Lab study · Aging · 16 Oct 2026
In healthy volunteers ages 23 to 72, cellular recycling during aging rose, fell, or stayed flat by cell type and sex
Source: Sanford Burnham Prebys / Aging Cell
What the research found
Study (human cells, plus a five-person pilot). Tatiana Moreno, Caroline Kumsta, and colleagues at Sanford Burnham Prebys report in Aging Cell, posted 27 Sep 2026 (DOI 10.1111/acel.70734). Volunteers ages 23 to 72 with no chronic conditions gave blood and skin samples. Recycling activity fell with age in skin cells from men, stayed about flat in skin cells from women, and rose with age in neurons made from women's skin cells. Gene readouts did not reliably match the measured recycling rate. At age 70 and above, higher recycling lined up with worse function, including a weaker hand grip, higher body mass index in the skin-cell comparison, and a higher resting heart rate in the neuron samples. A pilot of five people ages 77 to 88 used a 12-week fall-prevention movement program. Recycling in blood cells moved toward levels more typical of younger adults, and function improved. Five people cannot settle that result. Not a therapy. Not medical advice.
Evidence level: Lab study. Results in animals or cells often don't carry over to people.
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