Duke University Develops Brain Scan Tool to Measure Aging Speed

In a groundbreaking development for understanding human aging, researchers from Duke University, Harvard University, and the University of Otago in New Zealand have unveiled a new tool that utilizes a single brain scan to estimate the pace at which an individual's body and mind are aging. This innovative approach, known as DunedinPACE Neuroimaging (DunedinPACNI), offers the potential to identify aging rates in midlife, allowing for early intervention before significant health issues manifest.

The DunedinPACNI tool leverages standard MRI brain scans to provide insights into an individual's aging trajectory. Ahmad Hariri, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University, emphasized the significance of this research, stating, "The way we age as we get older is quite distinct from how many times we’ve traveled around the sun." The tool aims to create a personalized aging rate for individuals based on a wealth of health data collected over decades from participants in the Dunedin Study, which has been tracking over 1,000 individuals born in Dunedin, New Zealand, since the early 1970s.

Traditionally, aging clocks have relied on blood tests and genetic markers, which can sometimes yield misleading results due to generational exposure to environmental factors. The DunedinPACNI model circumvents this issue by utilizing a detailed dataset that captures the nuances of aging across different demographics. Hariri explained, "We need to figure out how we can monitor aging in an accurate way," and this tool appears to be a significant step in that direction.

The researchers found that brain scans taken when participants were 45 years old could predict their aging rates with remarkable accuracy. The results indicated that individuals identified as aging faster performed worse on cognitive tests and exhibited accelerated shrinkage of the hippocampus, the brain region associated with memory. In a sample of 624 older adults, those who aged the fastest had a 60% higher chance of developing dementia and showed symptoms earlier than their slower-aging counterparts.

Moreover, the research revealed a strong correlation between brain aging and overall physical health. Participants with elevated aging scores were more susceptible to chronic illnesses such as heart disease and strokes. Hariri noted, "The link between aging of the brain and body are pretty compelling," highlighting the interconnectedness of mental and physical health.

Globally, the aging population is expected to double by 2050, a trend that will likely lead to an increase in age-related diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, which already costs the world approximately $1.33 trillion annually. Hariri cautioned that current Alzheimer’s medications primarily manage symptoms rather than reversing the disease, underscoring the urgency of early detection tools like DunedinPACNI.

As the researchers continue to validate DunedinPACNI across diverse populations, including low-income and non-white groups in the U.K. and Latin America, they anticipate that it will not only assist in predicting dementia risk but also shed light on factors contributing to accelerated aging, such as sleep quality and mental health issues.

Ethan Whitman, a Ph.D. student in clinical psychology at Duke and the study’s first author, remarked on the future implications of their findings: "More research is needed to advance DunedinPACNI from a research tool to something that has practical applications in healthcare." The potential for this tool to transform our understanding of aging is substantial, offering hope for delaying the onset of debilitating age-related conditions and improving overall health outcomes in aging populations.

The comprehensive findings of this research were published in the journal *Nature Aging*, marking a significant contribution to the field of gerontology and the ongoing quest to understand the complexities of human aging.