New blood test able to detect whether organs ageing fast or slowly

Scientists at Stanford University say they can run a blood test to check how fast a person’s internal organs are ageing, is able to predict which ones may soon fail, and monitor eleven major body parts, including the brain, heart and lungs.

The blood test was trialled on thousands of adults, mostly middle-aged or older, and the results suggest that one in five reasonably healthy adults aged 50-plus may have at least one fast-ageing organ.

The researchers say that knowing which organs are in rapid decline could help reveal what health issues may be looming.

In the study, having one or more organs ageing fast was linked with a higher risk of certain diseases and death over the next 15 years.

The blood test looks for levels of thousands of proteins to give clues on which organs are ageing at different rates and the pattern of proteins detected appeared to be specific to particular organs.

Dr Tony Wyss-Coray, one of the researchers, explained “When we compared each of these organs’ biological age for each individual with its counterparts among a large group of people without obvious severe diseases, we found that 18.4% of those aged 50 or older had at least one organ ageing significantly more rapidly than the average.

“And we found that these individuals are at heightened risk for disease in that particular organ in the next 15 years.”

Caroline Abrahams from Age UK said that whilst it was great that science was exploring earlier detection of serious age-related diseases, consideration was needed about how people may feel living with the knowledge.

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Posted by Karen Motley, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (jacquelinevance@chadlaw.co.uk), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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