Recent research on immune system health, particularly by John Tsang and his team, has yielded notable findings regarding the ImmunoHealth Metric (IHM) scores of individuals with and without diagnosed diseases. In some instances, the immune profiles of healthy individuals closely resembled those of unhealthy individuals, a phenomenon attributed to the remission of symptoms in certain patients during blood collection. Conversely, some individuals deemed healthy exhibited immune characteristics similar to those afflicted with diseases. Approximately 50% of healthy participants in Tsang’s study had IHM scores that overlapped with those of clinically sick individuals, suggesting that traditional health assessments might overlook underlying immune deficiencies.
The implications of these findings for medical practice are significant. Identifying low immune scores in ostensibly healthy individuals could provide an early warning for potential health issues. Understanding immune responses may also clarify how various individuals react differently to infections and vaccines. For instance, recent trends during the COVID-19 pandemic raised concerns about the unexpected vulnerability of seemingly healthy younger individuals, hinting at the potential for earlier diagnoses and preventative strategies.
To improve insights into immune health, Tsang’s research includes developing additional scoring systems that evaluate specific immune conditions, such as bone marrow health and protein levels linked to viral response. The ambition is to integrate IHM assessments into routine medical evaluations, providing crucial data on how stress, aging, and other factors might influence immune function.
On a broader scale, the Human Immunome Project (HIP) plans to cultivate a global understanding of immunity by expanding research initiatives worldwide. This effort is driven by a need for more comprehensive data that reflects diverse populations and their environmental interplay with immune health. Initial studies are set to begin in various countries, with a goal of collecting vast data that could transform clinical medicine and public health approaches in the future.
Source: https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/10/09/1125376/how-healthy-am-i-my-immunome-knows-the-score/