Aging clock with AI for disease prediction

Stanford University researchers have harnessed the power of artificial intelligence to create a tool that can predict age-related inflammatory diseases and assess the overall health of the immune system. The development was called “aging clock” or iAge.

What is iage

The fact that the level of health directly depends on the state of the immune system has been known for over a hundred years. But in recent years, scientists have drawn attention to another feature that has interested them. It turned out that in the bodies of older people, as well as in people with age-related diseases, the number of compounds associated with inflammation is chronically increased. As we age, the levels of molecules in the human body increase, which are involved in inflammatory processes that cause long-term damage. Neurodegenerative, cardiological, oncological diseases are associated with systemic chronic inflammation.

As a result, scientists began to study whether markers of inflammatory components in the blood (inflammatory blood markers) could indicate a person’s biological age and indicate rapid aging with concomitant diseases. To do this, researchers from Stanford University, together with the biotech company Edifice Health ^[1][2] developed the “aging clock”, an artificial intelligence-based algorithm that analyzes substances in the immune system in the blood, as well as markers associated with chronic inflammation. The results of the study were published in the scientific journal Nature Aging. ^[3].

Given the level of immune health and the inflammatory processes in the body, the development is able to determine the biological age of a person. A rise in inflammatory markers indicates an increased risk of disease, while a lower score indicates a relatively healthy immune system. In addition, the “aging clock”, based on the results obtained, is able to give individual recommendations about lifestyle, taking medications and dietary supplements that will help reduce the level of chronic inflammation, and at the same time, the biological age.

How iage works

In developing iAge, scientists analyzed blood samples from 1001 people aged 8 to 96 for markers of systemic age-related inflammation. But if it is possible to determine acute inflammation in the body caused by infection by a number of specific molecules, then no special biomarkers have been isolated to determine chronic age-related inflammation.

Using sophisticated computational methods, Stanford scientists analyzed the blood samples they received, taking into account gender, age, body weight, as well as several other biological factors, and were able to isolate potential biomarkers for determining chronic inflammation in the body.

Markers analyzed by iAge

Multimorbidity

Multimorbidity refers to multiple pathologies in one patient. Simply put, it is a “bouquet” of chronic inflammatory diseases that exacerbate each other. The Aging Clock confirmed a direct relationship between iAge scores and multimorbidity. In particular, the tendency to a “bouquet” of diseases is typical for people over 60 years of age. In addition, scientists have found a direct relationship between multimorbidity and the number of T-lymphocytes, B-cells and leukocytes, which are part of the immune response.

Lifespan

Using the capabilities of the “aging clock”, scientists analyzed iAge in centenarians, whose age was 100 years or more. It turned out that in 68% of them the analyzer determined relatively low iAge values. This allows us to conclude that low iAge provides exceptional longevity. The study showed that the immune age of centenarians is almost 40 years younger than their actual age. ^[4].

immune aging

Immune aging is the deterioration and dysfunction of the immune system that occurs with age. For the analysis of this biomarker, the CXCL9 protein, which is associated with the process of immunosenescence (a condition in which cells of the immune system stop dividing), played a special role. There is a direct relationship between this protein and age: by the age of 60, its amount in the body increases significantly.

It is believed that the role of the CXCL9 protein in the process of immunosenescence may be associated with impaired functionality of endothelial cells. They are present in the lining of blood vessels and are involved in the regulation of blood flow. In case of damage to endothelial cells in the body, inflammatory processes begin. In particular, the scientists found that older mice have damaged endothelial cells and increased levels of the CXCL9 protein, which eventually led to the development of atherosclerosis. Other studies have shown that damage to these cells leads to thickening of the heart muscle, which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, when the CXCL9 protein was inhibited in experimental mice, endothelial cells partially restored their functionality.

iAge allows you to determine the indicators of immune aging.

By the way, until that time, among the main signs of aging were called:

• genomic instability;
• mitochondrial dysfunction;
• shortening of telomere length;
• stem cell depletion;
• epigenetic changes;
• loss of proteostasis;
• impaired susceptibility to nutrients;
• cellular aging;
• changes in intracellular communication.

After the study, scientists from Stanford stated that all these signs are the result of systemic chronic inflammation in the body, so inflammation should also be considered a symptom of aging.

What are the benefits of “aging clock” for medicine

Aging Clock based on artificial intelligence is a development that opens up new possibilities for medicine. The technology allows to detect inflammation and weakening of the immune system at an early stage. In turn, this is useful for identifying people’s tendency to certain diseases and makes it possible to take preventive measures in time to improve their overall health. According to one of the authors of the Ph.D. study, Associate Professor of the Buck Institute David Furman, the capabilities of iAge allow us to predict possible diseases 7 years ahead, and this provides tremendous opportunities in terms of prevention. ^[5].

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