"I Spent 28 Billion Won and Even Received My Son's Plasma to Avoid Aging... But Was Diagnosed with an Incurable Disease"

Spending $2.8 Million Annually on Anti-Aging Experiments
Diagnosed with Iron Deficiency After Months of Testing in May
Experimental Approaches Planned, Including AI-Designed Antibodies and Cell Therapies

Brian Johnson (48), a Silicon Valley investor in the United States who has been conducting anti-aging experiments with the goal of "Don't Die," revealed that he has been diagnosed with an incurable autoimmune disease.

On July 6 (local time), international media outlets such as People and CNA reported that Johnson recently announced on his social network service (SNS), "I have an autoimmune disease. My stomach is eating itself." The condition he disclosed is Autoimmune Gastritis (AIG).

Brian Johnson, a Silicon Valley investor in the United States, has been conducting anti-aging experiments with the goal of "Don't Die." Brian Johnson SNS

Johnson explained that he was diagnosed with the disease this past May after several months of testing. He stated that his levels of ferritin, an iron storage protein in the body, had remained low for a long time and did not improve despite dietary adjustments and iron supplements. A subsequent gastric tissue biopsy confirmed early signs of autoimmune gastritis. Autoimmune gastritis is a chronic inflammatory disease in which the immune system attacks the acid-secreting cells of the stomach lining. This can affect gastric acid secretion and nutrient absorption and may lead to deficiencies in iron and vitamin B12, anemia, and nerve damage. Over the long term, it is also associated with an increased risk of gastric neuroendocrine tumors and stomach cancer, making regular monitoring necessary.

Johnson said, "According to current medical standards, autoimmune gastritis is considered a disease to be managed, not cured," adding, "Our team wants to change that." He plans to regularly monitor ferritin, iron, vitamin B12, pepsinogen ratio, gastrin, and chromogranin A, and also check immune response pathways through additional tissue biopsies, cytokine analysis, and T-cell subset analysis. In addition, depending on the progression of the disease, he will consider experimental approaches such as JAK/STAT, IL-17, regulatory T cells, engineered cell therapy, and AI-designed antibodies. However, he acknowledged that "there is currently no approved cure for autoimmune gastritis." Johnson also dismissed online claims that "eating meat will cure it," "sunlight is the cure," or "the current diet is the cause," saying that such explanations are highly unlikely and that autoimmune gastritis cannot be simply explained by the intake of specific foods.

He drew attention by claiming that the functions of his heart, lungs, and skin were younger than his actual age. In 2023, as an anti-aging experiment, he received a plasma transfusion from his then teenage son but later stopped the practice, saying "no noticeable changes were detected." Brian Johnson SNS

He recalled that as a child, he enjoyed sugary cereals, soft drinks, and fast food, and that his health deteriorated under the stress of business and parenting in his youth. However, the medical community generally believes it is difficult to attribute the cause of autoimmune diseases to any single dietary habit. After selling the payment processing company Braintree Venmo to PayPal for 800 million dollars in 2013, Johnson has invested substantial funds into his anti-aging project "Blueprint." He spends about 2 million dollars annually working with medical professionals to meticulously manage his sleep, diet, exercise, blood markers, and organ functions.

Johnson drew attention by claiming that the functions of his heart, lungs, and skin were younger than his actual age. In 2023, as an anti-aging experiment, he received a plasma transfusion from his then teenage son, but later stopped the practice, stating that "no noticeable changes were detected." Johnson's experiments were also featured in the Netflix documentary "Don't Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever," which chronicled his efforts to slow aging by putting his body and wealth on the line.

Following the disclosure of his diagnosis, international media reported that Johnson's "Don't Die" project has once again become the center of controversy. Some believe that his extreme health management helped detect the disease early, while others express concerns that excessive testing and experimental treatments could send the wrong message to the public. Johnson stated, "Being asymptomatic does not mean you are healthy," adding, "Anyone could have hidden health issues that have not yet been discovered." He said he will continue to publicly share his attempts to treat autoimmune gastritis and his progress going forward.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.