The forgotten organ that could predict how long you live
Key takeaways
- Researchers at Mass General Brigham have uncovered evidence that the thymus, a small immune system organ long thought to lose its importance after childhood, may play a major role in adult health.
- The findings were published in two papers in the same issue of Nature and challenge decades of assumptions about the thymus.
- "Our findings suggest thymic health deserves much more attention and may open new avenues for understanding how to protect the immune system as we age."
Why this matters: new research or scientific developments with potential real-world impact.
Researchers at Mass General Brigham have uncovered evidence that the thymus, a small immune system organ long thought to lose its importance after childhood, may play a major role in adult health. Two new studies found that adults with healthier thymuses were more likely to live longer and less likely to develop serious diseases. The research also suggests that thymic health may influence how well cancer patients respond to immunotherapy.
The findings were published in two papers in the same issue of Nature and challenge decades of assumptions about the thymus. The results indicate that the organ remains important throughout adulthood and could eventually help guide disease prevention strategies and cancer treatment decisions.
"The thymus has been overlooked for decades and may be a missing piece in explaining why people age differently, and why cancer treatments fail in some patients," said Hugo Aerts, PhD, corresponding author on the papers and director of the Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (AIM) Program at Mass General Brigham. "Our findings suggest thymic health deserves much more attention and may open new avenues for understanding how to protect the immune system as we age."