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Otago Daily Times
2 hours ago
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Otago scientists develop tool to estimate dementia risk
By Rowan Quinn of RNZ Dunedin scientists have helped develop an internationally groundbreaking tool that estimates a person's risk of getting dementia and other age-related diseases. It uses a single MRI scan that can be done in mid-life and before someone is showing any signs of the conditions. Otago University scientists worked with Duke and Harvard universities in the United States and have published their findings in the prestigious medical journal Nature Aging this week. Data from Otago's Dunedin Study - which has followed 1037 participants since they were born in 1972 and 1973 - has been critical in the work. That study looked at changes in blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol levels, tooth and gum health and other body functions over 20 years to see how quickly people were ageing. That data was then compared with an MRI taken when the study participants were 45 and a tool - an algorithm known as Dunedin PACNI - was developed that can look at anyone's MRI and estimate how they might age. Dunedin Study director Professor Moana Theodore said study members who had higher or faster PACNI scores were more likely to have poorer health. "And also poorer physical functioning, things like walking and balance, and also poorer cognitive function, things like poorer memory even though they were, at that stage in their mid 40s," she said. The new tool was then tested out on 50,000 brain scans from data on people aged 50-89 in other parts of the world. "In those studies of older people we were able to identify things like the development of chronic disease, so, an increased likelihood of heart attacks or strokes, an increased risk of being diagnosed with dementia over time and even an increased mortality," she said. The study found those who were ageing faster had more shrinkage in the hippocampus region of the brain and performed worse on cognitive tests. Professor Theodore said the tool could help change outcomes for people. "If we can predict ageing, especially in mid-life.... then what we are able to do is prevent, possibly intervene earlier on to stop or slow down age related diseases like dementia for which there is currently no clear treatment," she said She and her team were incredibly proud of the work - and she thanked the Dunedin Study members and their families for their 50 year contribution. "It's wonderful to have a New Zealand study that is at the forefront of international research on ageing and how to support people to age positively and well and how to reduce age related diseases that cause people to have poorer quality of life later in life," she said. DunedinPACNI will be freely available for scientists around the world to use to further their own work on ageing.
The Hindu
a day ago
- Health
- The Hindu
Study compares industrialised, indigenous groups, finds inflammation not always linked with ageing
Inflammation may not always be related to ageing and appears to be a consequence of industrialised lifestyles, researchers said, after they found high levels of inflammation in two indigenous populations, which neither increased with age nor led to chronic conditions. The findings, published in the journal Nature Aging, challenge current notions around persistent inflammation related to ageing -- or "inflammaging", the authors said. "These results point to an evolutionary mismatch between our immune systems and the environments we now live in. Inflammaging may not be a direct product of ageing, but rather a response to industrialised conditions," lead author Alan Cohen, associate professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University, US, said. They added that a holistic approach, looking at culture, environment and lifestyle factors, needs to be taken while studying ageing processes. "In industrialised settings, we see clear links between inflammaging and diseases like chronic kidney disease," Cohen said. "But in populations with high infection rates, inflammation appears more reflective of infectious disease burden than of ageing itself," the lead author said. The researchers looked at four populations -- two industrialised ones from Italy and Singapore and two indigenous, non-industrialised communities, called the 'Tsimane' of the Bolivian Amazon and the 'Orang Asli' of peninsular Malaysia. Inflammation levels due to ageing were found to be similar between the two industrialised populations studied, but did not hold in the indigenous groups, where inflammation was found to be driven largely by infection rather than age. Further, the inflammation seen in the native communities did not increase with age and also did not result in chronic diseases -- such as diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer's -- a regular feature of modern, industrialised societies, the researchers said. "Infammaging, as measured in this manner in these cohorts, thus appears to be largely a byproduct of industrialised lifestyles, with major variation across environments and populations," the authors wrote. They added that chronic diseases are rare or even absent among native populations, meaning that even when the young in these communities have profiles that look similar on the surface to those of older industrialised adults, they do not lead to disease. "These findings really call into question the idea that inflammation is bad per se. Rather, it appears that inflammation – and perhaps other aging mechanisms too – may be highly context dependent," Cohen said. "On one hand, that's challenging, because there won't be universal answers to scientific questions. On the other, it's promising, because it means we can intervene and change things," the author said. The study analysed a group of 19 cytokines -- proteins created during immune and inflammatory responses -- and found patterns in line with ageing among the Italian and Singaporean individuals, but not among the 'Tsimane' and 'Orang Asli'. The immune systems of the indigenous populations were shaped by persistent infections and distinct environmental exposures, the researchers said.
