The new test reveals the biological clock of our organs. The “young” brain gives the most benefits
Scientists have long observed that The organs age at different pace. Epigenetic and metabolic tests allowed to assess “systemic age”, but did not give specific precision for individual organs. The latest work, published on July 9, 2025 in Nature Medicine, fills this gap. It shows that the aging of individual organs can break down asymmetrically and significantly affect the risk of diseases before they give the first symptoms.
The WSSS-Coraya syndrome collected proteo data from the blood of 44 thousand. 498 volunteers aged 40-70, participating in the UK Biobank project, which is one of the world's largest biomedical repositories. Olink technology was used, which measures the concentration of 2916 proteins, where approx. 15 percent of them comes mainly from one organ, and the others have multi -organ sources.
Machine learning algorithm (Lasso regression), in turn, was trained so as to reproduce the calendar age of the respondents based on the protein signature. The difference between predicting and real age, expressed as a “age gap”, became a meter of the biological age of each organ.
When the deviation exceeded 1.5 standard deviations, the organ was classified as “extremely old” or “extremely young”. Such anomaly was found in one -third of participants in at least one organs, and every fourth – in several organs at the same time.
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The brain as a guardian of longevity
The strongest and most disturbing relationships concerned the brain. People with an “old” brain were 3.1 times more exposed to the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease than peers with a brain of the average biological age. Conversely, exceptionally, the “young” brain reduced this risk to a quarter. WSSS-Coray summed up this as follows: “The brain is a guardian of longevity. If you have an old brain, the probability of death increases and the young brain acts in a defensive way.”
Analysis of many years of data showed that Biologically age brain increases the risk of death in 15 years by 182 percent.while the young brain lowers them by 40 percent. Importantly, this effect remained independent of the presence of APoe4 – the strongest known genetic factor in Alzheimer's disease.
At the same time, the heart, lungs and other organs are also worth watching. The advanced biological age of the heart heralded a higher risk of atrial fibrillation and failure, and “old” lungs forecast more frequent development of chronic lung disease. The more organs exceeded the threshold of accelerated aging, the more the threat of death increased: 2-4 accelerated organs meant an increase in risk by 230 %, 5-7 organs by 450 %, and eight and more – by as much as 830 percent. Youth was symmetrically worked: a simultaneous young brain and an efficient immune system together reduced the risk of death by 56 percent.
The analysis also revealed sexual differences. In men, kidneys, immune and intestines, au women – fatty tissue, arteries and hearts faster. This suggests that anti -aging interventions should be designed in terms of biological sex.
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From reactive medicine to prevention
The key to practical use of the test is Possibility to act before symptoms appear. If the seemingly healthy forty -year -old has been detected by aging lungs, your doctor may recommend early spirometric tests, nicotic therapy or participation in a clinical program with appropriate drugs. Pharmaceutical producers, in turn, gain an objective biomarker for quick assessment of whether their candidate for the drug “rejuvenates” the indicated body.
WSSS-Coray announces that the commercial version of the test, initially focused on the brain, heart and immune system, It can hit the market within two or three years, and the costs will fall along with the miniaturization of the protein panel.
But does everyone want to know their biological PESEL? Although the clinical potential is large, the authors of the research admit that the tool requires validation in more diverse populations. UK Biobank mainly includes people of European origin. Regulatory guidelines will also be needed to prevent insurance discrimination and abuse of companies selling “youth elixir” without evidence. Researchers emphasize that proteins – unlike genes – can be modified with a lifestyle, pharmacotherapy or dietwhich opens the path of personalized therapy, but at the same time raises questions about the impact of the test result on the patient's psyche and the sense of repeating the analysis every few months.
In recent years, epigenetic researchers and bioengineers have been trying to slow down the ticking of the biological clock. The Stanford blood test is not a crystal ball, but a practical compass that allows you to determine where the body already increases the rate of aging.
Thanks to this, you can better direct medical interventions and at the same time monitoring effectiveness in real time. If these promises are confirmed, the traditional question “how old are you?” He will start giving way to the new: “How old are your organs?”.
Author: Grzegorz Kubera, Business Insider Polska journalist
