Pitt researchers have uncovered blood-based markers linked with healthy and rapid aging, allowing them to predict a person’s biological age—how fast a person’s cells and organs age regardless of their birthdate. Unlike chronological age, biological age is a strong indicator of an individual’s health, according to senior author Aditi Gurkar, assistant professor of medicine (Division of Geriatric Medicine) and member of the Aging Institute, a joint venture of Pitt and UPMC.
The new research points to pathways and compounds that may underlie biological age, shedding light on why people age differently and suggesting novel targets for interventions that could slow aging and promote health span, the length of time a person is healthy.
“Today, in medicine, we tend to wait for a problem to occur before we treat it,” Gurkar said. “But aging doesn’t work that way. It’s about prevention. I think the future of medicine is going to be about knowing early on how someone is aging and developing personalized interventions to delay disease and extend health span.”
Read more about the research in Aging Cell and in the news release.