NIH

Can MRI serve as a biological aging clock?

July 24, 2025

A single structural brain MRI may serve as a clinically scalable proxy for biological aging, offering a noninvasive alternative to DNA methylation-based aging clocks.

Researchers leveraged longitudinal data from the Dunedin Study—a birth cohort of over 1,000 individuals born 1972–1973 in New Zealand and followed to age 45—to develop a measure of aging for the Dunedin Pace of Aging Calculated from Neuroimaging (DunedinPACNI). Researchers correlated multiple biomarkers linked to biological aging to 315 structural features extracted from a single MRI scan.

DunedinPACNI showed strong concordance with DNA methylation patterns that are used to predict aging rates. Higher DunedinPACNI scores were associated with declining physical and cognitive function as well as facial aging. Those with higher DunedinPACNI scores also had worse balance, slower walking, weaker muscles, worse coordination, and reported worse health overall. Unlike DNA methylation-based "clocks", DunedinPACNI requires no blood draw or specialized assay, making it well-suited for integration into existing neuroimaging workflows. These findings were published in Nature Aging.

Authors say the innovative approach may enable earlier detection of age-related decline and expand the reach of geroscience research.

Source:

(2025, July 15). NIH. Measuring aging with brain scans. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/measuring-aging-brain-scans