Marking a milestone development in epigenetic research and clinical health applications, laboratory TruDiagnostic is launching the first ever, epigenetic aging analysis of individual organ systems, using validated and system-specific trained clocks.
LEXINGTON, Ky., June 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Marking a milestone development in epigenetic research and clinical health applications, laboratory TruDiagnostic is launching the first ever, epigenetic aging analysis of individual organ systems, using validated and system-specific trained clocks. These algorithms, developed by scientists at Yale University, were previously released in biology journal bioRxiv as a preprint, with peer reviewed publications expected later this year.
Now known as SYMPHONYAge (System Methylation Proxy of Heterogeneous Organ Years), this collection of system-specific clocks provides a new way of looking at aging by examining how different parts of the body decline independently, and synchronously, over time. Due to lifestyle and dietary choices, researchers explain that organ systems age differently in a single body, and that disease-related risks can be calculated by examining 11 major systems and their biological effect on one another. This includes: Lung Age, Heart Age, Brain Age, Hormone Age, Metabolic Age, Musculoskeletal Age, Blood Age, Liver Age, Inflammation Age, Kidney Age, and Immune System Age.
While some biological age tests already claim to predict the extent of aging of various organ systems, SYMPHONYAge is notably different in scope, validation, and associations with various health outcomes. It is also the only published clock which gives organ specific aging information. TruDiagnostic has an exclusive license on the use of these algorithms which were previously called Systems Clock during earlier stages of research and development.
Researchers explain that SYMPHONYAge differs from its early-stage predecessors in the following ways.
- More clocks: SYMPHONYAge reports on 11 (opposed to nine) organ systems, using system-specific clocks. Additionally, it also predicts one integrated whole-body clock that uses the 11 system-specific clocks as input.
- More training data: SYMPHONYAge uses 133 molecular, cellular, and functional biomarkers for modeling organ system ages, while old organ clocks only used 59 biomarkers. The additional biomarkers were selected based on clinical knowledge from physician Dr. Albert Higgins-Chen. Additionally, the new SYMPHONYAge clock uses 125K methylation sites, while previous organ clocks used only 78K methylation sites.
- More validation: SYMPHONYAge organ clocks have been validated to be superior to presently available clocks when evaluating 16 different health outcomes across 5,129 samples (three different datasets). Validation is set to be published, but is currently online and under review, by bioRxiv. The old organ age clock (Systems Age) has shown to only be comparable to four different outcomes in just 2,167 samples (1 dataset only), in unpublished data.
- More insights: The new SYMPHONYAge clocks have been used to find aging subtypes with unique health risks, while this has not been done with older, system-specific clocks. Additionally, validation shows SYMPHONYAge clocks are specifically associated with health outcomes related to their physiological system (ex. Lung clock predicts future lung cancer, Heart clock predicts future coronary heart disease, and Blood clock predicts future leukemia).
Scientists from Yale University and TruDiagnostic stress that our body’s systems do not age in isolation, and thus age-related disease and functional decline often do not occur in isolation either. “Many age-related illnesses stem from issues in various biological systems working together. For instance, arthritis is the result of both musculoskeletal wear and inflammation, whereas stroke can happen due to problems in the cardiovascular system, metabolism, inflammation, and brain function,” explains Yale researcher Dr. Albert Higgins Chen. These interconnected patterns can lead to different aging types, making some people more prone to certain age-related diseases. Understanding these patterns helps in forecasting health outcomes.
For more information on accessing SYMPHONYAge insights and the science behind its development, click here OR contact support@trudiagnostic.com.
About TruDiagnostic
Home to the largest, private DNA methylation database in the world, TruDiagnostic is a leading health data company and CLIA-certified laboratory that specializes in epigenetic testing and research. In partnership with notable biotech developers, researchers, and academic institutions, TruDiagnostic is transforming the healthcare potential of epigenetic data into actionable applications. With the ability to analyze more than 1,000,000 locations on one’s DNA, TruDiagnostic’s research and patient testing provides the most in-depth epigenetic results, and multi-omic correlations to health. For additional information regarding TruDiagnostic and the services it provides, please visit the company website at https://trudiagnostic.com/
Hannah Went, Director of Operations
(937) 570-0471
hannah@trudiagnostic.com
www.trudiagnostic.com
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