Blood is a great communicator. Monitoring levels of hormones, proteins, and other substances in our blood can give us important information about everything from cancer to heart disease. Now blood tests are being marketed directly to consumers to help them read the signs of illness or aging. But buyer beware, experts warn. Scientists don't yet understand what many blood "biomarkers" really tell us about our health, they caution, and pricey tests that claim to help decipher their code may promise more than they can deliver.

Last month, Austin-based Biophysical Corp. launched a test called BiophysicalYou that screens for 60 biomarkers that may reflect our body's aging process. The test, which can be ordered through the company's website for $1,495, evaluates whether standard biomarkers like cholesterol and glucose that are routinely part of a physical exam fall within normal ranges. It also measures other markers such as those associated with inflammation, which may indicate the presence of some sort of disease. Marketing materials promoting the test say that by evaluating these biomarkers you may be able determine if you're aging prematurely and make adjustments to your diet or exercise routines, for example, to try to correct the problem.

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Some blood biomarkers clearly have therapeutic value in helping practitioners diagnose and treat disease: Cholesterol tests assess heart disease, glucose tests monitor diabetes, and the prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, test can help diagnose prostate cancer. But for many tests, the connection to disease is not nearly as clear. Biomarkers that indicate inflammation in the body are a good example. Inflammation occurs when the immune system is activated in response to disease or infection, among other things. Rising levels of inflammatory biomarkers like interleukins or tumor necrosis factors could indicate myriad medical problems, and a biomarker test can't distinguish one such problem from another. "Can we tell you whether inflammation means you have gingivitis or inflamed arteries? No, that would require additional testing," concedes Chandler.

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