A newly developed eye scanner allows people to identify the aging process more precisely. The new technology provides an accurate measure of age-related damage. This could one day play an important role in routine clinical practice. The new research suggests that a novel device shows signsbiological agingcould be detected by examining the eye.
Human aging process visible in the eye
Everyone ages, but not in the same way. Two people of exactly the same age can be in very different health conditions. In other words, chronological age and biological age are completely different. While the former is very easy to measure, the latter is more difficult to assess. Although researchers know that the human aging process, such as the deterioration of cells and tissues, varies greatly among individuals, there is currently no universally accepted measure of biological aging. In a new study, scientists at Boston University Medical School describe a tool that could fill this gap.
The lack of clinical tools and metrics to quantitatively assess each person's aging at the molecular level is a major obstacle to understanding aging and maximizing health throughout life. However, researchers have developed a new eye scanner that detects molecular aging signatures in the lens and is completely non-invasive. So doctors could use it clinically to assess the human aging process and then suggest personalized interventions. Otherwise, this lack of tools to accurately assess aging will continue to limit scientific understanding.
Research results
The eyes are a good onemeasure of aging, as they contain cells that are created in the fetus and not replaced. This means that the cells a person is born with stay with them throughout their life. Scientists call them primary fiber cells. They occur in the lens that focuses light on the back of the eye. By the way, these cells also contain the highest concentration of proteins in the human body. What is important, however, is that these proteins do not regenerate, so they accumulate damage throughout life. This damage could provide a molecular readout in the individual aging process in humans. So, as the study authors put it, the lens proteins provide a “permanent record” of a person’s life history.
To decode this molecular information, the researchers used a technique called “quasi elastic light scattering” (QELS). Here they measure the particle size using lasers. The technique works because molecular damage to lens proteins over time causes them to change shape and stick together. This aggregation of modified proteins accordingly also changes light scattering in a way that this method can detect. The team first tested the technique on isolated lens proteins, which they incubated in a test tube for varying periods of time, up to almost a year. This allowed them to mimic the aging of these proteins in people aged 12, 30 and 53. Over time, the molecular signature of the proteins changed as expected and could be detected with the eye scanner.
Medical perspectives
They then tested the scanner in a study with 34 people between the ages of 5 and 61. Amazingly, the scanner was able to detect the same age-related changes that the research team saw in the lab. Although further testing is needed, the authors say thatthese study resultssupport the use of the scanner to track molecular aging in humans. They also state that this tool could work in a similar way to other clinical biomarkers. These would include brain imaging for Alzheimer's disease and blood tests for diabetes. Clinicians could eventually use the tool in routine clinical practice to provide an individualized measure of molecular aging and perhaps even identify interventions to promote healthy agingTo extend a person's life expectancy.
