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[Human serum alcaline phosphatase and ageing]
M R Negrão1, M J Martins, E Ramos
1Serviço de Bioquimica (U-38 FCT), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade do Porto, Porto.
Background:
In experimental ageing models an inverse relationship between age and alkaline phosphatase activity has been observed.
Objective:
To characterize serum levels of alkaline phosphatase activity in humans according to age and gender.
Methods:
Serum alkaline phosphatase was determined in a random sample of 203 community dwellers aged 40 or more years.
Results:
In men (n=87) total serum alkaline phosphatase markedly increased from the 5th to the 6th decade and then stabilized. For women (n=116) there was a slight increase in total serum alkaline phosphatase from the 5th to the 6th decade, followed by a bend upward after 69 years of age. There was a significant positive correlation between total serum alkaline phosphatase and age for the whole population.
Conclusions:
Serum alkaline phosphatase activity appears as a biomarker of age in humans, similarly to what has been described for experimental animal models.