New Research by Elysium Health and University of Oxford Reveals Link Between Naturally Occurring Amino Acid and Accelerated Aging

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Dec 10, 2024, 08:05 ET

For the first time, a human study shows that increased rates of aging due to elevated homocysteine—already a known risk factor for Alzheimer's Disease—can be reversed

NEW YORK, Dec. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- A research collaboration between Elysium Health, Inc.^™, a leading longevity science company, and the University of Oxford recently demonstrated in a paper published in Aging Cell that elevated homocysteine is not only a risk factor for increased rates of aging, but also that this amino acid-associated acceleration can be reversed. The study aimed to understand the relationship between total homocysteine levels and biological age in older adults from the VITACOG study, which was conducted over two years at the University of Oxford. Biological age and rate of aging were assessed using various epigenetic clocks, with a focus on INDEX^™ by Elysium Health. The study identified:

Two-year change in rate of aging, measured by Index, and baseline homocysteine levels for placebo and B-vitamin treatment groups. Participants with clinically defined hyperhomocysteinemia (≥15 μmol/L) are shown. Image adapted from Holmes HE, et al., Aging Cell. 2024. doi:10.1111/acel.14255

Significant associations between homocysteine levels and rate of aging, suggesting that individuals with high levels of homocysteine age at a faster rate.
Index also revealed a reversal in the accelerated biological aging in these participants following treatment with a specific combination of homocysteine-lowering B vitamins, developed at the University of Oxford and found in Elysium Health's brain health product MATTER^™.

The results indicate that elevated homocysteine is causally associated with accelerated biological aging, and it's the first research to suggest that this trend can be reversed.

"The VITACOG trial was a milestone study for preventing cognitive decline and brain atrophy by targeting modifiable risk factors," said Elysium Health chief scientist and Novartis Professor of Biology at MIT Leonard Guarente, Ph.D. "Its analysis has resulted in nearly a dozen peer-reviewed papers, which have been cited thousands of times. We have now demonstrated that elevated homocysteine is not only a risk factor for dementia in people with mild cognitive impairment, but also for overall accelerated aging. We further posit that accelerated aging may help drive the broad spectrum of maladies in people with elevated homocysteine, including cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, in addition to cognitive decline. Notably, we showed that this risk can be mitigated with a simple daily intervention of B vitamins, which is a meaningful outcome for the general public."

Homocysteine is a naturally occurring amino acid that is present in the blood. If it's not broken down properly, homocysteine can build up. High levels of homocysteine are associated with the development of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, and can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, blood clots, heart attack, stroke, and other health problems.

The study's findings have broad relevance for the sizable proportion of the worldwide population with elevated homocysteine. In the United States, millions of people have elevated homocysteine levels, putting them at risk for accelerated biological aging, cognitive decline, and severe health consequences. Elsewhere in the world, where food is not fortified with folic acid, the prevalence of elevated homocysteine can be much greater. In one study of a representative sample of adults aged 30 and greater in China, 35.4% of people were found to have elevated homocysteine, 45.4% for men vs. 28.5% for women.

"The VITACOG trial was conducted over two years as part of The Oxford Project to Investigate Memory and Ageing (OPTIMA)," said A. David Smith, FMedSci, DPhil., Professor Emeritus of Pharmacology at the University of Oxford, Founding Director of OPTIMA, and Matter product advisor. "While we hypothesized that the specific combination of B vitamins that we administered would have a beneficial effect due to the lowering of homocysteine, the results were more strikingly positive than we could have dreamt. To now elucidate that elevated homocysteine is not only associated with brain shrinkage and cognitive decline in individuals with mild cognitive impairment, but also with accelerated aging, helps to further our collective understanding of what drives brain aging and its effects."

About Elysium Health^™Working with the world's leading scientists and clinicians, Elysium Health's^™ mission is to improve human healthspan and lifespan by providing direct access to breakthroughs in longevity science. Learn more at elysiumhealth.com.

SOURCE Elysium Health