HEALTH AND WELLNESS
Diseases and Conditions
Biohacker Bryan Johnson discloses ‘incurable’ illness. What is it?
Sara MoniuszkoUSA TODAY
Updated July 6, 2026, 2:56 p.m. ET
Bryan Johnson, the former tech CEO who’s become famous for his biohacking pursuits, says he has autoimmune gastritis. That means, he says, his stomach is “eating itself.”
In a social media post shared June 30, Johnson revealed he was diagnosed in May but is unsure how long he’s had it
“No condition should be presumed incurable simply because no one has yet tried to cure it,” he said of the diagnosis, which he says he aims to find a cure for
Johnson regularly updates his followers with the latest methods for reducing biological age and warding off death for as long as possible, though critics question his optimization methods that include dozens of daily supplements and an at-home hyperbaric chamber, all to the tune of $2 million per year
Here’s what to know about the condition
What is autoimmune gastritis?
Gastritis is an inflammation of the stomach lining, making autoimmune gastritis, or AIG, a type of gastritis that occurs when your body “attacks the cells that make up your stomach lining,”
“This reaction can wear away at your stomach’s protective barrier,” the clinic explained
Gastritis symptoms
While gastritis doesn’t always cause symptoms, Mayo Clinic said it may cause:
- A feeling of fullness in your upper abdomen after eating
- Indigestion, or gnawing or burning ache or pain in your upper belly
- Nausea
- Vomiting
What causes autoimmune gastritis?
The exact cause of the condition is unknown, according to the Global Autoimmune Institute, but genetics, increased age and the gut microbiome seem to play a role
Autoimmune gastritis is also more common in people with other autoimmune disorders such as Hashimoto’s disease and type 1 diabetes and can also be associated with vitamin B-12 deficiency
In his post, Johnson said he has a history of autoimmune thyroid disease
Can you treat autoimmune gastritis?
There’s no approved cure for autoimmune gastritis today. “Medicine treats it as something to manage, not solve,” Johnson wrote, but adds he and his team are “going to try and solve” the condition, including “experimental approaches we intend to develop.”
The Global Autoimmune Institute confirms there is currently no cure for autoimmune gastritis. Instead, treatment focuses on symptom relief, anemia regulation and lifestyle modifications, the organization says
“Researchers are studying new therapies to reduce stomach inflammation, prevent the development of, and reduce the progression of atrophy in autoimmune gastritis,” the organization adds
