Bringing Geroscience to the Bedside: Leveraging Biomarkers of Aging in Clinical Research

TL;DR

This paper discusses how aging biomarkers can be used in clinical research to better understand and predict health outcomes in older adults.

Contribution

The paper presents practical strategies for integrating geroscience biomarkers into clinical settings to improve precision medicine for aging-related conditions.

Findings

Aging biomarkers can illuminate mechanisms of vulnerability in older adults.

These biomarkers can predict adverse clinical outcomes after traumatic injuries.

Implementation challenges can be overcome to integrate geroscience markers into patient care.

Abstract

Biomarkers of aging, including epigenetic and proteomic “clocks” and senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) factors, offer powerful tools for potentially understanding and predicting outcomes in older adults, yet their application in patient-facing clinical research remains limited. In this talk, I will share practical lessons from integrating geroscience markers into patient cohorts, focusing on delirium and other complications that follow traumatic injuries in older adults, to show how aging biomarkers may both illuminate mechanisms of vulnerability and serve as predictors of adverse clinical outcomes. I will highlight strategies for measuring these markers in clinical settings and overcoming implementation challenges to demonstrate that geroscience biomarkers are not only feasible to integrate but also essential for advancing precision approaches to aging-related conditions.