Getting older might be inevitable. It just goes up and up, but according to a new study, biological age is “actually much more dynamic” and we can “slow or even partially reverse biological age.”

Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a leading member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, have made significant strides in understanding the malleability of biological age.

While our chronological age remains fixed, the study suggests that biological age, a reflection of cellular and tissue health, can be influenced and potentially reversed.

According to recent findings, severe stress may cause a rise in biological age, but there’s hope as brief periods of stress can also reverse the signs of aging.

This groundbreaking research, encompassing both human subjects and preclinical models, provides compelling evidence that relieving stress can lead to the restoration of biological age.

The implications of these findings extend to the testing of anti-aging medications and are published in the reputable journal Cell Metabolism.

Lead author Jesse Poganik and colleagues conducted an extensive study encompassing various scenarios known to induce significant physiological stress. In one investigation, they scrutinized blood samples obtained from elderly patients who underwent emergency surgery, analyzing samples taken immediately before the procedure, a few days post-surgery, and prior to hospital discharge.

Additionally, the research team examined blood samples from pregnant mice and humans, encompassing early and late stages of pregnancy, as well as postpartum samples.

Furthermore, the team delved into samples from COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit, analyzing specimens upon admission and throughout their hospital stay. To complement their research, the team also employed a classic mouse model in which the circulatory systems of younger and older mice were surgically interconnected.

Researchers utilized “biological clocks” as a means to assess the well-being of cells and tissues, gauging levels of DNA methylation—a biochemical modification that can serve as an indicator of heightened susceptibility to illness and death. These clocks are widely employed in the realm of aging research.

Throughout their comprehensive analyses, they detected compelling evidence that biological age escalated during instances of significant physiological stress, yet promptly reverted to baseline once the stress was alleviated. In the case of patients undergoing major surgery, the team observed a rise in biological age among individuals requiring emergency surgery for hip fracture repair, only to witness a return to pre-surgery levels within 4 to 7 days following the operation. Interestingly, this particular pattern did not manifest among patients undergoing non-traumatic surgeries.

During extensive studies on the impact of pregnancy on biological age, researchers discovered a consistent pattern in both humans and mice. The findings revealed that biological age tends to rise throughout pregnancy, reaching its peak around the moment of childbirth. However, this increase in biological age was temporary, as it resolved postpartum.

Further investigations focused on patients hospitalized with COVID-19 shed light on the association between the virus and biological age. Among female patients, a notable increase in biological age was observed, which partially reversed by the time of their discharge from the intensive care unit (ICU). In contrast, male patients did not display a significant change in their biological age throughout the course of their hospitalization.

According to the authors, the biomarkers used as clocks may indicate biological age or potentially stem from unidentified factors. Additionally, there were variations in how subjects regained their biological age, underscoring the need for further research into the mechanisms of biological aging and recovery. However, this study offers fresh insights into the complex nature of biological aging and its potential impact on the development of anti-aging interventions. It paves the way for future studies in this field.

These results “challenge the concept that biological age can only increase over a person’s lifetime and suggest that it may be possible to identify interventions that could slow or even partially reverse biological age,” points out senior author Vadim Gladyshev. “When stress was relieved, biological age could be restored. This means that finding ways to help the body recover from stress could increase longevity.”

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