A recent study published in New Scientist suggests that the abundance of 13 proteins in your blood may be a strong indicator of how rapidly your brain is aging. Researchers, led by Wei-Shi Liu from Fudan University in China, analyzed MRI brain scan data from nearly 11,000 adults from the UK Biobank project to train an artificial intelligence model to predict participants' ages based on brain imaging features.
The study found that the model's predictions were accurate to within 2.7 years of participants' actual ages. The researchers then used the model to predict the age of a separate group of nearly 4700 people and calculated a brain age gap, which indicated how quickly their brains were aging. By analyzing blood samples from this group, the team identified eight proteins that increased in abundance and five that decreased with a larger brain age gap.
These proteins are produced by brain cells and may influence the risk of dementia and stroke. The researchers believe that blood tests for these proteins could potentially indicate how quickly someone's brain is aging and serve as early warning signs for interventions to slow down the aging process.
However, further research is needed to determine whether lifestyle changes can alter these protein levels. The study was conducted primarily on white, wealthy individuals, so additional studies are required to see if the results apply to more diverse populations.
The research team plans to conduct animal studies to investigate how these proteins affect the brain and whether disrupting their levels impacts cognition or the development of neurodegenerative conditions. Ultimately, the researchers hope that targeting these proteins could lead to potential therapies to slow down aging and prevent disease in the future.