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Age-related hearing loss linked to protein deficiency, study finds
Scientists have discovered a key mechanism behind age-related hearing loss , and they say a common oral medication could delay its progression. In a study of crab-eating macaques, the team from China and the United States found that a gradual deficiency in a protein vital to receptor cells in the ear was a characteristic of cochlear ageing in primates. The researchers also found that it was possible to slow down age-related hearing loss in the monkeys by using a common diabetes medication called metformin, which they said had potential as a clinical treatment for the condition. 'Our study provides an in-depth characterisation of cellular and molecular ageing patterns in primate cochleae at an unprecedented single-cell resolution,' the team said in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Aging on June 20. 'These findings lay the foundation for the development of new treatments for presbycusis and provide the possibility of personalised medicine,' said study author Wang Si, a professor at the Capital Medical University-affiliated Xuanwu Hospital in Beijing.
NDTV
16-06-2025
- Health
- NDTV
Feel Older Overnight? Science Says You Might Be Right: Ageing Jumps At Two Stages
While aging is often seen as a slow, steady process, new research suggests it can speed up suddenly at certain points in life. According to a recent study on molecular changes in the human body, scientists have identified two major phases where aging significantly accelerates - around the average ages of 44 and 60. These findings indicate that if you feel like you're aging faster during these stages, it may not be just your imagination. The study highlights how biological aging is not always linear and could involve sharp changes at specific milestones. According to a news release, researchers assessed many thousands of different molecules in people from age 25 to 75, as well as their microbiomes - the bacteria, viruses and fungi that live inside us and on our skin - and found that the abundance of most molecules and microbes do not shift in a gradual, chronological fashion. Rather, we undergo two periods of rapid change during our life span, averaging around age 44 and age 60. A paper describing these findings was published in the journal Nature Aging in August 2024. "We're not just changing gradually over time; there are some really dramatic changes," said Michael Snyder, PhD, professor of genetics and the study's senior author. "It turns out the mid-40s is a time of dramatic change, as is the early 60s. And that's true no matter what class of molecules you look at." According to the researchers, these big changes likely impact our health - the number of molecules related to cardiovascular disease showed significant changes at both time points, and those related to immune function changed in people in their early 60s.
Medical News Today
12-06-2025
- Health
- Medical News Today
Longevity: Could a simple blood test tell all about your aging?
Researchers are developing a simple blood test that could assess your health span and lifespan. Image credit: Santi Nuñez/Stocksy. Intrinsic capacity is the sum of a person's mental and physical capacities, and is a measure of aging. Maintaining physical and mental function is a cornerstone of healthy aging. Formerly, assessing intrinsic capacity has been a costly and time-consuming process. Now, researchers have developed a method for assessing intrinsic capacity and age-related decline from a single drop of blood or saliva. They suggest that their test could be used to track aging and guide targeted interventions to maintain mental and physical function as people age. Intrinsic capacity (IC) is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as 'all the physical and mental capacities that a person can draw on and includes their ability to walk, think, see, hear and remember.' A person's intrinsic capacity is influenced by a number of factors, including the presence of diseases, injuries and age-related changes. Maintaining your intrinsic capacity is key to healthy aging. However, measuring intrinsic capacity has, until now, required sophisticated equipment and trained personnel. A new study has found that measuring DNA methylation in blood samples to assess intrinsic capacity effectively predicts all-cause mortality. The study, which is published in Nature Aging , suggests that the IC clock could be a useful tool for tracking aging and guiding targeted interventions to maintain function in older age. Thomas M. Holland, MD, MS, a physician-scientist and assistant professor at the RUSH Institute for Healthy Aging, RUSH University, College of Health Sciences, who was not involved in this study, commented for Medical News Today that: 'A blood- or saliva-based test for intrinsic capacity, known as DNAm IC, is a very promising tool in aging science. […] This test uses DNA methylation patterns, chemical tags that regulate gene activity, to estimate your IC biologically, offering insights into how well your body is functioning compared to your chronological age.' 