Blood test reveals biological age, Alzheimer's Disease risk: study

• comments
• 
• 

A new blood test can determine the body's "healthy age gene score" to its biological age and predict the onset of Alzheimer's and other age-related diseases.

The blood test can identify the genes that determine the body's biological age. According to Telegraph, the lower the "healthy age gene score," the more likely the person to have disease. This is especially useful for dementia and Alzheimer's disease as early intervention can make a difference. The findings are detailed in the journal Genome Biology.

"Most people accept that all 60 year olds are not the same, but there has been no reliable test for underlying 'biological age'," said James Timmons, lead author from King's College London. "Our discovery provides the first robust molecular 'signature' of biological age in humans and should be able to transform the way that 'age' is used to make medical decisions. This includes identifying those more likely to be at risk of Alzheimer's, as catching those at 'early' risk is key to evaluating potential treatments.

"This also provides strong evidence that dementia in humans could be called a type of 'accelerated ageing'."

According to Fox News, the scientists gathered tissue from 25-year-olds to 65-year-olds to analyze and compare. They found a pattern or set of 150 genes that they used to calculate a person's "healthy gene score."

They tested the gene pattern on 70-year-old participants and found that the higher the healthy gene score, the better their overall health. Those with lower healthy gene scores tended to be patients who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

The researchers stated that the body's health is not directly proportional to their chronological age. Some factors such as smoking and overeating could speed up the body's age.

Professor Timmons told BBC News that the blood test could be given to ageing people starting age 40 as it could be used to advise them. He added that there are plans to use the test in organ transplant donors in the UK to see if their organs can still be safely donated.

According to the researchers, the gene score test could also be used to screen potential cancer patients earlier judging by their health age. It could also be used to predict the probability of developing dementia.

"What we really need now are tools to identify those most at risk in 10, 20 years time and I think that's where this research will really have an impact," said Prof. Timmons.