MARK-AGE biomarkers of ageing

Abstract

Many candidate biomarkers of human ageing have been proposed in the scientific literature but in all cases their variability in cross-sectional studies is considerable, and therefore no single measurement has proven to serve a useful marker to determine, on its own, biological age. A plausible reason for this is the intrinsic multi-causal and multi-system nature of the ageing process. The recently completed MARK-AGE study was a large-scale integrated project supported by the European Commission. The major aim of this project was to conduct a population study comprising about 3200 subjects in order to identify a set of biomarkers of ageing which, as a combination of parameters with appropriate weighting, would measure biological age better than any marker in isolation.

Immune function parameters as markers of biological age and predictors of longevity

“…Recent studies have suggested that a big cohort of parameters is needed in order to accurately estimate the biological age [37]. The present study demonstrates that the five immune functions analyzed are valid enough to be used as indicators of an individual's health and remaining lifespan and therefore, are proposed as markers of biological age.…”

Plasma Carotenoids, Tocopherols, and Retinol in the Age-Stratified (35–74 Years) General Population: A Cross-Sectional Study in Six European Countries

“…The recruitment of the participants and the collection of anthropometric markers (weight, height), medical history (interviewed by trained field workers), and lifestyle characteristics took place between November 2008 and June 2012 at the following centers: Hall in Tirol and Innsbruck (Austria), Namur (Belgium), Esslingen (Germany), Athens and nearby regions (Greece), Bologna (Italy), Warsaw (Poland), and Tampere (Finland). Publications describing the project design, study population, and standard operating procedures have been recently published [20,21,22]. …”

“…Furthermore, most studies have been carried out in the United States and few in Europe, but it is known that dietary habits differ strongly between these continents/regions. Therefore we measured plasma carotenoids, tocopherols, and retinol in healthy participants aged 35–74 years as part of the MARK-AGE study, a large-scale European multicenter study aiming to identify biomarkers of age and healthy aging [20]. The main objective of the present study was to elucidate the role of age, other demographic characteristics, and dietary habits on the plasma concentrations of carotenoids, tocopherols, and retinol in a large age-stratified group recruited from the general European population.…”

Pharmacotherapy in the ageing patient: The impact of age per se (A review)

“…Some examples of biomarkers studied to date include Interleukin-6, tissue necrosis factor ␣, growth hormone, and testosterone (Simm et al, 2008). However, none of these have proven effective in measuring biological age on its own (Bürkle et al, 2015). One of the most studied biomarkers of ageing is telomere length (nucleoprotein structures at the ends of chromosomes), since telomere length decreases as age increases.…”

“…The use of a combination of biomarkers to measure biological age is also gaining interest in ageing research. In MARK-AGE study, a set of biomarkers of ageing was identified to calculate biological age (Bürkle et al, 2015). Many computational algorithms are also available to calculate biological age based on bio-markers, for example Klemera Doubal's method (Klemera and Doubal, 2006).…”