How Old Are You Really? Genes Reveal 'Biological Age'
By reading a "signature" based on 150 of aperson's genes, researchers can determine the individual's biological age,which may be different from his or her chronological age, according to a newstudy.
Moreover, a person's biological age is a better measure fordetermining a person's health than is chronological age, these researchers say.In the study, people's biological age was more closely tied to their risk of TKand TK than was their chronological age.
"Most people accept that all 60-year olds are not thesame," James Timmons, a professor of precision medicine at King's Collegein London and the lead author on the study, said in a statement. But a person'schronological age is still used to determine everything from the individual'sinsurance premiums to whether he or she needs certain medical procedures, hesaid.
In the new study, published today (Sept. 8) in the journalGenome Biology, the researchers analyzed genetic material from healthy65-year-olds, looking for genes that indicated the participants were stayinghealthy as they aged. [Extending Life: 7 Ways to Live Past 100]
The scientists found 150 genes that they used to calculatewhat they called a person's "healthy age gene score."
To verify that these scores did indeed track with people'shealth, the researchers tested out their method in a separate group ofparticipants, who were all 70 years old. The scientists found that higherscores were indeed associated with better health, including better cognitivehealth.
In particular, they found that patients diagnosed withAlzheimer's disease had lower healthy age gene scores.
"This provides strong evidence that dementia in humanscould be called a type of 'accelerated aging' or 'failure to activate thehealthy aging program,'" Timmons said.
It’s unclear, however, whether the healthy age gene scorecould be used to predict whether a person will develop Alzheimer's disease, theresearchers wrote in the study.
That's "the real Holy Grail," said Keith Fargo,director of scientific programs and outreach at the Alzheimer's Association,who was not involved in the study, "a blood test that tells you 10 yearsin advance if you're going to have Alzheimer's."
Still, the results of the study are valuable, Fargo toldLive Science. The researchers were able to look at people who were all the sameage, and determine who had healthy cognition and who didn't, he said. Thatmeans the test could help determine what genetic differences separate a 70-yearold with Alzheimer's and a 70-year old without the disease, he said.
Further researcher into those 150 genes may also give cluesabout what causes Alzheimer's, Fargo said.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/old-really-genes-reveal-biological-age-074914830.html
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Vocabulary:
1. chronological - relating to the establishment of datesand time sequences.
2. Holy Grail (expression) - something that you want very much but that is very hard to get orachieve
3. gene - a unit of heredity that is transferred from aparent to offspring and is held to determine some characteristic of theoffspring
4. dementia - a chronic or persistent disorder of the mentalprocesses caused by brain disease or injury and marked by memory disorders,personality changes, and impaired reasoning.
5. accelerated - increase in amount or extent.
DISCUSSION:
1. What can you say about your over-all health at your age.
2. The article mantioned something like: not all 60- yearolds are the same, do you agree? Why?
3. Do you think it will be better if biological age is to beconsidered in all legal and social purposes rather than chronological age?
4. If they revolutionize the process of gene aging techniqueand science will be able to tell if one will likely to have Alzheimer's ofdementia, what do you think are your chances?
5. What is the meaning of "age" to you?
