Urine test could measure how long we have left to live

A simple urine test could measure how much our bodies have aged and even how long left we have to live, new research suggests.

Scientists discovered a certain substance, known as 8-oxoGsn, which indicates cell damage, increases in people’s urine as they get older.

By determining people’s ‘internal age’, it may be possible to assess their risk of suffering age-related illnesses and even premature death, according to the researchers.

The efficient urine-analysis technique used by the scientists, which assessed the samples of up to 10 individuals in an hour, may be useful in future studies investigating the link between 8-oxoGsn and biological ageing, they add.

Critics argue, however, ageing alone does not accurately indicate the onset of diseases, adding the study did not investigate a link between 8-oxoGsn and conditions associated with the elderly, such as Parkinson’s.

Study author Dr Jian-Ping Cai, from the National Centre of Gerontology in China, said: ‘Urinary 8-oxoGsn may reflect the real condition of our bodies better than our chronological age, and may help us to predict the risk of age-related diseases.’

A urine test could measure how much our body has aged and how long left we have (stock)

HOW OLD CAN HUMANS LIVE TO?

Humans may live to 120 in just 60 years time, a leading expert claimed in May 2017.

Research reveals it is possible to slow down our biological, or ‘inner’, ageing process, which could help us to live decades beyond the current life expectancy of 81.

Drugs that interact with our DNA maintain the function of our bodies for longer, the research suggests.

Experts stress, however, this must be combined with a healthy lifestyle for full effect.

Yet, how a 120-year-old life expectancy may impact people’s quality of life is unclear.

The side effects of such treatments are also unknown.

Several European countries are in talks to start drug trials within the next three years.

Professor Vladimir Khavinson, head of the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology, said: ‘It is important to understand that nobody would want to live a long and unhealthy life.

‘The main goal for us now must be to allow people to stay healthy for as long as possible into their old age.’

Six of these drugs are already available in Russia.

These include Thymalin to maintain immune system function and Cortexin to preserve brain activity.

The drugs work on the so-called ‘peptide technology theory’, which states that interacting with DNA increases protein production that prolongs lifespan.

Speaking at the international symposium on longevity in Geneva, Professor Khavinson added: ‘One of the key indicators of ageing is the reduction of protein synthesis.

‘We have come to the conclusion that it is possible to restore it to a normal level with the use of peptide bioregulators and have found an optimal way to maintain natural peptide production of a sufficient quantity.

‘The technology developed by our scientific institute is based on the extraction of peptides from the tissues of young healthy animals that have the same structure as human tissues.’

A similar study conducted by researchers at the GLMED medical center in Moscow assessed 60 age markers throughout such drugs’ treatment in participants aged 31-to-72 years old.

Results suggested that, when combined with a healthy lifestyle, the drugs reduce a person’s biological age by an average of up to two years over 12 months.

‘Urinary 8-oxoGsn is promising as a marker of ageing’

Previous studies suggest 8-oxoGsn levels increase in the urine of animals as they age.

The researchers therefore analysed urine samples from 1,228 Chinese residents aged between two and 90 years old.

Dr Cai said: ‘We found an age-dependent increase in urinary 8-oxoGsn in participants [aged] 21 years old and older.

‘Therefore, urinary 8-oxoGsn is promising as a new marker of ageing.’

Results suggest levels of 8-oxoGsn were roughly the same between the men and women participating in the study, except in post-menopausal females, who demonstrated higher levels.

Speaking of the findings, Ilaria Bellantuono, professor of musculoskeletal ageing at the University of Sheffield, who was not involved in the study, said: ‘This paper shows that it is possible to detect 8-oxoGsn in human urine and its increase correlates with increasing age.

‘However, ageing is not a disease but a risk factor for age-related diseases, in the same way smoking is for lung cancer.

‘Therefore it is not possible to say whether this could be used as marker to predict the occurrence of disease.

‘For example, this paper does not show whether this marker is present at higher levels in people affected by diseases such as osteoporosis, diabetes, Parkinson’s or whether it is present at higher level in people who then go on to develop those diseases in longitudinal studies.’

The findings were published in the journal Frontiers in Ageing Neuroscience.

Internal ageing may begin post-menopause in women

Changes in the level and function of oxygen is thought to reflect people’s internal age.

Dr Cai said: ‘Oxygen by-products produced during normal metabolism can cause oxidative damage to biomolecules in cells, such as DNA and RNA.

‘As we age, we suffer increasing oxidative damage and so the levels of oxidative markers increase in our body.’

This may occur after the menopause in women due to oestrogen having a known antioxidant effect.

Having children ages women’s DNA by 11 years

This comes after research released earlier this month suggested having children ages women’s DNA by 11 years.

Giving birth shortens women’s telomeres, which ‘cap’ the end of DNA strands and are associated with health, by around 4.2 per cent, a study found.

Longer telomere lengths are linked to slower aging, longer lifespans and improved overall health.

Such an extent of telomere shortening is greater than the effects of smoking or obesity demonstrated in previous studies.

Study author Dr Anna Pollack from George Mason University, Virginia, told the New Scientist: ‘We were surprised to find such a striking result. It is equivalent to around 11 years of accelerated cellular ageing.’

The researchers believe this may be due to the stress of raising children, particularly in countries without mandatory maternity leave, such as the US.

They stress, however, more research into the link between motherhood and genetic ageing is required, with Dr Pollack adding: ‘We’re not saying ‘don’t have children’.

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