Aging is associated with a risk of developing chronic diseases; cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, metabolic, joint, etc. A team of researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine (United States) has taken an interest in this aging. Is it linear or, on the contrary, can we, with good reason, have the impression that we age 10 years overnight? “The analysis revealed consistent nonlinear patterns in molecular markers of aging, with significant dysregulation occurring at two major periods occurring at approximately ages 44 and 60,” note the authors of the study, the results of which were published on August 14 in the journal Nature aging.
The researchers analyzed some 135,000 molecules (proteins, cytokines, metabolites, etc.) and microbiota (viruses, fungi, bacteria) in 108 people aged 25 to 75. They regularly had blood samples and other biological materials taken. These were analyzed using new high-throughput omics technologies, which make it possible to obtain complete and global biological information from a sample and to understand it using artificial intelligence.
“Spectacular” changes
In total, 81% of the molecules and microorganisms analyzed showed non-linear fluctuations, and decreased or increased more rapidly at certain ages of life, 44 years and 60 years. These changes were found in both men and women. These developments, judged “spectacular” by Professor Michael Snyder, geneticist, lead author of the study, intervene “whatever class of molecules you are looking at.”
In detail, among the most significant changes, we find, at 40 years, the linked molecules:
In 60-year-olds, the most dramatic changes were in related molecules:
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to carbohydrate metabolism;
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caffeine;
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to the regulation of immunity;
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to renal functions;
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to cardiovascular diseases;
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to the skin;
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to the muscles.
The research team does acknowledge some biases, however. For example, the decline in alcohol metabolism could be linked to higher alcohol consumption after age 40. While scientists intend to explore the factors behind these changes, these results may encourage people to pay more attention to their health at these key ages in life, such as exercising to maintain muscle mass. In addition, understanding the role played by alterations of these molecules in the mechanisms of aging (and the onset of age-related diseases) may be used to develop new therapies.
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