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Your 'inflammation age' could matter when it comes to gauging your health, scientists say - Daily Mail
Nov 22, 2021 1 min, 21 secs

The scientists, from Stanford University and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, have now developed a blood test to measure inflammatory age (or iAge), a measure of chronic inflammation — and say that checking it regularly could provide an early warning of inflammation-related conditions from heart disease to dementia. .

US  scientists have now developed a blood test to measure inflammatory age, or iAge, and say checking it could provide an early warning of inflammation-related conditions (stock image).

Levels of inflammation increase as we get older, likely due to ageing cells releasing inflammation-fuelling molecules.

To develop the test to measure this 'hidden' inflammation, the researchers analysed blood samples from more than 1,000 people for levels of 50 cytokines, immune system proteins, known to be involved in inflammation. .

Combining the results of the blood test with details about the participant's age and health revealed a cytokine 'signature' associated with ill health.

The researchers used this to calculate a person's iAge — their biological age based on their levels of inflammation.

Arne Akbar, a professor of immunology at University College London and president of the British Society for Immunology, told Good Health that iAge is a 'sophisticated way' of measuring age-related rises in inflammation

However, he adds: 'There are other ways to measure increased inflammation during ageing, such as measuring levels of C-reactive protein [a compound that is a marker of inflammation and can be measured with a simple blood test]. 

'This raises the question of how sophisticated the measurement of inflammation should be to predict health — and which is easiest and cheapest.'

Those with a high iAge could then try to lower their levels of inflammation

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