Silicon Valley billionaires are obsessed with “reprogramming” their bodies for longevity. The first human trial suggests they might be right.

• Tech billionaires are obsessed with “reprogramming” their bodies for longevity.

• Jeff Bezos, Peter Thiel, Yuri Milner and Sam Altman have all invested in the rejuvenation strategy.

• The first-ever human attempt at cellular reprogramming is underway, and it appears to be working.

Getting older can be painful. Stick around long enough and you’re bound to suffer some sort of age-related decline, like creaky joints, clogged arteries, or loss of vision.

Silicon Valley billionaires including Jeff Bezos, Peter Thiel, Yuri Milner and Sam Altman, who want to avoid all this mess and reprogram their cells to make them younger, have invested in startups working on the hottest trend in longevity science: cellular reprogramming.

The technique has rejuvenated many mice and monkeys, but it had never been tested in humans – until this year. The first human trial of cellular reprogramming is underway at Life Biosciences, where patients are receiving a first-of-its-kind rejuvenation therapy for glaucoma, an eye disease that can lead to vision loss.

On Thursday, Life Biosciences released its first safety data. So far, three patients have received the experimental treatment: an eye injection, combined with eight weeks of daily antibiotics that activate rejuvenation factors inside their cells. The company said none of the patients reported major side effects and the product was “well tolerated.”

The goal of the treatment is essentially to turn back time at the cellular level, rejuvenating old eyes by delivering genetic programming instructions, similar to those that rejuvenate stem cells and embryos.

Cellular reprogramming as a “catch-all” for age-related health problems

There are some early signs that the technique might work. Two of the three patients showed significant improvements in their vision during a standard eye exam, suggesting that the new drug could restore vision, or at least improve it.

Dr. James Tsai, president of the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary at Mount Sinai, told Business Insider the news was “exciting” but very preliminary. Tsai, a glaucoma specialist who was not involved in this trial, said it was possible that the therapy did not completely regenerate the eyeball, but simply enhanced existing electrical signals in patients who still had some vision.

“I need a lot more information to say, ‘Hey, we’re really on the holy grail of truly reverse vision (loss),'” he said. “What’s exciting is that they’ve done it in humans.”

Based on the positive results, an independent safety monitoring board approved a three-fold increase in the dose for the next group of patients in the study, which could improve the effectiveness of the therapy.

If the first trial of this technology by Life Biosciences proves successful, it could then be applied to other diseases. Its chief operating officer, Michael Ringel, points to the success of animal trials of cell reprogramming for various age-related diseases, including arthritis, high blood pressure, fatty liver disease and even brain diseases like Alzheimer’s.

“We believe this has the potential to become a master key to combating a wide range of age-related diseases,” Ringel said. “But of course, this is something that will have to be demonstrated clinically. We have to prove it, not just think it.”

Silicon Valley launches longevity trials on humans

Life Biosciences is the first company to try this longevity technique in humans, but several Silicon Valley biotech startups are trying to get in the race. Altos Labs, backed by Jeff Bezos, hired clinical trials expert Joan Mannick last year, making her head of product development.

“You only bring Joan in if you have something that is ready for trial,” said Jaime Justice, longevity scientist and director of XPRIZE Healthspan.

Then there’s New Limit, which recently raised $435 million in a Series C round led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund. The company has been optimistic about its ambitions to begin its first human trials of a liver cell reprogramming therapy in 2027. And Sam Altman-backed Retro Biosciences is also exploring the idea.

If you enjoyed this story, be sure to follow Business Insider on Yahoo.