years, but its use for longevity may be misguided due to immunosuppression.

1:17:35

I can endure pain one moment at a time, just like in football.

1:25:37

We found 14 repurposed drugs over 11 years and published a breakthrough case in the New England Journal of Medicine.

1:28:37

TNF inhibitor helped a Castleman's patient achieve remission.

1:38:03

Rapamycin was discovered in the soil of Rapa Nui and originally explored as an antifungal before becoming an immunosuppressant.

1:43:52

AI can connect unconnected truths from disparate experiments to accelerate drug discovery

1:46:18

Stimulating the anterior mid-cingulate cortex makes people feel challenged and motivated to act.

1:52:50

People can contribute to Every Cure by submitting drug ideas, joining as experts, donating, or sharing on social media.

Chapters

David Fajgenbaum

00:00

Self-Agency in Healthcare; New Uses for Old Medicines

04:06

Other Uses of Aspirin & Viagra; Drug Development & Approved Use

06:44

Lidocaine & Breast Cancer; Pharmaceutical Companies & Incentives

08:53

Sponsors: Eight Sleep & Rorra

11:36

Pharmaceutical Companies, Patents & New Uses; Lithium

14:16

Tools: Finding Reliable Health Sources, Asking Questions & Disease Organizations; DADA2 Treatment

18:40

Medical Community & Connections; Integrated Medical Databases

21:53

Drug Repurposing, Thalidomide, Pembrolizumab

24:36

Medical Research Databases, Mapping Disease Connections

28:45

Every Cure Database & Programs, Bachmann-Bupp Syndrome; Colchicine & Heart Disease

33:51

Sponsors: AGZ by AG1 & David

37:57

David’s Medical & Career Journey, Glioblastoma, Castleman Disease

40:41

Autoimmune Disease, Driven Personality, Stress & Immune System

49:10

Castleman Disease, Treatment, Chemotherapy

52:52

Physician Continuing Education, Santa Claus Theory of Civilization; Science Collaboration

55:54

Medical School, Relapse & “Overtime”, Finding a New Treatment, Rapamycin

1:03:32

Sport, Football & Resilience; Challenge & Personal Growth, Family

1:12:46

Sponsor: Function

1:18:41

Social Support; “Overtime”, Gratitude

1:20:29

Business School, Castleman Disease Treatment; Repurposing Drugs & AI

1:23:19

Drug Repurposing, POEMS Syndrome; Mitigating Risk

1:28:29

Nicotine, Compounds for Preventive Health; GLP-1 Agonists

1:35:32

Bioprospecting, Drug Development; AI, Prioritization & Novel Connections

1:40:51

Healthcare & Children; Hope, Action & Impact Circuit; Challenge & Super-Agers

1:46:18

Get Involved with Every Cure

1:52:50

Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow, Reviews & Feedback, Sponsors, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter

1:56:20

Transcript

David Fajgenbaum: My doctor explained to me that we were out of options. He said, David, we've tried everything. We tried these chemotherapies, We tried this one experimental drug. There's nothing more that we can do. There was a few-minute period where my...