Blood-based indicator assesses organ age to predict disease risk

The candles on your birthday cake don't tell the whole story. As anyone who ever attended a high-school reunion can tell you, some people age faster than others.

Whoever put the candles on your cake probably didn't have to guess your chronological age. But research has shown that we also have what's called a "biological age," a cryptic but more accurate measure of our physiological condition and likelihood of developing aging-associated disorders from heart trouble to Alzheimer's disease.

We all guess people's actual ages, almost unconsciously, by scanning their faces for wrinkles, baggy eyes and other telltale signs. But figuring out how old someone's brain, arteries or kidneys are is another matter. The organs tucked inside our bodies are aging at different speeds, too, according to a new study by Stanford Medicine investigators.

We've developed a blood-based indicator of the age of your organs. With this indicator, we can assess the age of an organ today and predict the odds of your getting a disease associated with that organ 10 years later."