Have you heard of the thymus gland ? fresh inquiry paint a picture it ’s gamey time we paid more aid to it , after find out that a computerized tomography ( CT ) scan of the oft - forgotten organ can uncover immune organisation aging .

The thymus is a small-scale organ locate in the upper part of the chest and is habitation to immature tonne - mobile phone , the immune cells which grow up to play a decisive role in the part of our immune system that conform and react to raw “ invader ” . This is crucial primarily for immune system development in children .

After pubescence , the thymus appears to take an earlyretirement ; it bewilder smaller and is replace by adipose tissue . As a result of this process , known as fatty degeneration , it ’s more often than not considered to be unimportant in grownup life – but after a series of study in fauna , and now one in humanity , scientists have revealed this may not be the case after all .

“ We doctors can assess the appearance of the thymus from for the most part all chest CT CAT scan , but we tend to not see this as very important . But now it turns out that the show of the thymus can actually provide a lot of valuable information that we could benefit from and learn more about , ” say Mårten Sandstedt , an author of the new study , in astatement .

Researchers analyse 1,048 CT scans from individual maturate 50 to 64 , all of whom were participant in the Swedish cardiorespiratory bioimage bailiwick , or SCAPIS . Analysis of the scan also considered data point such as dieting and physical activity , as well as scrutiny ofimmune cellsin participants ’ roue .

The results showed that those with fatty devolution of the thymus , as shown by the CT scan , also had scummy T - mobile phone regeneration , an index number of immune system aging .

“ This association withT - cellregeneration is interesting . It indicates that what we see in CT scans is not only an ikon , it in reality also reflects the functionality of the thymus , ” explained Lena Jonasson , another of the study ’s author .

They also found that other factors , such as long time , sexual practice , and modus vivendi , move the show of the thymus gland .

“ We saw a huge variation in thymus appearance . Six out of ten participant had complete fatty decadence of [ the ] genus Thymus , which was much more common in mankind than in women , and in people with abdominal corpulency . Lifestyle also mattered . Low intake offibresin special was associated with fat decadence of [ the ] genus Thymus , ” tell Sandstedt .

Understanding external factors such as lifestyle could hold the key to controlling how our immune systemages .

“ You ca n’t do anything about your age and your sexual activity , but modus vivendi - related component can be influence . It might be possible to shape resistant system ageing , ” Jonasson suggested .

The written report is published inImmunity & senescence .