Thank you for the comprehensive review Brooks. I start to explore the longevity clock space and this is super helpful. One thing I also noticed regarding the longevity clinics is not how many have integrated BA into their offering, but how many have not (50% by my count) - still plenty of opportunity in this wild, wild west. The rise of the longevity clinic is also an interesting end market IMO.
I’m intrigued by the fact that speed of aging changes over the course of a lifetime. Younger people are more likely to have biological ages that exceed their chronological age, and this could be an artifact of elevated IGF-1 or otherwise being in periods of high physical growth. In young people, this is not necessarily a sign of pathology because adolescents and young adults have a high tolerance for cell replication without increasing risk of cancer or other diseases. I would love to see aging clocks integrate these temporal features more fully.
Very interesting. My guess is that we are still aiming to determine what features actually matter. And the tough part is population level validation isn’t possible (there’s no particular “ground truth”)
Dr. Leitner, Your detailed exploration of biological age, its history, and its modern applications was highly insightful. The discussion on epigenetic and multi-omic clocks was particularly fascinating.
As someone interested in the intersection of technology and health, I am excited about the potential of biological age to enhance personalized wellness and preventive healthcare. I look forward to seeing how this concept evolves with advancing technology and its integration into everyday healthcare practices.
Dr. Leitner - I love the research and historical background that you've conducted and provided herein! Thus, I find your deep dive into the science and history of biological age—such an insightful exploration of its role as a biomarker of health. As a psychoanalyst and psychologist who also does a bit of health and wellness coaching, I find biomarkers like biological age to be a fascinating and likely extremely powerful tool in guiding clients toward a more holistic understanding of their well-being as you imply/indicate. Beyond just lifespan, these markers help frame health as a dynamic, adaptable process, reinforcing the mind-body connection in sustainable lifestyle changes. Talk about exciting right!
From your medical training and research background, how do you see biomarkers being integrated into clinical practice for psychology and wellness coaching? I’m particularly interested in how they could be leveraged to help my clients make more informed decisions about their mental and physical health from a holistic perspective. Would love to hear your thoughts!
Great article! I appreciate the time, research, and methodological approach you used to craft such an informative piece.
Thanks Dr. Rice! I’m really interested to see biomarkers move into areas outside of clinical medicine. For your patients, there are several important aspects related to the utility of biomarkers, otherwise they can be very confusing or frustrating.
Specifically, are they explainable? Responsive to intervention, or unchangeable, like chronological age? Reproducible? Predictive (perhaps of mood or behavior in your case)? And most importantly actionable—is there good evidence (or even theoretical rationale) to help guide what the patient should do in response to that biomarker?
Thank you for the comprehensive review Brooks. I start to explore the longevity clock space and this is super helpful. One thing I also noticed regarding the longevity clinics is not how many have integrated BA into their offering, but how many have not (50% by my count) - still plenty of opportunity in this wild, wild west. The rise of the longevity clinic is also an interesting end market IMO.
I’m intrigued by the fact that speed of aging changes over the course of a lifetime. Younger people are more likely to have biological ages that exceed their chronological age, and this could be an artifact of elevated IGF-1 or otherwise being in periods of high physical growth. In young people, this is not necessarily a sign of pathology because adolescents and young adults have a high tolerance for cell replication without increasing risk of cancer or other diseases. I would love to see aging clocks integrate these temporal features more fully.
Very interesting. My guess is that we are still aiming to determine what features actually matter. And the tough part is population level validation isn’t possible (there’s no particular “ground truth”)
Dr. Leitner, Your detailed exploration of biological age, its history, and its modern applications was highly insightful. The discussion on epigenetic and multi-omic clocks was particularly fascinating.
As someone interested in the intersection of technology and health, I am excited about the potential of biological age to enhance personalized wellness and preventive healthcare. I look forward to seeing how this concept evolves with advancing technology and its integration into everyday healthcare practices.
Seems that biomarkers of health, rather than solely of disease, are a natural progression of where we need to go!
Dr. Leitner - I love the research and historical background that you've conducted and provided herein! Thus, I find your deep dive into the science and history of biological age—such an insightful exploration of its role as a biomarker of health. As a psychoanalyst and psychologist who also does a bit of health and wellness coaching, I find biomarkers like biological age to be a fascinating and likely extremely powerful tool in guiding clients toward a more holistic understanding of their well-being as you imply/indicate. Beyond just lifespan, these markers help frame health as a dynamic, adaptable process, reinforcing the mind-body connection in sustainable lifestyle changes. Talk about exciting right!
From your medical training and research background, how do you see biomarkers being integrated into clinical practice for psychology and wellness coaching? I’m particularly interested in how they could be leveraged to help my clients make more informed decisions about their mental and physical health from a holistic perspective. Would love to hear your thoughts!
Great article! I appreciate the time, research, and methodological approach you used to craft such an informative piece.
Thanks Dr. Rice! I’m really interested to see biomarkers move into areas outside of clinical medicine. For your patients, there are several important aspects related to the utility of biomarkers, otherwise they can be very confusing or frustrating.
Specifically, are they explainable? Responsive to intervention, or unchangeable, like chronological age? Reproducible? Predictive (perhaps of mood or behavior in your case)? And most importantly actionable—is there good evidence (or even theoretical rationale) to help guide what the patient should do in response to that biomarker?
I did a more in depth article on this topic!
https://open.substack.com/pub/brooksleitner/p/biomarkers-what-makes-one-great?r=33qrr7&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false