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Global measures of the rate of aging can identify individuals who age faster than average and are at increased risk of adverse outcomes. Combining information on multiple physiological measures collected over time generated a global measure of aging that strongly predicted changes in physical and cognitive function.
Epigenetic clocks based on DNA methylation are widely used aging biomarkers, but their utility is limited by technical noise. A method based on principal component analysis produces high-reliability clocks for applications such as longitudinal studies and intervention trials.
Older adults from long-term care facilities who had been infected with COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic were found to have robust cellular and humoral responses to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Importantly, serostatus did not affect humoral immunity to influenza or other respiratory syncytial viruses.
High-affinity tau-PET was used to apply the Braak neuropathological staging system for Alzheimer’s disease in vivo. Tau-PET can be used to stage Alzheimer’s disease from presymptomatic to clinical dementia phases in people, while also providing a framework to model the natural history of Alzheimer’s disease using biomarkers.
Forkhead box protein M1 (FOXM1) is a transcription factor with pleiotropic roles in cell proliferation, differentiation and senescence. This study shows that cyclic induction of a FOXM1 transgene in mouse models of Hutchison–Gilford progeria and natural aging significantly extends healthspan and ameliorates the senescence-associated histopathology driven by repression of endogenous Foxm1.
Mass spectrometry analysis of mouse cerebrospinal fluid revealed that several proteins change in abundance or structure during aging. The six proteins that show the most robust structural changes are associated with cognition or Alzheimer’s disease in human cerebrospinal fluid, thus revealing candidate diagnostic biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets.
In a sample of >19,000 older adults, the presence of depressive symptoms was associated with adverse medical outcomes over five years, including persistent physical disability, cancer and major bleeding episodes. Certain depression trajectories were associated with distinct health conditions. Systematic assessment of depressive symptoms may facilitate early identification of at-risk populations.
Plant-based diets emphasizing healthful plant foods were associated with a lower risk of mortality among older adults, whereas a plant-based diet rich in less-healthful plant foods was related to a higher mortality risk. Thus, the quality of plant foods deserves attention in future plant-based dietary recommendations.
Life expectancy is partially determined by an individual’s genetic make-up. Whole-exome sequencing analysis of >350,000 UK Biobank participants revealed that protein-truncating variants in four genes, BRCA1, BRCA2, ATM and TET2, are negatively associated with human lifespan. Phenome-wide analyses confirm roles for these genes in cancer and clonal hematopoiesis.
