Tony Wyss-Coray, a neurology professor at Stanford University, has developed a blood test designed to detect which of a person's organs may be aging at a faster rate than the rest of their body. This approach could potentially identify age-related organ decline years before symptoms of disease become apparent.
Vero Bioscience, a company co-founded by Wyss-Coray, is currently conducting clinical studies to validate the real-world accuracy of these tests. The company believes these assessments could provide insights into the condition of organs, thereby extending an individual's health span by allowing for health optimization based on personalized data.
"These tests could tell you how your organs are holding up, and that would extend your health span because you would be able to optimize your health based on this real data that is personalized to you," Wyss-Coray stated. He also noted that such tests could be valuable in clinical trials for drugs and other interventions aimed at promoting longevity.
Wyss-Coray's research interests also encompass the aging brain. His doctoral work in immunology focused on the immune system's role in the brain and its connection to neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer's disease. This research led him to the central hypothesis of his work: that the brain and other organs are interconnected with the rest of the body, and understanding these connections is key to comprehending and potentially mitigating aging and disease.
"The immune system can go anywhere in the body, and so it seemed obvious to me that if the immune system can talk to the brain, then somehow the brain may also communicate back, and we may be able to find molecules from the brain in the circulation," Wyss-Coray explained.
In 2007, Wyss-Coray and colleagues published a study that investigated this concept. By analyzing blood samples from individuals with Alzheimer's disease, they sought to determine if specific protein levels differed from those in healthy individuals and if these differences could be used for disease detection. The study confirmed the viability of this approach.
Since then, Wyss-Coray's lab has conducted extensive research demonstrating the significant influence of circulating proteins, immune signals, and other blood-borne factors on the brain and other organs, particularly concerning aging and disease. Notably, his lab's experiments showed that infusing older mice with blood plasma from younger mice improved their cognitive function, while conversely, plasma from older mice accelerated aging in younger animals. Another company he cofounded, Alkahest, is exploring the therapeutic potential of human blood plasma for conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.