In terms of biological aging, the body appears to change phase three times during our lifetime: at 34 years, at 60 years and at 78 years.
In other words, there is evidence that aging is not a progressive process that moves at the same speed throughout our lives, but rather is punctuated by peaks (or rather, valleys).
Blood protein levels: the proteome
The investigation has been published in Nature Medicine, and has also presented a new way to reliably predict people's ages using protein levels (the proteome) in your blood.
The team analyzed blood plasma data from 4,263 people between 18 and 95 years old, studying the levels of around 3,000 different proteins.
While these protein levels often remain relatively constant, the researchers found that large changes in readings for multiple proteins occurred around young adulthood (34 years), late middle age (60 years), and old age (78 years). years).
According to Tony Wyss-Coray, from the Stanford Alzheimer's Disease Research Center:
We have known for a long time that measuring certain proteins in the blood can tell you about a person's health status, for example lipoproteins for cardiovascular health.
The researchers were able to set up a system whereby the mixture of 373 selected proteins in blood could be used to accurately predict a person's age, within about three years or so: When the system failed to predict an age that was too young, the subject was usually very healthy for his or her age.
Another finding from the study offers more evidence of something that has long been suspected: that men and women age differently. Of the 1,379 proteins that changed with age, 895 (nearly two-thirds) were significantly more predictive for one sex compared to the other.
These findings could help us better understand how our bodies begin to break down as we age, and how specific age-related diseases, including Alzheimer's disease or cardiovascular diseases, could be better addressed.
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The news
373 selected proteins in blood could be used to accurately predict a person's age
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
.