'One of the most critical aspects is that this test can be done with a simple blood or saliva sample, making it accessible and noninvasive. It tells us not just how old you are, but how well you are aging, which is much more meaningful to help inform which interventions should be implemented, if any, to help prevent future health problems,' Holland explained. Elena Rolt, MSc, DipION, IFMCP, a Registered Nutritional Therapist and Functional Medicine Practitioner and cofounder of Health Miro, who was not involved in this research, also welcomed the findings. 'The DNA methylation-based intrinsic capacity (DNAm IC) test shows significant potential as a practical measure of biological aging,' Rolt told MNT . 'Unlike traditional epigenetic clock based tests, it also captures functional aging more directly.' 'As it reflects immune aging, physical capacity and lifestyle-related risk factors, this test may be particularly relevant for personalised aging interventions and preventive strategies,' she added. 'However,' Rolt cautioned, 'its use should be complementary to other markers — e.g. PhenoAge, GrimAge, functional tests — and its utility in clinical practice will depend on further validation.' Using data from 1,014 people from the INSPIRE-T cohort, aged between 20 and 102 years, the researchers developed an IC score using five aspects of age-related decline: cognition locomotion sensory (vision and hearing) psychological vitality. From blood and saliva tests, the researchers collected data on DNA methylation — a process that activates or deactivates genes. DNA methylation changes over time because of developmental mutations and environmental factors, and abnormal methylation patterns have been linked to several diseases. They used this, and the age-related decline data, to construct an epigenetic predictor of IC (an 'IC clock,' or DNAm IC), then evaluated associations between the IC clock and mortality. The researchers found that DNAm IC was strongly associated with overall health. People with the highest DNAm IC had better lung function, faster walking speed, greater bone mineral density and were more likely to view themselves as healthy. And people with a high DNAm IC lived, on average, 5.5 years longer than those with a low DNAm IC. Holland told us this was a very significant finding: 'Scientifically, this reflects strong associations between high IC and better immune function, lower chronic inflammation, and reduced risk for diseases like hypertension, heart failure, stroke, and other age-related conditions.' 'Simply,' he added, 'if your body is functioning well internally you are more likely to live longer and stay healthier. This test doesn't just give a snapshot of your current state; it may also offer a glimpse into your future health.' In everyone, intrinsic capacity declines with age, but there are measures that can help to slow that decline. This study found that people with a high dietary intake of oily fish, and sugar intake that was within recommended guidelines (no more than 5% of total energy intake), were more likely to have a high DNAm IC. Tunç Tiryaki, board-certified plastic surgeon and founder of the London Regenerative Institute, who was not involved in the recent study, explained the association: 'Oily fish are rich in long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA), which have anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective and mitochondrial-supportive properties. These mechanisms are closely aligned with domains of IC such as vitality and cognitive function. Omega-3s also modulate gene expression related to immune responses and cellular senescence, pathways shown to be enriched in the DNAm IC signature.' 'Conversely, excessive sugar intake is known to accelerate glycation, oxidative stress, insulin resistance and chronic inflammation, all of which impair IC,' Tiryaki told MNT . 'Staying within recommended sugar limits likely supports metabolic flexibility and reduces inflammatory burden, preserving cognitive and physical function. These dietary factors likely influence DNAm IC by modulating epigenetic regulation and immune aging, thus helping maintain functional capacity,' he detailed. Holland, Tiryaki, and Rolt recommended a number of measures to help ensure healthy aging. These include: following a healthy diet, such as the MIND or Mediterranean diet, that is rich in fresh fruit and vegetables, wholegrains, and healthy fats, such as those found in nuts, olive oil and oily fish regular physical activity, including aerobic activity, strength training and balance exercises; Tiryaki emphasized that physical activity 'supports locomotion and vitality and influences mitochondrial function and immune health, both of which are linked to IC' cognitive and social engagement — keeping your brain stimulated and maintaining social networks are both associated with healthier aging. ensuring that you manage stress and any chronic diseases. Holland told us that the DNAm clock was a major advance in functional aging science: 'It links molecular biology with real-world outcomes like mobility, cognition and lifespan. While further validation is needed, especially in older adults with low IC, this study lays the groundwork for using personalised epigenetic markers to guide interventions in preventive geriatrics, longevity medicine and precision public health.' 'DNAm IC reflects not only how long you might live, but how well you might function, and that shift in focus is central to meaningful longevity.' – Thomas M. Holland, MD, MS Blood / Hematology Seniors / Aging
