Old Age Starts After 30, Scientists Say

Aging Begins Around Thirty

The human aging process does not progress evenly. It is marked by sudden changes that occur over relatively short periods of time. But aging itself does not begin around fifty, as we once believed—it starts much earlier. When exactly?

That’s what Chinese scientists set out to determine. They analyzed 516 tissue samples from 76 organ donors aged 14 to 68. All had died from traumatic brain injury.

The researchers studied tissue from the body’s most important biological systems, including:

• the endocrine system,
• the cardiovascular system,
• the immune system,
• the digestive system,
• and the skin.

The analysis revealed that the number of proteins – 48 types linked to various diseases – increased significantly with age. These included proteins associated with cardiovascular disease, cancer, liver steatosis, and tissue fibrosis. Still, not every organ ages at the same rate.

The first signs of aging appeared in participants around the age of 30. This was due to protein-level changes in the adrenal glands, which play a central role in hormone production.

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The Human Aging Process Accelerates Around Fifty

A sharp acceleration of aging was observed in participants between the ages of 45 and 55. The culprit: protein expression, which rose dramatically across many organ systems.

The most significant and concerning changes were found in the aorta, the body’s main artery responsible for carrying oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the rest of the body. The aorta, it turns out, ages the fastest. Citing the study, The New York Post reported:

“Temporal analysis revealed signs of aging around age 50, with blood vessels being the tissue that ages prematurely and is particularly vulnerable to aging.”

The Role of the GAS6 Protein

Scientists suspect that a key driver of this process is the protein GAS6, since its levels increased with age. This was confirmed in another experiment in which the researchers injected GAS6 into young mice and monitored their aging.

The results were unanimous: the mice displayed classic signs of aging, including:

• visible vascular damage,
• impaired balance,
• and weakened grip strength.

“Blood vessels appear to act as a channel carrying molecules that promote aging throughout the body,” explained Guanghui Liu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in an interview with Chosun Daily.

Despite these findings, the scientists emphasize that further research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms at play.

Read the original article: Starość zaczyna się po 30. roku życia. Tak twierdzą naukowcy